The shortsighted Clandon Park scheme fails the UK’s brilliant craftspeople

The National Trust’s ill-conceived plan to leave this great Georgian House as a burnt-out ruin shows how much this country lags behind France, argues Francis Terry

We all have enjoyed seeing Notre-Dame in Paris rise like a phoenix from the ashes, single-handedly reviving traditional crafts on a colossal scale and giving the French a worthy reason for national pride. Tragically, his would not happen if Notre-Dame were in England. If Westminster Abbey were destroyed by fire, we would leave it as a ruin. I know this to be true, because this is exactly what has happened at Clandon Park.

Clandon Park in Surrey was one of the great Georgian Houses. Designed in the 1730s by Italian architect Giacomo Leoni, Clandon’s interiors were once considered among the finest of their period. After a devastating fire in 2015, instead of following the Notre-Dame example of restoration, The National Trust, in its wisdom, decided to leave the house as a burnt-out ruin and insert at, great expense, hideous modern ramps and viewing platforms by Allies and Morrison.

In March last year, Guildford Borough Council backed this ill-conceived proposal rather than reconstruct its celebrated interiors. Housing secretary Steve Reed declined to call in the decision in November, allowing consent to stand, despite strong objections from architectural traditionalists like me.

However, as reported in the AJ earlier this month, the Georgian Group has secured permission from the High Court to challenge these plans to retain the fire-damaged shell of Clandon Park House as a permanent ruin. We will wait and see what happens, but I think the baddies will win, as they so often do.

As a traditional architect, one of my great pleasures is working with craftspeople, and I have been fortunate to work with a large variety of trades.  These are the people who turn my drawings into reality and the UK is a world leader in traditional crafts. Miraculously we have the best stone masons, lead workers, joiners, plaster workers, rubbed brick manufacturers and even people who can make a shell grotto, if your purse and taste requires. These people are so talented and passionate about their crafts, it is inspiring to work with them.

It is for this reason I am deeply saddened by The National Trust’s approach to Clandon Park. This is a project which could keep this delicate and fragile ecosystem of craftsmen alive and help inspire a new generation.

Some people worry, quite rightly, that the quality of the restoration would not be of a high enough standard. This is a legitimate concern, but unfounded. I have recently designed a new room at Castle Howard within the charred remains of a structure that burnt down in 1940.

A plasterer works on Francis Terry’s new room at Castle Howard

My restoration is a complete reimagining of what Vanbrugh, the original architect, might have done. The finished room has been a huge success, winning many awards and, more importantly, it is completely convincing. Many tourists walk into the room and assume it is 18th century. From this experience, I conclude that, given a sound design, our great craftspeople have the talent and skill to rebuild almost anything to the highest standard.

I have previously accused the National Trust of an ‘act of barbarism’ against the Grade I-listed Clandon Park. It is an accusation I am willing to stand by. The barbarians did not wilfully destroy ancient Rome; they just let it fall down around them as they did not have the craftsmen and vision to keep the flame alive.

This is the situation we are in now. Those at The National Trust should hang their heads in shame and the public should know how they are behaving. When in the very near future we lose all our traditional crafts and these brilliant people are stacking shelves in supermarkets and driving taxis, we will know whom to blame.

Francis Terry is director at Francis Terry and Associates