In the last years of the eighteenth century, Shute Barrington, Bishop of Salisbury, commissioned James Wyatt to carry out repairs to Salisbury Cathedral. In an act that would be described as ‘outrageous’ by later generations, Wyatt removed an ancient porch. The Dean and Chapter, recognising that prominent citizen Henry Penruddocke Wyndham knew how to ‘appreciate such curious monuments of antiquity’, presented him with the ‘elegant remnant’ which he re-erected as a feature in his garden.
The porch is said to have started life as part of a cross in Old Sarum, and was reused as the north porch when the present cathedral was constructed in New Sarum, or Salisbury, in around 1250. According to local histories, the ‘miserably truncated’ cross was covered with a flat roof of lead and functioned as a porch for five centuries until Shute Barrington’s renovations in the late eighteenth century.
As the title photograph shows, the garden ornament is looking a little battered in its old age, but happily an enchanting array of images record its appearance when first moved to its new home.
Wyndham’s family home was St Edmund’s College, a former ecclesiastical building later converted into a private residence. The garden had been laid out to an undated plan by the landscape designer Richard Woods (1715-1793). Woods had suggested that a summerhouse might be placed in a corner of the garden, with a view to the house and church, so Wyndham (1736-1819) knew the perfect spot for the summerhouse and eye-catcher he created by embellishing the ancient cross.
It was Wyatt himself who oversaw the taking down of the porch and its re-erecting in Wyndham’s garden. The porch was dismantled in May 1791 and carted to Wyndham’s grounds. During the summer Wyatt’s masons carved 2 pinnacles (the others were presumably salvaged from the cathedral works) and cut stone to make the spire, with work complete by September when Wyatt submitted his bill for £33.7.6.
A Latin inscription on a sheet of lead was placed over the east arch inside the building. It is long gone, but it is known to have recorded that the porch was rebuilt in Wyndham’s garden in 1791, having formerly stood in Old Sarum and then at Salisbury Cathedral.
Wyndham’s house and grounds were sold in the late nineteenth century, with much of the land being developed for housing. The house and ten acres of garden were purchased by the Reverend George Hugh Bourne, who lived there until his death in 1925.
In 1927, on the 700th anniversary of Salisbury receiving its charter, the house and grounds on Bourne Hill were purchased by the city to create new municipal offices. The park was opened to the public and the porch, by now shaded by trees, became known to some locally as the Devil’s Arch.
Earlier this year work was carried out to restore the porch (grade II). Rusting iron clamps were removed, and old cement repairs were replaced with lime mortar. Note that although local histories date the porch to the days of Old Sarum, the information boards in Bourne Hill Gardens call it the ’15th Century Porch’.
This remarkable survival deserves to be better known, so do visit if you are in the area. Bourne Hill Gardens (grade II) are always open. Bourne Hill continues to house offices of Wiltshire County Council. St Edmund’s Church is now an arts centre.
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Patrick says:
I will definitely visit when next in Salisbury
Editor says:
Good morning Patrick. Just one more thing to add to the list of delights Salisbury has to offer.
Carrie Jaffe says:
And so shall I. Thank you as always for a joyful Saturday morning read. Always a pleasure to wake up to.
Editor says:
Thank you Carrie. Really appreciate your kind words.
John Davies says:
It’s a nice adornment to the garden; but it’s fascinating how all the drawings and paintings made it look larger and more imposing than the more stumpy reality, which is actually more appealing I think.
Editor says:
Hello John. Definitely a little artistic licence, I think, but a delight to be able to find so many views of the building. Shame the pinnacles are missing, but I guess they would just be a target for vandals. Shame.
TOM GARDNER says:
TOM (NYC)
YOUR CURRENT ARTICLE IS THE ‘INSPIRATION’ FOR MY OWN … ‘OFFERING’.
AS A – SEMI-RETIRED, 80 YEAR OLD ANTIQUES DEALER, I TOO, HAD A ‘GOTHIC’
BRONZE ‘SPIRE’ ( ‘HAD’ – BEING THE KEY – TO THAT WHICH FOLLOWS).
FOR NO OTHER REASON *** HONEST *** SHOULD ONE CHOSE TO VIEW THE FROMER COLLECTION; I – ALONG WITH MY 50 YEAR ‘PARTNER, HAD THE GOOD LUCK TO HAVE THE NYC APT. (IN ITS ‘GLORY DAYS’) APPEAR IN A PUBLICATION.
ENOUGH! SIMPLY GOOGLE: SHELDON BARR AND TOM GARDNER
ONCE HAVING VIEWED THE SPOT, ONE CAN UNDERSTAND – MY AFFECTION FOR YOUR MOST WONDERFUL … ‘CALLING’.
HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY SEASON.
TOM
Editor says:
Good evening Tom. I have found the online article and I can see that minimalism is not your ‘thing’! Great apartment and I particularly like the wonderful obelisk.
Alison says:
Dear Flaneuse – thank you so much for publishing this! Have often driven down the hill past the council offices on my way to the ‘steam laundry’ Salt Lane carpark. Next time I will certainly go and look for the porch!!
Editor says:
Good evening Alison. Ah yes, I saw the lovely Steam Laundry sign as we were hunting for a parking space. Another Salisbury treasure. Enjoy finding the porch.
Rosemary Hill says:
Well it certainly should be better known -not least by me because if I had known about it I’d have put it in my antiquaries’ book Time’s Witness -but thank you, it’s thrilling to know about it now and I will definitely visit.
Merry Xmas
Editor says:
Good morning Rosemary. Understandably, visitors to Salisbury are drawn to the glorious Cathedral and the delights of its Close, but a detour to Bourne Hill Gardens is worth the short walk.
J says:
I enjoyed sitting in this retreat many times in the 1940s, despite London Road, it was a pleasant resting place Thank you for this fascinating article.
Editor says:
Good morning. I like that you call it a retreat, and I am pleased that you enjoyed some quiet moments there. Thank you for taking the time to let me know that you enjoyed the article.