Right on Target... architecture restored to former glory
IN THE grounds of a Yorkshire stately home with an extraordinary history work has been under way to restore irreplaceable examples of Victorian garden architecture.
A unique Swiss-style Target House and historical folly in the gardens of Brodsworth Hall, near
Doncaster, have been restored to their former glory, after a year-long conservation effort by English Heritage.
With its overhanging roof and Venetian window, the Target House, originally built in 1866 as the Archery House, was a place of rest and relaxation for the Thellusson family – whose ancestor Peter Thellusson had purchased the estate in 1791 – to shelter in the heat of the day and enjoy refreshments during archery practice.
Eleanor Matthews, English Heritage’s curator at Brodsworth Hall, said: “It’s been brilliant to be able to see the Target House come to life after the careful conservation work to secure its future. Archery was one of the few sports in which Victorian women were allowed to compete and the family would have spent a lot of time there to socialise so it’s great to share these stories with visitors in the new exhibition.”
The Victorian Eyecatcher, is a folly built in about 1866 also probably using stone from the demolished old Brodsworth Hall. A deliberately ruinous garden feature, it is designed to draw the eye along the long expanse of grass across from the Target House nearby.
Alongside the restoration of the two Grade II pieces of architecture, Brodsworth’s rose garden has also been restored to its original Victorian design, with more than 200 roses including heritage, shrub, ramblers and climbing varieties which would have been familiar to the Thellusson family in the 19th century.
Dan Hale, English Heritage’s head gardener at Brodsworth Hall, said: “Walking through the range is now like looking through a little window into the past.”