RECENT HISTORY (MARCH 2022)
Research: FAM volunteer
1959 Bristol City Council, BCC, acquires Ashton Court mansion & parkland for £103,000.
1960s BCC carries out demolitions of medieval domestic buildings in poor condition.
1970s BCC carries out extensive repairs to the mansion roof and windows, extensive demolitions inside the mansion & some limited ‘restoration’ only. Never finished.
1980s BCC develop successful events business at the mansion within a limited ground floor area.
1987 – 92 BCC commission detailed reports on the mansion & parkland to inform English Heritage & the BCC marketing brochure. Hotel groups, education establishments & others find too many constraints.
1990s Heritage Lottery funded works to toilets, stable wing, car parks & roads.
2000s Commencement of repair works to lodges, cottages & walls around the estate.
2007 A draft version of a much quoted Business West Scoping Report lists 19 reports and studies since 1975 on the development of the mansion. The first principle, based on past studies has been edited to say: ‘Maintain full public access to the house and gardens’. Many favoured development proposals tie the mansion and estate together. They record Ashton Court Park as only grade II.*
2013 Extensive fire in the NW Wing severely damages the architectural masterpiece at the mansion & recommendations to prop the ceiling are not carried out.
2013 3rd Draft of Conservation Management plan, with significant conservation detail, never completed.
2017 Bristol Civic Society, BCS, call public meeting; a steering group of professionals & businesses is estd.
2017 BCC withdraws from any active events management from end of 2017 largely because of growing problems competing as an events venue due to dilapidated condition and lack of reinvestment.
2018 Artspace Lifespace charity take over the lease for ‘useable’ ground floor area, (about 30% of total area) to focus on its potential as an arts venue & maintain a presence in the building. They also pay rents, contributing to the running costs that BCC must meet for safety concerns & the Listed Building status.
2019 Friends of Ashton Court Mansion, FAM, are established to inform the public about the Mansion.
2019 BCS call 2nd public meeting to launch a much revised 2013 Purcell report.** https://www.bristolcivicsociety.org.uk/launch-of-purcell-report-towards-a-sustainable-future/ looking at compatibility & viability of over 10 different use options with final recommendation for leasing to an independent charitable trust to raise funds & organise future works & uses ***
2019 Norman Routledge is selling Kings Weston House & makes a public offer at the meeting to buy the lease - aiming to run the mansion for private & public use using a trust mechanism. BCC rejects his proposals as it involves private housing. Others from local heritage businesses offer to be involved or to try to find another way.
2021 while considering projects to meet inner city needs in Bristol, The Princes Foundation also express interest in the Mansion. From April they conduct community consultations finishing in September with Community & Business leaders Workshops at Ashton Court looking at their initial use proposals, phased works & total costs of well over £20 million. A report following these workshops is expected soon.......
2021 Shortly after the workshops, FAM wrote to the Council highlighting a number of urgent repairs required in this ‘Building at Risk’ due to accelerating damage caused mainly by rain water. BCC comments: ‘there isn’t and hasn’t been any funding historically to cover these (repairs) hence why we are so excited about this project’.
2021 “The Prince’s Foundation has over a decade of expertise in community-led heritage regeneration projects around the UK and will bring its skills and experience to bear on this exciting project” Marvin Rees.
*2007 There never has been full public access but now this principle may have been relaxed a little. The Parks & Gardens listing is the much higher grade II*. The report does not list the 1992 Land Use Consultants report on the highly significant landscape and archaeology there.
**2019 The Purcell Report is valuable but does not replace the 2013 Conservation Management report.
***2019 Purcell Report says ‘Do nothing approach’ is calculated to cost BCC up to £200,000 per annum.
‘Mothballing’ would still cost BCC around £175,000 per annum.
NB the National trust is not interested as there is no legacy & no furniture & fittings.