Stanage Park is a Grade II* listed Welsh

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

set in a large park located some east of Knighton,

Powys Powys ( , ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It borders Gwynedd, Denbighshire, and Wrexham County Borough, Wrexham to the north; the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremo ...

near the settlement of

Heartsease ''Viola tricolor'' is a common European wild flower, growing as an annual or short-lived perennial. The species is also known as wild pansy, Johnny Jump up (though this name is also applied to similar species such as the yellow pansy), heartsea ...

. The extensive parkland and the house were laid out by

Humphry Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great designer of the classic phase of the English landscape garden, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown. His style is thought of as the precursor of the more intric ...

and his son,

John Adey Repton John Adey Repton (1775–1860) was an English architect. Biography John Repton was the son of Humphry Repton, born at Norwich, Norfolk on 29 March 1775, and educated at Aylsham grammar school and later in a Norwich architect's office. From 1796 ...

, in the early nineteenth century. Repton's

picturesque Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in ''Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year ...

parkland improvements,

castellated A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals t ...

house and enclosed garden survive almost intact. The estate is the last and most complete of his three recognized

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

landscape commissions.

History

The house was built 1803–07 by the Reptons for Charles Rogers in a picturesque castle style that was explicitly modelled on

Richard Payne Knight Richard Payne Knight (11 February 1751 – 23 April 1824) of Downton Castle in Herefordshire, and of 5 Soho Square,History of Parliament biography London, England, was a classical scholar, connoisseur, archaeologist and numismatist best k ...

Downton Castle Downton Castle is a grade I listed 18th-century country house in the parish of Downton on the Rock in Herefordshire, England, situated about west of Ludlow, Shropshire. Description The south-facing entrance front has a central square tower ...

. John Repton designed an addition to the rear of the house in 1822. John Hiram Haycock added

bay window A bay window is a window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room. A bow window is a form of bay with a curve rather than angular facets; an oriel window is a bay window that does not touch the g ...

s and his son Edward Haycock Senior remodelled some of the public rooms in a

Tudorbethan Tudor Revival architecture, also known as mock Tudor in the UK, first manifested in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture, in rea ...

style in 1833. Edward Haycock later added a Gothic dining-room extension, Romanesque-style

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

and the castellated

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

courtyard beginning in 1845. The billiard-room, south wing and baronial tower were added about 1867 The plans for the Repton's work are recorded in a 'Red Book', still kept at the house. The castle grounds are designated Grade I on the

Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales The Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales is a heritage register of significant historic parks and gardens in Wales. It is maintained by Cadw, the historic environment service of the Welsh Government and ...

Description

The house is approached through the terraced lawns on the east front and the building has landscaped woodlands with a pond to the west. North and south of the building are wooded hillsides. The eastern terraces are enclosed by a low castellated wall to

ha-ha A ha-ha ( or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view of the lan ...

s and there is a 1900 summer-house at the southeastern corner of the walls. The walls are periodically interrupted with rectangular

exedra An exedra (: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architecture, architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek word ''ἐξέδρα'' ('a seat ou ...

s with classical

urn An urn is a vase, often with a cover, with a typically narrowed neck above a rounded body and a footed pedestal. Describing a vessel as an "urn", as opposed to a vase or other terms, generally reflects its use rather than any particular shape ...

s atop piers.

Associations

* The house and gardens featured in the TV drama series '' Blott on the Landscape''. * The area is also associated with the burial of the fifth century warlord

Vortigern Vortigern (; , ; ; ; Old Breton: ''Gurdiern'', ''Gurthiern''; ; , , , etc.), also spelled Vortiger, Vortigan, Voertigern and Vortigen, was a 5th-century warlord in Sub-Roman Britain, Britain, known perhaps as a king of the Britons or at least ...

Gallery

Dining-room. Stanage (1294050).jpg, The dining-room c.1900s Stanage Park drive - geograph.org.uk - 3199132.jpg, The drive Stanage Park House, near Knighton - geograph.org.uk - 3996674.jpg, Formal gardens near to the house Stanage Park lake and jetty - geograph.org.uk - 3511252.jpg, The lake

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

Early Victorian map

Parks and Gardens - Stanage Park database entry
Houses in Powys Tourist attractions in Powys Gardens in Wales Grade II* listed buildings in Powys Knighton, Powys Parks in Powys Registered historic parks and gardens in Powys Grade II* listed houses in Wales