Historic Shrewsbury villa to be revamped
A major phase of the renovation of an Italianate villa and 17th century farmhouse near Shrewsbury will get under way in the spring.
The National Trust is spending more than £500,000 transforming the estate at Cronkhill.
A planning application has been submitted to Shropshire Council which will see the timber framed service wing being renovated with repairs being carried out to the oak framing and windows. The scheme is set to start in May.
The overall scheme will see the villa, which was built by John Nash in the very early 1800s for the Lord Berwick, and its surrounding farmhouse and outbuildings returned to its original state.
Repairs to the timber frame will see the removal of the 1980s infill panels and lime render while seasoned oak will be used to replace windows.
The estate, which stands between Atcham and Cross Houses, consists of the villa – thought to be the first asymmetrical Italianate villa in England – farm buildings including a Dutch barn, coach house and stable block, garden and orchard.
Under the pre-study phase, which is currently under way, painting and render work is being carried out to return the Grade I-listed villa to its original external colour.
Preparatory research and paint scrapes have shown Regency architect John Nash intended the villa to be lime-washed in a terracotta colour, not white, as it currently is.
Mark Agnew, general manager at Attingham Park, said the entire scheme of works would take three years but would see it restored to its original appearance.
"The farm and a villa and the views are meant to represent an Italian estate, with the Wrekin in the background representing Vesuvius," he said.
"Once it has been carried out the whole estate will look much more like what John Nash designed."
