19th century inspection pavilion at Blythwood Farm (EHER 82088)

The Inspection Pavillion built at Blyth Farm for James Blyth to enable him to inspect his herd, stud and flock in the paddocks surrounding the pavilion. The inspection pavilion wis thought to have been built in approximately 1895. It is square in plan with angled corners accommodating four entrances, the roof is pagoda shaped and is tile covered. The original roof covering was thatch. At the centre is a decorative brick chimney stack. The pavilion is built of timber on a brick plinth. The building was assessed for designation in 2011 but failed to meet the required criteria.

NRHE data transfer: The Inspection Pavilion was constructed in approximately 1895 at Blythwood Farm (now known as Blyth Farm) part of the estate of Mr James Blyth. Blyth was renowned principally for the development of dairies, and constructed one as a bespoke example near to his home, Wood House, on a separate site west of the village of Stansted Mountfitchet, approximately three-quarters of a mile to the north of the farm. Wood House, the stables to the rear and the dairy were designed by W. Caroe. The dairy was officially opened in 1894 and is described in a pamphlet accompanying the visit to the estate by the British Dairy Farmers Association in 1894 (extract held by the Rhodes Memorial Museum) as being of two stories over a semi-basement which forms the Dairy proper. It is a half-timbered structure, built in the Jacobean style, of red brick and oak. The upper storey was equipped to be used as a summer house, and the walls and floors of the subterranean dairy were lined with Carrara marble. The production of butter from the milk of the estates prize Jerseys was fully mechanized, the dairy being supplied with electricity from the start. The dairy and wider estate were visited by a number of important people included the Maharajah of Bhavangar in 1893 and the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII). Blyth was created a Baronet in July 1896 for his services to agriculture; in addition to his well-known 'Blythwood Dairy', he was noted for his herd of Jersey cattle, flock of Southdown sheep and well-selected stud of shire horses. Separated from the main part of the estate, the farm was known as New Farm when the first Ordnance Survey (OS) map was published in 1876, and it is likely to have been constructed by Blyth as a model farm for his livestock when he first bought the estate. This early map shows a barn and cattle shed with an attached cottage on the site. By the time of the publication of the 1897 OS, additional sheds and the newly constructed Inspection Pavilion had been added. Although not as celebrated as Blyth's dairy, the Inspection Pavilion was a significant building on the estate nonetheless. An account of a visit to the estate by the employees of Sir Walter Gilbey (a maternal relative of Blyth) from his Camden Town works, records that the workers, having travelled to Stansted on a special train, inspected the herd, stud and flock in the paddocks surrounding the Pavilion (Herts and Essex Observer, 21/9/1895). It seems certain that Blyth himself would have used the Pavilion for this purpose, suggested further by the architectural features of the Pavilions design. As with many other small country estates in the aftermath of the First World War, the entire Blythwood estate was sold in 1920 and much of the land used for housing developments. Following the death of Sir James in 1925, the stud, farm, windmill (still extant) and houses were sold again. The sales particulars state that the Pavilion had a thatched roof at this time and a photograph is said to show the upper halves of the walls to be fully glazed. In the later 20th century, the window openings were boarded over on three of the four sides and the roof covering was replaced with tiles. Since 1974, the farm has been known as Blyth Farm. The rest of the farm buildings have been altered considerably; both the barn and cattle shed have been converted for commercial uses. Of the wider estate of Sir James Blyth, Pevsner records that Wood House was destroyed by fire in 1926 and the dairy is much altered, but is believed to be partly extant. The surviving stables are surrounded by late 20th century housing. The pavilion is a timber superstructure on a brick plinth, with a tile covering to the roof. It is approximately square in plan with angled corners accommodating four entrances into the pavilion. The pagoda-shaped roof has oversailing eaves supported on carved timber brackets at the entrances. At the centre is a decorative, brick chimney stack. The east elevation retains horizontal glazing of 20th century date in the upper half of the wall; on the north, west and south elevations the window openings have been boarded over. The lower parts of the walls are clad with shingles. At each corner are the original panelled entrance doors, complete with their door furniture. Most external joinery appears original. At the centre of the pavilion is a brick chimney piece, splayed and clad with timber planking at the top and supported by four, stone, doric columns at the base. A stove was placed in the open space defined by the columns, but this is no longer present. The roof and lower part of the walls are clad with timber planking and the floor has a parquet covering. The Inspection Pavilion at Blyth Farm, near Bishop's Stortford, constructed in approximately 1895, is not designated for the following principal reasons: Although unusual in form, the aesthetic merit of the building is compromised by the use of standard materials and construction. The interest of the building has been significantly diminished by the loss of the glazing, an important element of the pavilion's design, and the original thatched roof covering. The remaining buildings at Blyth Farm have been altered greatly and the few surviving estate buildings of Sir James Blyth, on a separate site to the north, have lost their historic context and have been remodelled. <1>