Demolition of 19th century Victorian Gothic house in Nowton, near Bury St Edmunds, prompts debate over its modern replacement
The demolition of a 19th century Victorian Gothic house to be replaced by a modern five-bedroom family home has made national headlines.
The property, known as Dower House at Breckey Ley, Old Town Lane, Nowton, Bury St Edmunds, has been demolished following planning permission from West Suffolk Council.
It will be replaced with a new two-storey, modern family home to include a family kitchen, living and dining rooms and recreational spaces including a piano room, art studio, home office and library. There will also be substantial landscaping work
But the demolition of the original property, built in 1880, has prompted a heated discussion on X (formerly Twitter), and in a national national newspaper, with more than 700 comments.
Critics have condemned both the demolition of the Dower House - and the new home as looking like a ‘crematorium or entrance to a bus station’.
The Dower House ground floor contained a large entrance hall, two living rooms, a dining room, kitchen, scullery and utility room. The two upper levels had eight bedrooms, dressing rooms and two bathrooms.
The house was set in more than 30 acres of fields, with a butler’s pantry and a meat locker as well as a tennis lawn and outdoor swimming pool.
The original planning application to demolish the property, lodged in 2022, also met with resistance from The Victorian Society, the Council for British Archaeology and the Suffolk Preservation Society.
Suffolk Preservation Society stated the home was built by HF Bacon, with other examples of his work including the United Reform Church, Whiting Street and Barclays bank, Abbeygate Street.
They describe it as a ‘heritage asset’ with all ‘significance swept away by the demolition’.
The Victorian Society said the house, owned previously by a prominent banking family for 150 years, represented a ‘reasonably intact example of a small Victorian country house, a building of character and significance and a non-designated heritage asset’.
They described the then proposed demolition as ‘highly concerning’.
The Council for British Archaeology meanwhile objected on the grounds that ‘the significance of the undesignated heritage asset had been understated’ and felt the house had a ‘pleasing symmetrical design, incorporating details such as unusually tall Tudor-style brick work chimney pots, and was ‘rich in historical and evidential value’.
Breckey Ley was originally built for John Henry Oakes in 1880 and was part of the Nowton Estate, associated with Nowton Court, now a retirement home.
West Suffolk Council’s conservation officer however, felt the significance of the property was ‘at the low end of the scale and does not possess any particular architectural quality; and was of overall unremarkable design'.
She felt the new home and plan had the potential for ‘other benefits to the site to outweigh the low level of harm’ from the loss of the Victorian house.
The application states: “To reflect the countryside setting and Victorian heritage of the site, the house will include a modest glasshouse for the clients to grow and display ornamental plants.
“The house will accompany the retained existing ancillary structures on the site - the Lodge and Stables. Permission is sought for several small outbuildings including a single-storey workshop with covered parking and an orangery.
“The design of the proposed gardens and landscaping plays an important role in connecting the new home to the wider landscape. The proposals seek to respect and enhance the natural qualities of the landscape and integrate the new home into this”.
The application also states the original property was in ‘poor condition’.
It has been empty for a number of years.
Critics on X (formerly Twitter) condemned both the demolition and the design of the new home however.
Sarah Hunt Antiques, wrote: “Words fail me. Why didn’t they just buy a building plot to put their ugly office block on? When will people understand that we are only custodians of heritage, not its owners?
Tea,sugar&disappointment wrote: “Oh my God. I wish I was rich so I could just buy that house and save it. If you want to live in a modern soulless box, buy a plot of land and build a bland tasteless box. Don't buy up a beautiful old house and ruin it
Sarah Constable wrote: “OMG I would love an old house like the one on the left. Absolutely criminal that people are allowed to destroy these beautiful houses to put up hideous office blocks that will fall down in 10 years. It will probably have a plastic lawn too
Dean Vickers wrote: “The original house looks grand, has character. The proposed house looks like an entrance to a bus station.”
Critics on a national newspaper said:
MailPlaceAragon: “The council should never have allowed this. The Victorian house was absolutely stunning and, contrary to what one of the people commenting in the article says, they are not uncomfortable to live in - and, with their natural materials, much healthier than stuffy modern houses filled with concrete and plastic.
Snickleway Barghest wrote: “The council granted permission, labelling the original house as having an 'overall unremarkable design' - but then allowed it to be replaced with something even less remarkable and completely devoid of character.
LadyfromShropshire wrote: “Who on earth allowed this to happen??? Local planning department , you should be ashamed of yourselves!!
Some however, were in favour.
Adrian Lenard wrote on X: “An ugly, badly extended Victorian gothic dump replaced by something innovative, comfortable and energy efficient ? How very dare they!
While A.N4056423 wrote: “It was a boring Victorian pile. The Victorian period was not one of the great times for architecture - not like Georgian and Tudor. Just because it is old-ish doesn't make it so.
“We can't live in a museum. As it is several miles from town and appears to be on its own it can't possibly make any difference to anybody else at all. Not that I like the new design much but the Victorian pile would cost a fortune to heat and maintain at a time when we are being told to conserve energy.
Another said: 'It's easy to judge until you've lived in houses like this. I've twice done it, just recently moved out of one & it was a nightmare. Extremely expensive to heat and you're still cold because the windows can't be replaced b/c of conservation areas. Mould, damp, holes in roof etc.”
Henry Hopking, chairman of Nowton Parish Council, said this week: “The planning application associated with this property was initially discussed by Nowton Parish Council in February 2022.
“Councillors at that meeting resolved to support the application, whilst also expressing some concerns, one of which being the materials used and the overall visual impact of the proposed property.
“After the initial planning application where we were able to comment with concerns from the parish, we felt that future planning variances for this application should be entrusted to professionals in planning; hence ‘No Comment’ responses. We continue to be watchful over on-going variances.”
A spokesman for West Suffolk Council said: “The planning application approved over a year ago, was for the demolition of a house that was in a demonstrably poor condition, was not within a Conservation Area and was not a listed building.
“Although it was recognised as a heritage asset, it was of no architectural significance and its condition was such that its repair was not considered economically likely.
“Officers considered the national planning guidance and approved an application for a new home that is highly energy efficient in its design aiming to be achieve net zero carbon emissions.”
