WHEN I VISIT a building for the first time, I am always fascinated by its history, especially how it has been altered over the years and how these alterations have enhanced or damaged it. It is almost inevitable that over centuries buildings will change, partly because new owners will want to put their own stamp on the place and partly because fashions change, often in line with new developments in materials and technology.
What we eventually end up with depends on whether there is a wish to preserve the old and add the new, or simply replace one with the other.
In the 466 years of Cadhay's existence it has passed through the hands of only four families and is still in private ownership. Such continuity and stability probably account for the relatively small number of changes that have taken place to the external architecture and internal fabric of the building.
Built of Salcombe sandstone from the famous Beer Quarry by John Haydon in the mid-16th century, the house took the traditional footprint of an ‘E’-plan Tudor manor house, with Great Hall and screen passages. It remained in the family for more than 200 years and little change was made until Robert Haydon, great nephew of the founder, closed the open south side to form a long gallery and an inner courtyard.
The latter, known as the ‘Court of the Sovereigns’, is one of Cadhay's most attractive features, deriving its name from the four statues of Tudor monarchs (Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary and Elizabeth) on the respective sides of the rectangle, resting in their ornamental niches. The stonework of the courtyard is particularly striking, laid out in a chequerboard manner with flint alternating with the local sandstone.
In the mid-18th century, the new owner, William Peere Williams, decided to ‘modernise’ the house in line with the fashion of the period. External changes were kept to a minimum and largely concerned with removing the mullioned windows and replacing them with (as he thought) the more elegant Georgian sashes.
Fortunately, he chose to cover up most of the internal Tudor work rather than rip it out, thus making it available for future restoration should that be desired. In the early 20th century, the then owner, Dampier Whetham, in keeping with the revivalist ideas of the time, restored many of the Tudor features that can be seen today.
Jim Clifford
Visit to Cadhay: Friday 18 May 2012