Landford Wood Mission Hall, Landford, Wiltshire

Summary

Mission hall, 1899.

Description

Mission hall, 1899.

MATERIALS: a timber structure standing on a brick plinth with a tiled roof.

PLAN: the building is rectangular on plan, orientated north-south.

EXTERIOR: a single-storey building with a pitched roof, constructed in box framing with diagonal and vertical weatherboard nogging. Entrance is via a central porch on the south gable end, above which is a metal-framed tripartite casement window with multiple lights. The east and west elevations of the building have similar windows along their length, with textured glass admitting light yet inhibiting views. There is a door on the west side. Rafter feet project from the eaves, and there are two small pitched dormers with trefoil lights on either side of the roof. At the apex of the southern end is a cupola with a domed roof.

INTERIOR: a single space internally, open to the roof. It is clad in vertical matchboarding, with diagonal boarding to the roof. Collar trusses of Oregon pine have elliptical arched braces and moulded hammer-beams. At the north end of the hall is a low dais with a balustrade of moulded timber spindles and newels.

History

The Landford Wood Society was founded in 1889, and originally met at Landford Wood Farm. A dedicated hall was built ten years later, at the expense of, and on land belonging to, Louisa, Lady Ashburton of Melchet Court.

The hall, which cost £300, was designed by surveyors Rawlence and Squarey of Salisbury, and built by Reuben Moody of Landford. Built to accommodate 150, the hall was opened on 8 June 1899; a report in the Hampshire Advertiser County Newspaper describes the occasion, and praises the construction, noting the ‘airy bright appearance’ of the interior. Originally covered in shingles, the roof was replaced with clay tiles in the 1950s. A small extension has been added to the north gable end.

Melchet Court, rebuilt by Lady Ashburton in the 1860s, stands 1500m to the north-east, within extensive parkland, the boundary of which is adjacent to the mission hall. Ashburton was a Scottish art collector who devoted her later life to philanthropy, funding the construction of several buildings and structures with a Christian or social welfare function.

Reasons for Listing

Landford Wood Mission Hall, 1899, is listed at Grade II, for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* a highly distinctive timber construction, where the deployment of materials and method of assembly are of considerable aesthetic appeal, combining rusticity, geometry and eclectic details;
* a simple yet striking interior, with an unusual hammer beam roof structure of high-quality construction.

Historic interest:

* funded by the Scottish art collector and philanthropist Lady Ashburton, in response to the spiritual needs of the small settlement, and built on her land within the Melchet Court Estate.

Group value:

* standing within the boundary of the estate, the building has group value with the nearby Grade II-listed lodges and gates, and with Landford Wood House.

External Links

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