Lucknam Parkis a luxury hotel, spa and restaurant in west Wiltshire, England, about 3 miles (5 km) north-west ofCorshamand 7 miles (11 km) north-east ofBath.The core of its building is aGrade II listedcountry housebuilt in the late 17th or early 18th century. The hotel's restaurant has held one star in theMichelin Guidesince 2006.
| Lucknam Park | |
|---|---|
 Lucknam Park in March 2007 | |
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| Restaurantinformation | |
| Rating |  [1] |
| City | Colerne(Wilts), nr.Bath |
| Country | England |
| Coordinates | 51°27′22″N2°15′22″W/ 51.456°N 2.256°W |
| Website | www |
House
editA farm on the site, about 1 mile (1.6 km) north ofColernevillage, was bought in 1688 by James Wallis, a wealthyTrowbridgecloth manufacturer who had also purchased the nearby manors ofNorth WraxallandBiddestone.He began construction of the mansion which was probably completed by his son Ezekiel.[2]The property later had a succession of owners, including the Methuen family in the late 18th century and the Walmesley family from 1870 to 1918.[3]John Walmesley (c.1775–1873) of Preston, Lancashire married Ellen, daughter ofRichard Godolphin LongofRood Ashton House,Wiltshire; their sonRichard(1816–1893), lawyer andJP,is described as "of Lucknam".[4]
The two-storey Wallis house forms the three-bay centre of the present building.[5]In 1827 it was bought byAndreas Boode(1763–1844), a Dutch-British owner of plantations inDemerarawhich used enslaved labour.[6]He had the house re-fronted inashlar,with a ground-floorloggiahaving four pairs ofDoriccolumns, and greatly enlarged it by adding two-storey wings on both sides: each has three bays and is terminated by a two-storey bowed pavilion.[3]The resulting facade is described by Orbach as "impressively long".[5]
The whole was remodelled in 1919–20 forSir Alfred Read,chairman ofCoast Lines,the UK's largest coastal shipping company.[7]The central part was given a three-gabled attic and tall chimneys inJacobeanstyle, and the rear front and interiors were remodelled.Pevsnercalled the Jacobean work an "excresence",[8]but in Orbach's 2021 updating it is merely "spurious".[5]
To one side a tall square late-19th-century water tower rises higher than the house. Formerly turreted, its flat parapet and corner urns result from changes designed in 1937 byOswald Brakspear.[5]
The house was designated as Grade II listed in 1960.[3]
Hotel
editThe house was bought in 1987 and opened as a hotel the next year[9]by Lucknam Park Hotels Ltd. The company directors are members of theLaskaridis family,[10]who own Greek shipping companies and hotels in Greece and elsewhere.[11]Facilities include a spa and an equestrian centre.[9]
Associated buildings
editThe stables range with two-storey coach house, built of rubble stone in 1834 for J. C. Boode, forms a courtyard with the rear of the house.[12]A 19th-century octagonal dovecote in the kitchen garden is described by Historic England as exceptionally large and of an unusually late date.[13]
The lodge at the north entrance to the estate was built in 1854 inItalianatestyle:[5]a substantial stone archway is flanked by a two-storey lodge on one side and a tallercampaniletower on the other.[14]Middle Lodge, near the main house, was designed in neo-Regencystyle by Oswald Brakspear.[5]
References
edit- ^"Restaurant Hywel Jones by Lucknam Park".Michelin Guide.Retrieved15 May2022.
- ^"Colerne".Wiltshire Community History.Wiltshire Council.Retrieved18 May2022.
- ^abcHistoric England."Lucknam Park (1283410)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved15 May2022.
- ^"Walmesley, Richard (WLMY835R)".A Cambridge Alumni Database.University of Cambridge.
- ^abcdefOrbach, Julian;Pevsner, Nikolaus;Cherry, Bridget(2021).Wiltshire.The Buildings Of England. New Haven, US and London:Yale University Press.p. 244.ISBN978-0-300-25120-3.OCLC1201298091.
- ^"Andreas Christian Boode".Legacies of British Slavery.University College London.Retrieved18 May2022.
- ^Moss, Michael S. (23 September 2004)."Read, Sir Alfred Henry (1871–1955), shipowner".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/47431.ISBN978-0-19-861412-8.Retrieved18 May2022.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^Pevsner, Nikolaus;Cherry, Bridget (revision)(1975) [1963].Wiltshire.The Buildings of England(2nd ed.). Harmondsworth:Penguin Books.p. 186.ISBN0-14-0710-26-4.
- ^abArsenault, Bridget (26 March 2019)."Behind-The-Scenes At Lucknam Park One Of The UK's Prettiest Properties".Forbes.Retrieved18 May2022.
- ^"Lucknam Park Hotels Limited: Officers".Companies House.Retrieved18 May2022.
- ^Gage, Nicholas (17 June 2013)."Aegean Blues".Town & Country.Retrieved18 May2022.
- ^Historic England."Stable range to north of Lucknam Park (1199381)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved19 May2022.
- ^Historic England."Dovecote in kitchen garden to north of Lucknam Park (1363534)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved19 May2022.
- ^Historic England."Chippenham Lodge (1022921)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved19 May2022.