Monument record 0420802050 - Home Farm Reservior, Stowe Designed Landscape

Summary

Reservoir established in the late eighteenth century to feed the Home Farm complex with its saw mill

Protected Status/Designation

  • SHINE: Stowe medieval to post medieval landscape garden, medieval deserted villages of Lamport & Boycott, shrunken village of Daford, also moats, manors and fishponds, ridge and furrow earthworks & cropmarks, and areas of ancient semi natural woodland

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Type and Period (2)

  • DAM (18th Century - 1700 AD to 1799 AD) + Sci.Date
  • POND (18th Century - 1700 AD to 1799 AD)

Description

Evidence for construction of the Home Farm complex, consisting of the farm buildings, sawmill and walled garden, comes from a bill dated 1791 for leveling. This suggests that the development of the watercourses were the initial stage, working to a master plan from 1775 with design elements from the 1739 scheme by Charles Bridgeman. The water in the Home Farm reservoir is held back by a raised dam appoximately 90m long x 7.5m wide x 3.4m high with a farm track running along the top. The dam is faced with a low brick retaining wall with limestone capping slabs and, possibly, also capped at one time by an iron fence. A narrow brick lined culvert allows the water to fall over a stone sill into a plunge pool. Two other brick culverts emerge from the dam in addition to the culvert that form the leat for the saw mill. The culvert is 0.5m south of the main culvert and survives with its rack and pinion gearing (B18).
The English Heritage survey of Stowe undertaken in 2001 notes the remains of the pond some 120m long and 110m wide and its silted up condition (B20).
Dendro-dating obtains felling date range of 1734-1766 for timbers from dam. Subsequent phases dated 1766-98 and 1780-1812 (B34).

Sources (23)

  • ---SBC17422 Aerial Photograph: 04/09/76. BCM A2/11/20-22. SP\674376. Yes.
  • <1>SBC9229 Bibliographic reference: C Morris (ed). 1949. The Journeys of Celia Fiennes c1694. pp29-30.
  • <2>SBC14098 Bibliographic reference: SEELEY B 1766 STOWE, A DESCRIPTION OF THE MAGNIFICENT HOUSE & GARDENS (WITH ILLUS) (ARE VARIOUS ED.
  • <3>SBC16278 Bibliographic reference: VERTUE G ET AL; ENGRAVINGS IN SOC OF ANTIQUARIES RED PORTFOLIO P24.
  • <4>SBC7809 Bibliographic reference: LIPSCOMB 3 PP84-108 (FULL DESCRIPTION & ILLUS OF MANSION, APARTMENTS, CONTENTS & GARDENS).
  • <5>SBC14400 Bibliographic reference: SHEAHAN PP304-8 (FULL DESCRIPTION OF HOUSE, GARDEN TEMPLES &C).
  • <6>SBC16094 Bibliographic reference: VCH BUCKS 4 PP229-233 (FULL DESCRIPTION, ILLUS, GROUND PLAN, MANORIAL HISTORY).
  • <7>SBC11805 Bibliographic reference: PEVSNER N 1960 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE PP251-265 & ILLUS (FULL DESC, & ACCOUNT OF WORK SINCE HOUSE BECAME A.
  • <8>SBC10383 Map: Ordnance Survey. 1958. OS 1958 6IN MAP. 1:10,560.
  • <9>SBC16531 Bibliographic reference: WHISTLER L, GIBBON M & CLARKE G 1974 STOWE, A GUIDE TO THE GARDENS (HAS A FULL BIBLIOGRAPHY ON PP37-.
  • <10>SBC2990 Bibliographic reference: CLARKE G 1976 (JULY) SLIDES OF AIR PHOTOS TAKEN JULY 1976 FROM A BALLOON SHOWING FORMER GARDEN FEATU.
  • <11>SBC2991 Bibliographic reference: CLARKE G 1979 (DEC) LETTER RE ICE HOUSES (ON CAS FILE) ALSO OS 1880/5 6-INCH 1:10560 (1ST EDN).
  • <12>SBC8335 Unpublished document: MEEHAN J 1988 STOWE; ELYSIAN FIELDS TREE & LEVEL SURVEY (TYPESCRIPT REPORT & MAP, FILED).
  • <13>SBC16362 Bibliographic reference: WAINWRIGHT A 1989 NATIONAL TRUST ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY: STOWE (COPY, FILED).
  • <14>SBC3681 Bibliographic reference: DoE. 1983. List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest.
  • <15>SBC9897 Bibliographic reference: NATTES C 1805-9 COLLECTION OF 105 SKETCHES & DRAWINGS OF STOWE (AT BCM).
  • <16>SBC16364 Bibliographic reference: WAINWRIGHT A 1993 REPORTS ON THE STOWE PYRAMID, THE SAXON DEITIES & THE SOUTH FRONT (COPIES, FILED).
  • <17>SBC4634 Bibliographic reference: English Heritage. 1994. REGISTER OF PARKS & GARDENS OF SPECIAL HISTORIC INTEREST IN ENGLAND: BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. Part 4.
  • <18>SBC19541 Unpublished document: Oliver Jessop (National Trust). 2000. The Roothouse River, Haymanger Pond and the Home Farm Reservoir: Archaeological Investigations.
  • <19>SBC19576 Article in serial: National Trust. 2001. The National Trust Annual Archaeological Review 2000-2001. No 9. pp56.
  • <20>SBC20024 Unpublished document: Hazel Riley. 2001. Stowe Park, Stowe, Buckinghamshire: An Archaeological Survey by English Heritage (Site Gazetteer). AI/21/2001.
  • <21>SBC20023 Unpublished document: English Heritage. 2001. Stowe Park, Stowe, Buckinghamshire: An Archaeological Survey by English Heritage (Survey Report).
  • <34>SBC22686 Digital archive: Vernacular Architecture Group. 2000 onwards. Vernacular Architecture Group: Dendrochronology Database. VA vol 35, p97.

Location

Grid reference SP 66974 37808 (point)
Civil Parish STOWE, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (1)

Related Events/Activities (1)

  • Event - Intervention: Investigation of the Root-House River, Haymanger Pond and Home Farm Reservior, Stowe Designed Landscape (EBC16243)

Record last edited

Mar 21 2019 11:53AM

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