Cassiobury Court, Richmond Drive, Watford, Herts. Desk-based Assessment and Historic Building Appraisal
Year: 2010
Type: report
Abstract: In August 2010, Archaeological Solutions Ltd (AS) carried out a desk-based assessment and historic building appraisal at Cassiobury Court, Richmond Drive, Watford, Hertfordshire. The assessment was undertaken prior to the submission/determination of future planning/listed building consent for proposed alterations to the building. The building was constructed as a stable block to Cassiobury House, one of Hertfordshire's most important great houses, which was torn down in 1927 following the dismembering of the estate. The stable is thus the most substantial surviving vestige of the estate buildings. Technical analysis suggests that the historic core has much earlier origins than the List description would suggest, with brickwork and a roof structure indicative of an early 18th century date. This period is poorly documented, but the work is of the highest quality and possibly by a notable architect. The building was later extended and modified in the Gothic style by James Wyatt from 1799, when the mansion was remodelled and other estate buildings were constructed in like style. The building has suffered from repeated adaptation and remodelling, firstly during its use as a riding school in the 1930s, and latterly as a care home since around 1951. Its original landscape setting is lost. Much of the Wyatt work appears to have been partially or substantially rebuilt. Most fixtures and fittings related to its earlier use as a stable have been comprehensively stripped out, and except for the roof of the main range, little internal historic fabric is now visible except for one or two ephemeral traces.
Source: Archaeology Data Service
DOI: 10.5284/1145325
Language: English
Subfield: History
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7202170263