THE DERELICT UPPER FLOORS
The following virtual tour introduces the background to the current condition of the upstairs rooms and looks at the bare bones of the building.
As we walk around, we will take a look a look at some of the characters involved and the windows which give us clues to different phases of building changes, but can be misleading.
Quote from Pevsner Guide: Owned by the Mercantile Smyth family from 1545 to 1946 there was major remodelling in late 16th, 17th 18th 19th centuries. Deliberate historicism and imported fittings make interpretation a minefield.
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We welcome further information especially with referenced sources.
HOW DID IT GET LIKE THIS?
100 years ago. Dame Emily had been dead since 1914, the estate had lost workers to WW1, factory employment, and taxation was growing. It was the start of the Great Depression. Even for the Smyths there was poor income from the land including the coal mines which were now closed or closing. The building was no longer being fully maintained and the NW wing was out of use.
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Following the death of Esme in 1946 there was another 13 years of wrangling before the Bristol City Council finally acquired Ashton Court parkland and Mansion in 1959. By then it was in a very bad state. Rain was coming through the roof, and grass growing through the floor. Rot was extensive. Many had wanted to demolish the main house not just the buildings to the rear.
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50 years ago. The Council began extensive repairs – over £ 1.4 million in value in 2 phases through the 70s.
They put up steel beams and columns to replace rotten timber (at top of stairs) and repaired roof and floor structures, underpinned walls and renewed roofs. They unfortunately took down 1st floor partitions on grounds of dry rot, labelled the panelling, and put it aside for reinstatement, then the administration changed and for a while the political will and money was no longer available. When it did resume, some of the ground floor areas were restored to standards of the time but the upper floors were left derelict and unable to create income.
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The condition since then is of mixed slow and accelerating decay. There has been some ongoing maintenance of roofs and windows but many elements are well past the date of renewal. There is regular and damaging water ingress from rain water in several places due to a number of identifiable factors including blocked gutters. Water then penetrates all the way to the ground floor, regularly wetting the floor structures, and increasing the chance of dry rot in surviving timbers. The cost of reinstatement will now be very much higher as plaster and joinery has been poorly stored, lost or damaged over the years, and the relatively intact and highly regarded NW wing has been severely damaged by fire
LOOKING AT ARCHITECTURE
NORTH CORRIDOR
Image: FAM volunteer (2021)
At the top of the stairs it is possible to look sideways to the back corridor access to rooms, this ran along the north side of SW wing.
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It was a relatively recent addition of early 19th century to gain more privacy. Before that people and servants just went room to room. From some of the bedrooms it looks as if the 17th century windows apparently opened onto this later corridor but were no doubt hidden with panelling.
DRAX'S KENNEL
Images: FAM volunteer (2021)
Look behind to the small stair tower chamber of the 16th or 17th century.
There are two windows in a 17th century style with a central stone mullion and transom. This style of window is taller and narrower than a typical mid 16th century window, none of which survive at Ashton
Court. One window has been blocked in the past.
There is also a lightweight partition over the stairs, of reed in lime plaster. All the wall plaster has been removed, revealing the walls of rubblestone quarried from the estate.
TUDOR ROOM
Images: FAM volunteer (2021)
‘Great Chamber over ye Hall’ (as described in a 1691 inventory).
The main fireplace and doorway are typical of the Tudor era but may predate the arrival of the Smyths.
Dendrochronology would help to establish when the trees that were used to make the great timber floor joists, were first cut down. Prior to this the hall was probably open to the roof as in the cross wing to the north of the Great Hall. The gabled second floor above, has been ascribed to John Smyth who bought the manor in 1545.
TUDOR ROOM WINDOWS
Images: FAM volunteer (2021)
Windows looking onto entrance courtyard are part of early an 19th century Gothic make-over, visitors to Ashton Court
entering through the new 1805 ‘Regency Gothic’ Town Lodge would have arrived here at the new Gothic styled
courtyard.
The windows to the rear are in a similar style to those in the early 17th stair tower but close inspection shows fine
detailing to the stone frame which was later covered over. Drawings show this window style also overlooked the west
courtyard during the 18th century.
The down grading and partitioning of this Great Chamber occurred when new wings created improved accommodation.
THE EARLY SMYTHS
John’s father Matthew (d.1526) came to Bristol from the Forest of Dean as a hooper for making barrels. John was employed by a merchant trader, he inherited the business when the boss died and married his widow. They lived in Small St, never moving to mansion.
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John Smyth (d. 1556) had made a lot of money trading with Europe and was successful at tax evasion, selling off church lands for Henry VIII and became mayor of Bristol twice. Ye Great Chamber may have been a principal bedroom in the later 16th century to either of John’s sons.
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Both sons went to Oxford at 13 as was normal at the time, but behaved badly. The older, Hugh (1530-1580) was a violent man and was in trouble throughout his life. As Lord of the Manor, despite being a JP, he was brought before the Star Chamber of Queen Elizabeth I for having an unruly household here at Ashton Court and allowing poaching from Leigh Court, resulting in a death.
The younger Matthew (1533-1583) did better. But both died at 50. Matthew’s wife Jane Tewther (Tudor) ran and expanded the estate successfully for many years.
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Find out more about Sir Hugh Smyth (died 1627) who is the link between the early Smyths and Thomas and Florence.
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LOOKING SOUTH TO THE LONG SW WING
Image: FAM volunteer
The 1633 SW wing. There are various clues that the structure of an earlier building remained at the time of the 1630s works, not least because of the erratic window spacing, best seen from outside.
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Also there is an account from the great grand daughter of John Smyth: ‘Bro Thomas is busy, plucking down the old building and putting up new’.
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There is another description of him taking down the timbers of the gabled west end and obtaining Dundry stone for the new building.
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The new SW wing was for many years called the Inigo Jones wing as it was similar to Jones’ Banqueting House in London, with alternating triangular and segmental stone pediments above windows. The design was very advanced for the time but coming from Catholic Europe it was also politically sensitive.
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The introduction of this window design meant a central supporting mullion was no longer required but it is likely the simple mullion and transom seen elsewhere in building, was installed initially beneath these pediments, as was the case in the Banqueting House. There are no signs they were ever removed but neither does the stonework look nearly 400 years old, especially with full exposure to weather and overlooking a colliery for over 200 years.
Sliding sash windows were not invented until late 17th century. The windows would have been small leaded casements with one opening on side hinges. Much larger glass panes arrived in the 19th century.
THE STORY OF THOMAS (1609-1642) AND FLORENCE (SEE ALSO PANELLED LOUNGES)
Image:Â Thomas and Florence Smyth of Ashton Court, about 1627. The Weiss Gallery
He was 17, she was 15 when they married and moved into Ashton Court. Florence was the eldest daughter of Lord Poulett (or Paulett) of Hinton St George, Somerset. At 18 Thomas was an MP and inherited the estate. They had money, wanted new fashion and spent 8 years making many changes to the house and gardens.
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With a growing family, young Florence begged Thomas not to leave to fight for King against Parliament but he was dead by the time he was 32. She returned with the children to her childhood Paulett home of Hinton.
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However just a few years later the Ashton Court housekeeper could have looked from the new windows to see the Saxon Royal Manor of Bedminster, including its parish church, razed to the ground by the retreating royalist army.
INTERIOR REMAINS OF GRANDEUR
17TH CENTURY CHIMNEY PIECE
Image: FAM volunteer (2021)
A rare survivor in this derelict space of pink and white marble, Corinthian pilasters, and a Baroque broken pediment.
EMILY SMYTH'S BOUDOIR
Image: FAM volunteer (2021)
250 years later. From 1885 Emily Smyth used this room as her ‘boudoir’. The view from her window was towards the collieries and iron works in Ashton vale.
The income contributing to the ceiling and wall panelling pastiche - look above.
At least they didn’t rip the fireplace out.
PLASTER REMAINS
Image: FAM volunteer (2021)
On the floor near the south facing windows, are various items from the building e.g. remains of plaster run in situ, later fibrous plaster, and later still, silicon moulds.
Other remains from rooms include the twisted lead cames and small glass panes from a window exposed during the 1970s works probably.
EMILY SMYTH'S BEDROOM
Image: FAM volunteer (2021)
In Emily’s bedroom, looking across the room to where panelling survives, is where Emily’s bath was filled and emptied by maids using pails. Likewise they would have emptied the commode.
BLOCKED WINDOW AND HIDDENÂ 16TH CENTURY PANELLING
Image: FAM volunteer (2021)
To the right of the fireplace is a mullion and transom window blocked probably when 19th century corridor was added.
The removal of the fire surround reveals it to have been one of a series.
Between the fireplace and the 19th century door insertion, are the remains of earlier 16th century? panelling.
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Before the 1970s restoration work these features would have been hidden behind panelling.
THE OTHER ROOMS
Images: FAM volunteer (2021)
WESTERN END OF LONG GALLERY
Below is the western end of the Long Gallery, unrestored, full of concrete in place of subsidence and stacks of joinery and fire surrounds which have been gathered from around the building.
GREVILLE SMYTH'S BEDROOM
Beyond Emily Smyth’s bedroom was Greville Smyth’s bedroom where he spent most of his last years, with his Dressing
Room at the far end.
MAIDS ACCOMODATION
Spiral steps in the narrow stair tower at the NW corner of the SW wing leads to the maid’s accommodation above and
one account claims that the metal grille locked the girls in at night.
LOOKING UP TO THE SECOND FLOOR
Peering between the ceiling joists of Greville’s Bedroom it may be possible to see a Bathstone fireplace.
The current roof structure does not respect this and there is evidence in the south wall of major changes to the roof line which supports the idea of there being a row of gabled dormers along the south front and not a current ‘balustrade’ style structure.
THE ROOF STRUCTURE
The roof structure is thought to date to the late 17th century and maybe to changes following the arrival of Elizabeth
Astry c1695 and not to the 1630s building of Thomas and Florence.
OAK PANELLED ROOM
This was the east end room of the main house for at least 300 years until the gatehouse was raised in the early nineteenth century.
See the mullion and transom window and small diamond panes of glass in lead cames looking east over the gatehouse, revealed when the panelling was removed.
Esme, Emily’s daughter, made this her room, loved painting – including the panelling, Pekinese dogs - see the small graveyard by the haha, and she apparently loved holding snakes from the zoo. Esme died here 1946.
ESME'S SPIRAL STAIRS
Between Esme’s room and the Gatehouse tower room is a corridor to a spiral stair where, some reports say that in later years, she was carried up and down despite her height. There is an early lavatory cistern to the right.
THE GATEHOUSE ROOM
Illustrations from 18th and 19th century show how the gatehouse looked before it was raised in early 19th century with the new stable wing and again later in the 1880s.
The gatehouse room was Gilbert Irby, Esme’s husband’s, room in 20th century.
SE WING AND SERVANTS' QUARTERS
This can be approached from the spiral stair and the rear corridor, or currently via the central tower room past impressed finishes to wall fabric, and up to the raised floor level above the Music Room.
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Today it is a featureless open space: a retired maid’s account indicates that in 1936 there were 9 servant’s rooms along this floor. Some windows served 2 rooms. It is unclear how they were heated.
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There was a bathroom and WC off a rear corridor. In earlier years buckets would have been used to bring hot water for washing and remove waste.