Bramham Park

Bramham Park, the entrance facade. A carriage ramp conveys visitors to the principal entrance on the piano nobile

Bramham Park is a country house near Wetherby, West Yorkshire, England. The Baroque mansion begun begun in 1698 by Robert Benson, 1st Baron Bingley. It has remianed in the ownership of Benson's descendents since its completion in 1710 . The house is surrounded by a landscaped park ornamented by a series of follies and avenues laid out in the 18th century landscape tradition. Following a fire in 1828 the house was derilict for 80 years until restored under the supervision of the architect Detmar Blow circa 1908.

Today it remains a private residence, while the park is the setting for the annual Bramham Horse Trials and Leeds Festival, the latter takes place in a distant corner of the park.

Architecture

Chatsworth House, England's 1st truly Baroque House was built between 1687 and 1707 an almost exact comtemporary of Bramham was designed by William Talman. Colen Campbell's drawings of Bramham of 1717 show a remarkable similarity of style between the corps de logis of Bramham and Chatsworth

Bramham Park, drawn by Colen Campbell in 1717. The statuary decorating the roofscape was never executed. The carriage ramp is an unusual feature, leading to the piano nobile

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Like many 18th century mansions and parks Bramham is a product of a grand tour, its creator Robert Benson, later Lord Bingly, completed his formal education with a grand tour in 1697, and it was in Italy that he began to envisage his new mansion in the Palladian manner complemented in a landscaped park in the fashion made popular by Le Notre in France in the late 17th century.

The architect of Bramham is unknown, speculation that Giacomo Leoni was involved, Leoni was responsible for the rebuilding of Lyme Park in an Italianate style in the neighbouring county of Cheshiresome years later). However, the Italian, Leoni did nor arrive in England until several years after the completion of Bramham. Other names suggested include James Gibbs, Thomas Archer and James Paine. Gibbs, is not a serious possibility as he would have been only 15 years old when the house was begun. While it is known that Paine designd the stables which flank the corps de logis, he cannot have been responsible for the main part of the house as he was not born until 1717, another contender John Wood is also too young. The only chronological possibility is Thomas Archer (1668–1743) . However, the most likely scenario is that Bramham is the work Robert Benson himself , probably working with a local draughtsman. While it is also quite possible that Benson was inpired by drawings taken from Palladio's books, the design of the house suggest Benson was more inspired by the restrained Baroque style then populat in France. The style in which Mansart's Versailles has been constructed between 1678 and 1684, indeed it has been speculated that Versaille's landscape architect André le Nôtre had a hand in the design of Bramham's landscaped park.

The architect William Talman has also been sugested as a possible architect , he was indeed working on Chatsworth House some thirty miles away from Bramham at this time. Chatsworth is considered to be England's first truly Baroque house. However unlike Chatsorth (which is far larger) Bramham is given flanking wings more in the Palladian style, linked to the house by short collonades. The flanking wings contained the kitchen in the south wing, and the chapel in the north, thus as at the baroque Blenheim Palace balancing both spiritual and bodily needs equally. However, while Campbell's drawing of Bramham show the never executed statuary on the roof and near perfect proportions, the reality of the executed design suggests a less professional hand then Talman's. Two low projecting wings from the corps de logis complicate the design, while the two collonades are not quite long enough to give the flanking wings the independance from the main house to allow their design to be fully appreciated.

Interior

Bramham Park

The interior of Bramham park was completely restored in the early part of the 20th century. The central Great Hall, double storey in height and severe in its Baroque design still bears the smoke staining on its stone walls.

Bramham in the 21st century

Its grounds (over 400 acres in total) are used for various events, including the Leeds Festival, and the Bramham Horse Trials. A more restricted area of the grounds are kept as gardens and run as a tourist attraction — visitors can also tour the house but only in pre-arranged parties.

References

• Girouard, Mark (1978). Life in the English Country House. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-02273-5.

• Bramham Park. Yorkshire: Bramham Park, Estate Office. No author is credited, pages are not numbered.

• Pevsner, Nikolaus (1967). Yorkshire: The West Riding. Penguin. ISBN N/A.

External links

• Official website