in the centre of the room. Each bathroom is served with hot water from separate hot water cylinders. Upstairs, these were easily concealed in the roof void, but since the woodshed was isolated from the main building it was necessary to devise a means of housing its own hot water storage cylinder locally. A new courtyard was formed between the wood shed and cottage by building a brick wall on the third side. On the woodland side of the wall, out of sight, is a plain-tiled lean-to shed housing the hot water cylinder and extract fan. A timber 'privy' was also built on the back of the wall to contain the electrical intake head and meters. These had previously been mounted in the sitting room and were relocated outside the property in order to free up yet more valuable space. The remodelling of the landscape setting was conceived as three distinct elements: to the north, a riverside wilderness walk, along serpentine paths through a shady yew grove, carpeted with ivies and drifts of spring bulbs; a cottage garden immediately surrounding the cottage, with beds spilling over with flowers, for sitting and eating alfresco; and, to the south, an Arcadian landscape structured around the existing Spring pool and cascade. The edge of the riverbank, within the wilderness, was badly eroded and existing timber piling had decayed leaving only a line of knarled posts. The Environment Agency was keen to see the riverbank repaired and encouraged the use of a piling system which would enhance a natural habit for plants and fish. A combined system of piling was used with sheet metal below water level and oak, from the estate, above water, designed to replicate the random appearance of the Arcadian landscape around the Spring. original boarding. Bays were oriented around trees on the riverbank to ensure that all the existing vegetation was retained and to plant reed beds, which would also soften the edge of the piling. The cottage garden, which was rather exposed to public passers-by, needed to be remodelled. The curtilage of the cottage was redefined by diverting the public path and forming a picket fence along the new east bounda,y. A slice of the escarpment was cut away and a contiguous piled timber retaining wall was constructed to improve the amount of space around the cottage. Outside the Tea Room doors, the patio under the Minstrel's Galle,y was laid with Caithness flags, brought from a quarry near the Duchess of Sutherland's Dunrobin Estate, and a new 'Green Room' was created. Enclosed by yew hedges, this formal space overlooked by the Minstrel's Galle,y provides an elegant outdoor room for private entertaining. From the Green Room a tantalising glimpse of an ornate stone urn and the sound of the cascade lead the visitor along a narrow path to an Arcadian landscape. Around 1900,William Waldorf Astor introduced a classical stone bridge across the outflow from the springs and a flight of steps clown to a landing stage on the Thames. The stone balustrade, ornamented with eagles, is modelled on the 17th century Borghese balustrade on the Parterre. The pool and cascade dried out long ago, when the course of the natural springs moved, leaving the pool neglected and overgrown. Environment Agency consent was granted to abstract water from the river and to circulate it via the pool, over the cascade and back into the river. An underground chamber was constructed to provide a reservoir of water, which could be pumped around the water feature, debouching water across the rocky fern covered cascade, as originally intended. Like the cottage, the restored pleasure garden is designed to revive its historic character, combining the idealised, romantic landscape of rustic simplicity with a sophisticated setting for picnics and parties. The hotel is now taking bookings for the cottage for those wishing an exclusive break and next year the gardens will be open (on selected days) to National Trust visitors. Ann Towers is witb Ju /ian 1-larrap A rcbitects ACANTHUS P I a n & Decorative Plaster 5 Hansford Square Combe Down Bath BA2 SLQ Tel/Fax: 01225 837223 email: acanthus.pd@virgin.net TRADITIONAL PLASTERINGSPECIALISTS HISTORIC & LISTED BUILDING Restoration • Conservation • Consultancy In Lime• Cement• Gypsum Compositions • Fibrous Also suppliers of Traditional Lime products & Lath The complete service n g 26 Context 60 December 1998
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