Greenwoods Pleasure Grounds (EHER 81012)

Greenwoods Pleasure Grounds were designed by Thomas Hayton Mawson for Richard Adam Ellis between 1905 and 1908 replacing the 18th and 19th century gardens. The gardens have been altered in the mid and late 20th century. Greenwoods has 17th century origins from when Stock Hall was located on the site. The configuration of the 18th and 19th century pleasure gardens is unclear. Mawson's plan for the 1908 garden included a main wall with integrated seating linked to a covered, arched walkway leading to ornamental beds. The main path led southward to a sunken pond with semi-circular planting and a summer house beyond. In 1948 the West Ham Central Mission bought the house sited in the gardens which was used as a residential home from 1965; during this time a number of garden features were lost. In 2001 Greenwoods was converted into a spa and hotel and further features of the 1908 garden were lost. Much of the planting in the garden is recent. Greenwoods was assessed for designation in 2011 but failed to meet the required criteria.

Information from NRHE data import Pleasure grounds designed by Thomas Hayton Mawson for Richard Adam Ellis between 1905-1908, altered in the mid and late C20. Greenwoods has C17 origins, when Stock Hall, the seat of the Bate family until 1818, was located on the site. The estate of some 51 ha included parkland to the west, which is now under pasture and is no longer part of Greenwoods. The oldest building on the site is the early-C19, stucco five-bay range which is now the hotel's restaurant; this and the early-C20 phase to the west are listed at Grade II. Historic Ordnance Survey (OS) maps from 1874 to 1922 indicate that the early-C19 range had a subservient wing to the north-west, but this was replaced in c 2001 by a much larger extension. Ancillary buildings are indicated at the north-west corner of the site, some of which remain but are not part of Greenwoods. The configuration of the C18 and C19 pleasure gardens is unclear, but when the Hon. Arthur Petre leased the hall in 1855, the coach house, stables, granary, cottage, gardens, pleasure grounds, shrubberies and plantations were included. The 1874 OS map shows that the boundary of the pleasure grounds was drawn much tighter around the house, which had been renamed Greenwood. Ponds located mid-way at the northern boundary, and to the east of the early C19 range, form focal points around which paths and shrubberies are arranged. To the south-west, a pond on the site of the early-C20 sunken pond lies in an open area. To the south-east of the house is a driveway, accessed by a narrow gateway approximately in the position of the existing main entrance. The roadside boundary is edged with trees and a wedge-shaped copse is located at the southern corner near to the boundary with Copt Hall. The 1896 OS map seems to indicate that much of the planting has been removed by this time. The pleasure gardens have been extended to the rear; a straight western boundary, later adopted by Mawson, may show the position of a ha-ha, emphasised by additional planting. The three ponds remain, but it appears that lawns surrounding the house were established by this time, with more occasional planting. In 1901, Richard Adam Ellis J.P. acquired Greenwood and extended the building in an Arts and Crafts style. In 1905 he commissioned Thomas Hayton Mawson (1861-1933) to design the garden; a revised plan was drawn up in 1908 and it is presumably this which was implemented. Mawson was born in Lancashire and after a brief stay in London, at the age of 18 moved to the Lake District where a number of wealthy industrialists were building country houses, many in the Arts and Crafts idiom. His firm established with his brothers, Mawson and Sons, supplied plants, then designed and constructed gardens. He used local craftsmen and materials to construct his trademark stone terraces, walls, pavilions and pools and favoured formal design near the house and a more natural approach at the perimeter. His clients included royalty, aristocrats and rich entrepreneurs in Europe and in North America. Many of his accurate site surveys and plans went into his book, 'The Art and Craft of Garden Making' (first published in 1900). Plans of both Mawson's schemes for Greenwood are lodged with the Cumbria Records Office and show key features of the garden design. To the rear these include: a main wall with integrated seating linked to a covered, arched walkway leading west to ornamental beds; a main path leading southwards to a sunken pond (on the site of the pond seen in the historic OS maps) with semi-circular planting and a summer house beyond; a path north of the sunken pond to the pleasure gardens curved rear wall; a brick rear wall with central gates leading to the parkland; a cruciform arrangement of trees in the south-east lawn including a Wellingtonia (although it is uncertain whether this feature was planted in full) and orchards and planting to the east and north-east of the house. In this scheme, the northernmost pond is not retained and the pond to the east of the house is incorporated into the orchard area. Historic photographs show these features in addition to plant beds immediately to the rear of the house and a row of linked, topiarised yews in an arcade edging the path to the sunken pond. Immediately to the east of the house, the main carriage courtyard has been reconfigured and is defined to the south by the garden wall. The courtyard has a central feature. In 1948, the West Ham Central Mission bought the house as their Country Centre, which from 1965 was also used as a residential home for those suffering mental ill-health. A number of garden features were lost during this time including: the plant beds at the rear of the house; the backfilling of the sunken pond and the removal of the semi-circular planting to the south of it; the beds near to the covered walkway were laid to grass and if it was executed, the planting in the south-east lawn removed (apart from the Wellingtonia). The topiarised yew arcade was reduced; much smaller yews remain as individual examples, and these may be the same trees. The park and woodland to the west were sold. In 2001, Greenwoods was converted to a hotel and spa. The main building was extended to the north-west on the site of some of Mawson's planting and a significant area graded to form a swimming pool. The rear wall has been replaced with palisade fencing; two electrical substations were constructed to the front and the orchard and planting at the north boundary turned into a car park. The courtyard has been reconfigured. The main front wall, if it was a Mawson feature, appears to have been rebuilt and a secondary exit drive has been constructed to the north of the main entrance. The southern boundary is formed by a wooden fence of the late C20, but the northern brick boundary wall remains. LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES AND SETTING: Greenwoods lies in Stock village, approximately six miles to the south of Chelmsford in Essex. The site is bounded to the north by Crondon Park Road. To the east, the site is defined by a short section of a tall brick wall to the front of the house, beyond which is a greensward adjacent to the High Steet (B1007). It is not clear whether this wall is part of Mawson's design, as it is not clearly depicted on either of his site drawings. To south of the main drive, the east boundary is marked by a timber fence and to the north, by a red brick wall. Sections of brick wall and timber fencing define the extent of the garden to the west and south. Located in Metropolitan Green Belt, to the north of a cluster of listed buildings and within the village conservation area, the site has a level aspect. ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES: The main entrance comprises a wide gravel drive flanked by brick piers, surmounted with urns, attached to the front wall. To the north is a later, secondary drive flanked by sweet chestnuts which forms the vehicular exit and to the south, a narrower entrance allows access and egress for motorised garden equipment. The gate at the rear, which led to the parkland, has been removed. PRINCIPAL BUILDING: Greenwoods is listed at Grade II and is described as an early-mid-C19 stuccoed house with end pilasters and a C20 addition. The original block has a five-window range on the south-east front and four-window range on the south-west. The addition has a two-window range on the south-east front and a one-window range on the north-east end. The windows are double-hung sashes with glazing bars, in plain reveals and segmental heads. A raised stucco band extends across the front between the storeys and a Tuscan portico projects on the front, with plain columns and a cornice hood. None of the other former estate buildings or garden structures are listed. GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS: Elements of Mawson's schemes of 1905 and 1908 remain. The red brick wall which defines the south boundary of the courtyard has a central, two-leaf, wrought-iron gate with a decorative, scrolled overthrow. The gate is hung on red brick piers, which feature a coat of arms at head height, with moulded stone copings topped by stone urns. To the north-east of the house, the pond has been enlarged recently and a few fruit trees remain, marking the position of the original orchard. To the rear, and extending westwards from the north wall of the historic house, there is a red brick wall with arched, recessed seating adjoining an arcaded, covered walkway with a hipped, tile roof. A path leads southwards from the recessed seat to the former sunken pond; individual yews frame the path and clipped yew hedging with central entrances surrounds the infilled, sunken pond. Steps lead from each entrance down to the former pond edge; flights of semi-circular steps on each side of the stone-lined tank descend to the centre where a circular water feature has a statue of cavorting nymphs. The path to the south of the sunken feature remains as a slight earthwork; at the southern end is Mawson's original summer house. Approached by semi-circular steps, the summer house has a low, red brick wall supporting timber columns which carry the tiled, conical roof. Leading westwards from the former pond is a path flanked by pleached limes; this path leads to a section of serpentine brick wall which marks the western edge of the pleasure gardens. A path follows the wall northwards, and culminates in five steps, at which point a modern palisade fence replaces the brick wall and gate which was known to have been constructed here from historic photographs. East of the sunken feature, a path leads to the lawn to the south-east of the house where a specimen Wellingtonia is planted. Much of the planting in the garden is recent. <1>