Catalogue description Plans and correspondence concerning Bailiffscourt, Climping

Deposited by Miss Kendall of South Croydon, May - November 1984

Acc. 6320,6340 6442

Bailiffscourt was built for Colonel Walter Guinness (later Lord Moyne) between c. 1928 and 1935, his architect being Amyas Phillips. The site was one of very ancient occupation, having a moat and a 13th century chapel, both of which were preserved and formed an integral part of the new buildings. The new buildings were designed to maintain the "medieval" atmosphere. Old stone tiles and timber were carefully chosen and reused; where new materials had to be used, every effort was made to make them look old and weathered. Whole buildings were brought from elsewhere and re-erected to form outbuildings, one such being a cottage of wattle and daub construction from Bignor, which was adapted to house the electric generator. Even the smallest fittings in the main house and guest house were either antique, or careful replicas. The buildings did however have an electricity supply, a lift, modern kitchen ranges, and central heating

The gardens surrounding the buildings were designed to complement the impression of a long-established English manor. Only old-established native plants were to be used, walls were designed to look like old farm walls with moss and climbing plants, and a meadow near the house was to be sown with grass and native wild plants, which caused considerable problems. The gardeners had no success in raising cowslips from seed, so plants were transplanted from neighbouring estates. Also transplanted were a large number of mature trees, to give an impression of long-established features

The interior furnishings were also designed on the same theme, though there is less documentation on this among these papers