Hirst’s manor home is far from a masterpiece as renovation stalls
Villagers say historic house has been left as a heap of scaffolding since artist bought it for £3m in 2005
WHEN Damien Hirst bought Toddington Manor, it was hoped that British art’s enfant terrible would restore the dilapidated Cotswolds estate to its former glory.
But 13 years on, the Grade I-listed house still stands clad in scaffolding, and locals complain that little of Hirst’s estimated £270million fortune appears to have been spent on refurbishment.
Joe Humber, chairman of Toddington parish council, in Gloucestershire, said: “People with a view of Toddington Manor are a bit fed up. It is not illegal to cover a property with scaffolding, but it is not the best look.
“Locals have asked if the scaffolding is going to be removed but he’s never approached the parish council. When Damien Hirst bought it he was fairly keen initially, but since then we have not seen him much at all. He used to fly in by helicopter but we have not seen that for a few years.”
Historic England, which is responsible for monitoring historic properties “at risk”, has also expressed concern about the future of the house, which Hirst bought for £3million in cash in 2005. In a statement the heritage group said: “We would like to see the future of Toddington secured and repairs undertaken which would allow the temporary roof to be dismantled, ultimately with the aim of full repair and occupation.
It added that although the temporary roof, which is designed to “dry out” the building, has left it in a fair condition, “the fact that Toddington Manor is Grade I-listed and on the Heritage at Risk Register means that it remains a high priority for us”. Built between 1819 and 1840, Toddington was the pet project of Charles Hanbury-Tracy, the MP, and later 1st Baron Sudeley.
When Baron Sudeley helped to select Charles Barry as the architect to rebuild the Houses of Parliament in the mid 19th century Barry took Toddington, one of the earliest examples of Victorian gothic design, as his model.
By the end of the 20th century, the house had hit hard times. In 2004 locals waged a campaign to stop the neglected manor being turned into a hotel, and the 124-acre estate – complete with dry rot and in desperate need of a new roof – was instead sold to Hirst the following year.
At the time the artist made clear that he intended Toddington to be both a family home and a gallery for his ever expanding collection.
Daniel Blake, another parish councillor, said: “Damien Hirst came along with his £3million and the general feeling was it was going to be a good thing, but his outpourings were confused. It was going to be a home, then not. Then it was going to be a gallery or a stage for his art. So he undertook a lot of work to strip out all the stuff that had been put in since the 1910s.
“The whole place had been empty for 20 years when Damien Hirst came along
‘This was a lovely historic building…Now all you can see is plastic and scaffolding’
there were high hopes.
“He spent a lot of money on the scaffolding to stop the decay. Then nothing. It all stopped about four years after he bought it. He is barely seen these days. As far as I know the last time he was seen was a couple of years ago. From our point of view this was a lovely historic building built by the man who decided who built the House of Commons. Now all you can see is plastic and scaffolding. It would be nice to know what Damien Hirst’s plans are.
“I am sure if someone came along with the right money he would sell it. The general feeling is we wish he would get on with it and do something with it.”
A spokesman for Science Ltd, Hirst’s company, said, “Damien bought Toddington Manor in 2005 as a long-term project and that remains his intention.
“Damien has always recognised that the restoration would be a ‘lifetime’s work’ and due to a number of other projects – including the opening of Newport Street Gallery in London and his Treasures show in Venice – work at Toddington has been on hold.”