Appuldurcombe House and Park


 

 

The grade I Appuldurcombe House, which is now a ruin, lies within a grade II Registered park. The house is of national significance as an example of the short-lived English Baroque. The park still contains many features of a late eighteenth-century landscape park some of which are credited to Capability Brown.

ACTA prepared conservation plans for the house and park. This was followed by a management plan for the outer park, which formed the basis for a successful Countryside Stewardship application and a management plan for the area around the house, which is in English Heritage guardianship.

Working with The Tourism Company, a strategy was established for developing the falconry centre within the park which maintained and enhanced visitor access to the house and park.


Other examples of Conservation plans:
Upper Heyford
Scotney Castle
Cobham Park


 

 
 
The house is one of the best examples of English Baroque attributed to John James. ACTA identified elements of the unfinished house that were incorporated into later rebuilding, retaining a partial Baroque character


 
Freemantle Gate, which may have been designed by James Wyatt, was the focal point on a two-mile long drive and has many of the Neo-classical features associated with the rebuilding of the house
 
The downs above the house were quarried for greensand in the middle ages. Some of the quarry workings were modified as landscape features and viewpoints in the eighteenth century

 
The eighteenth-century house became popular with visitors to the Isle of Wight and their descriptions helped in understanding the contemporary house and park

Arable reversion was one of the central policies of the conservation plan and this has helped to blend the park back into its setting
 

 

Client: Appuldurcombe Heritage, English Heritage and DEFRA HOME Contact Us