Building record 0440912000 - The Old Dairy, Cliveden

The former dairy farm was built in two phases within the pleasure grounds of Cliveden House: the small picturesque dairy and associated animal housing were built in the third quarter of the C19, the group being augmented and remodelled in the mid-1890s in an eclectic vernacular style, with lavish use of timber framing and the re-dressing of the stable block in ‘Swiss Chalet' style. Important details regarding the original creation of the complex remain unknown.Construction of the first buildings at some time between 1860 and 1875 leaves the circumstances of the commission in doubt – the patron could have been the 2nd Duchess of Sutherland or the 1st Duke of Westminster; at the same time the architect is unknown, though there is evidence that George Devey may have had some involvement with the site. The 1890s phase was undertaken for William Waldorf Astor by
Frank Loughborough Pearson.
Listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest: - as a lively and successful architectural grouping in the tradition of the ferme ornée, its two phases of
construction producing an eclectic but harmonious whole; - despite some change of use, the agricultural functions of the buildings remain legible.
Historic interest:- the farmstead illustrates a continuing interest in farming as a high-status diversion during the later C19; - the 1890s remodelling by Frank Loughborough Pearson adds to the interest of the complex; Pearson undertook other works for Astor at Cliveden and elsewhere, both with his father John Loughborough Pearson and independently; - for its association with Cliveden House, for centuries a rural retreat for nationally significant persons.
Group value: - the farmstead belongs to the highly significant group formed by the buildings and landscape of Cliveden House: the house itself is listed at Grade I as is the registered park and garden. Numerous other listed structures include the stables built by Henry Clutton in 1861 (Grade II+, the C18 Octogon Temple by Giacomo Leoni, converted to a chapel by the Pearsons in the 1890s (Grade I), and several cottages by George Devey, listed at Grade II. [Further details](B36).