Building record 0286602000 - SAWMILL HOUSE

Dimensions - Width 13m, Length 13m.
Plan Form - Square.
The main building on the site is now [1976/1977] a private house (B7).
'It is proposed to erect an elegant lodge…opposite the saw mill' 1797 (B2).
Grade II+. Late C18. Flint rubble with red brick dressings. 2 storeys & basement. North & south fronts each of 3 bays. Red brick cornice, hipped old tiled roof. West front has 2 arched panels & angle piers. Flanking 3 storey pavilions of flint rubble with red brick quoins, double stringcourse and semi-circular 1st floor windows; linked to main block by arcaded walls. An unusual & ambitious design. Illustrated Bolton (B8).
The building known as Sawmill House at West Wycombe was originally an industrial timber mill and one of the earliest to be designed in a classical style. It stands on the River Wye to the east of the lake and until the late 19th century it provided timber for the estate and hop poles for the estate brewery. Latterly the building became a residence. The Sawmill comprises three structures in brick and flint displaying few classical influences which presumably enforced some considerable modifications to the water course from the Cascade. The central mill house and the flanking pavilions are symmetrical, three storeys high and linked by arcaded parapets. The hipped roofs were originally surmounted by gigantic statues: William Penn above the mill and a haymaker and his wife above the side pavilions. These were criticised by Repton as 'instances of false scale' and removed c1800 (B12-14).