When my ancestor, John Somers Cocks (Baron Somers) wanted to build a spectacular mansion in the style of a castle, he already knew of the young Robert Smirke, who had just finished building Lowther Castle, near the Scottish border, for the Earl of Lonsdale, and who had worked in Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. He had also just completed the new opera house in Covent Garden, to critical acclaim. Smirke also had a reputation for efficiency and keeping with in budget, so there were several reasons why he was a good choice. In a reference letter to Lord Somers, Lord Lonsdale wrote that his architect was entitled to every commendation” and “entirely free from the faults that are generally imputed to architects”. (I imagine they are the same faults today).

Smirke then produced a few watercolours giving an artist’s impression of how the finished castle might look in the dramatic landscape of the Malvern Hills. In the one shown here, an impressive bridge over an artificial channel looked very fine, but even Lord Somers, who was keen to impress, felt it was excessive and eliminated it from the final design. Smirke was allowed to add a conservatory at Lowther, but here his design for a similar addition was omitted.

Our archives contain good records of the work and building accounts. The first stone of the foundation was laid on 24th April 1812, six days before Louisiana joined the USA and just over two weeks before the British Prime Minister, Spencer Perceval was assassinated in the lobby of the House of Commons. The first cut stone was laid on 23rd June 1812, after which Lord Somers gave a dinner for the workmen, which cost him £43. There is no record of how much of this was spent on drink, but it sounds quite a generous affair.

Work went until 1824, when it was decided to stop, plans for new stables, an even grander staircase as well as the conservatory had been dropped for financial reasons. Some of the larger interior rooms were not completed until later, the Gothic Drawing Room in 1849, for example. In 1821, Lord Somers’ political as well, perhaps, as his construction work had been recognised with the grant of an Earldom, so he have felt he had done enough.

The full story of the design and building of the castle will be told in a special exhibition in the tea room yard this season. It is being prepared by our archivist, Hazel Lein, and a local historian, David Whitehead.

JH-B
26th January 2012

Land Rover is celebrating 50 years of using the Eastnor Castle estate in Herefordshire as its centre for off road testing and development. Tucked away in rural Herefordshire, this historic piece of English countryside is still an important tool in the research and development of new Land Rovers as well as offering a completely unique Land Rover driving experience to members of the public.

In 1961, Land Rover first chose the 5000 acre Eastnor Castle estate located near Ledbury, Herefordshire to assess the off-road credentials of their vehicles. Half a century on, the tradition continues, with Eastnor playing a pivotal role in the research and development of Land Rover’s outstanding all-round capability and class-leading off road performance.

As well as the cars themselves, Eastnor has been instrumental in developing an impressive collection of Land Rover technologies; such as Anti-lock Brakes, Adjustable Air Suspension, Electronic Traction Control, Hill Descent Control and Terrain Response® – many of which were world firsts in the 4×4 sector.

The tradition of testing all Land Rover models at Eastnor continues to this day.  The Range Rover Evoque was the most recent model to complete its off-road apprenticeship and a large part of the Evoque’s technology, including MagneRide™, was proven on the estate, where ride dampers were tested extensively.

Terrain Response® offers drivers optimal vehicle set-up (electronic and mechanical), and performance, under a variety of off-road conditions.

Whether driving in mud, ruts, rocks, sand, grass, gravel or snow, Terrain Response® has the appropriate setting, and will optimise ride height, engine torque Response®, Hill Decent Control, Electronic Traction Control and transmission settings, ensuring a safe and controlled passage across any terrain. The Eastnor estate provides the ultimate test for all these conditions and is instrumental in the continuing development of this technology.

Customers and fans of the brand can now book drive experience days to hone their on and off-road driving skills with tuition from a team of highly qualified Land Rover Experience instructors. Eastnor is one of over 30 centres around the world, and hosts over five and a half thousand visitors every year participating in half or full days, beginner and intermediate training as well as exciting night drives. Over a third of these visitors have travelled from overseas, keen to experience Land Rover in its heartland. 

 

 

 

 

 

The imminent arrival of autumn is marked first by the migration of the house martins back to Africa. They have been here since the early summer, re-using their mud nests under the projecting crenelations at the tops of the towers and over the octagon bay.  They are most welcome visitors as they seem to keep the fly population under control, and when they go, the flies come into some of our rooms in force, but quickly get hoovered up.

We start to light fires in the Great Hall in October. Their effect is largely cosmetic, given the space they are required to heat if the central heating is not on, but the effect on visitors is very beneficial, and they certainly seem to feel warmer, particularly after braving the chill of the Entrance Hall.

We turn on our central heating very selectively. There are about 12 separate zones and five boilers, so we can avoid unnecessary heating in areas not being used. We use oil at the moment, so the cost has increased very rapidly in the last two years. We are careful, but have to make sure our customers are warm at all times.

One of the clearest harbingers of the winter months is the arrival of our cat in my basement office, having spent the warmer months mostly outside. Normally, she settles in a redundant antique wicker filing tray on a table next to the radiator, but when the radiator is turned down as I try to save fuel, she seeks another warm place. My laptop is her preferred choice at the moment. Whilst I can use a separate keyboard and screen, I am nervous that she will press the Send button with a paw and a message will be sent before I have checked it. I tolerate a certain amount of this foul weather friendship, but eventually lose patience and move her on. She is quite forgiving, luckily.

JH-B    20th November 2011.