Our work at Claverton Manor over three decades has introduced many new facilities, some by extension and new build, others through conversion and adaptation of the manor’s Grade I listed buildings. These have built the status in the region of this unusual cross-continental institution. When the Trustees resolved the gardens of the historic estate should be expanded as part of the visitor offer, we knew this would raise many issues of listed building setting and character for the grade I listed Manor House and its registered parks and gardens.
Much useful evidence was commissioned to build the history of house and grounds. From this it was clear the museum’s tenure since the late 1960’s has been by far the most stable and productive of all its many past occupiers and owners. It has brought millions of visitors here to appreciate the manor’s history and learn about the common roots of Britain and the United States of America.
Early engagement with the local planning authority evidenced a questioning of why the project was being proposed at all. Why should this be proposed as a new garden showcasing the flora of America, when the house is English? There was an attempt to scale the project down in size – so much so that it would no longer be worth attempting. It was clear the project was being viewed from the wrong end of a value telescope, through a narrowly focused conservation one because this is a listed building.
So, for the museum we pressed the case for this issue to be viewed more from a broader planning perspective, one recognising the museum’s value as an intercontinental social and cultural institution.
We illustrated the end of the dilemma the Trustees faced as guardians of such an institution. Institutions enjoy none of the statutory protection that heritage assets do. Viewed through the wider community benefit the telescope and with active engagement with local authority planning officers, the new American gardens gained their necessary planning permission. The completion in late 2018 has completely transformed the utility of the grounds which can now be seen to offer much greater accessibility for the disabled including those in wheelchairs. A re-levelling of the land around the manor, a formation of an open-air amphitheatre and other dimensions have allowed Claverton Manor to take on the character of a 21st century active pleasure garden now catering for a much wider range of events and user constituencies.
