Plan to restore fountain garden at £10 million Shropshire hall

A planning application for work at the Grade I Mawley Hall Estate, near Cleobury Mortimer, has been lodged with Shropshire Council.

The estate was bought earlier this year having been marketed by Strutt and Parker, with a guide price of £10m.

A design and access statement from Craig Hamilton Architects describes Mawley Hall as "one of the finest examples of an English Baroque country house with interiors that rival the finest of its period anywhere in the world."

It adds that the new owners want to ensure the restoration is an example of how historic buildings should be preserved.

It states: "In recent years, the estate has been in decline and the buildings and landscape have been neglected and have become run-down. The applicant, who has a young family, purchased the estate in early 2018 with the intention of restoring it to the highest conservation standards and to make it a model of how an important historic estate such as this can be managed, in the 21st century, for the long term benefit of the family and the wider, local community.

"The intention is to repair sensitively and restore all of the listed buildings and the other estate buildings to the highest modern-day standards. This will be done in close collaboration with Historic England and Shropshire Council and positive meetings have already been held in this regard, on the estate, where plans for the future have been shared."

Summerhouse

The specific application lodged with Shropshire Council states: "The brief from the client was to restore or recreate the Fountain Garden together with its pavilion or garden structure based on careful historical and archaeological investigations.

"The brief was also to replace the present summerhouse, built by the previous owners, The Galliers-Pratt family, in the 1970s with a new summerhouse pavilion in this Fountain Garden."

The architects have also stated that the application is the third made by the new owners.

The application states: "The applicant purchased the Mawley Estate in 2018 and the priority for the applicant is the long term stewardship of the estate. This application is the third submission to the planning authority. The first submission was for the upgrading and careful restoration of the Coach House, which is a priority, so that the family can occupy this building whilst the main house is restored.

"The second application was for the conversion of the existing barn workshop into leisure facilities together with the construction of a new indoor and outdoor pool and the creation of two garden pavilions and a pergola along with the redesign of the adjoining area known as the Pool Garden."

The house was commissioned by Sir Edward Blount in 1730 and designed by Francis Smith of Warwick.