Portland House, C20

Summary

Meditteranean - style dwelling house of 1935 by Gerald Wellesley and Trenwith Wills. On two levels set into the hillside. White rendered London brick and Dutch pantile in 'L'-shape.

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Description

Meditteranean - style dwelling house on two levels set into the hillside. White rendered London brick and Dutch pantile in 'L' - shape plan.
From a document left by Dorothy Bushby now in the keeping of the HBR dept, Wessex Region, the early history of the site and many of the specifications are known in some detail.
The location of the house was determined by the desire for a sea view ( and undoubtedly the best vantage point for appreciating the house as a whole is from Portland Harbour itself). The site, including the lodge, garage and stables were bought by Geoffrey Henry Bushby, of Wormley Manor, Herts. in January 1932 from Major H. Groves.
The house was designed by Lord Gerald Wellesley, FRIBA and Trenwith Wills, FRIBA, to be built on two levels on sloping ground. The builders were Turner and Payne of High Road, North Finchley, London.
The foundations were started in November 1934 and building finished in October 1935. The foundations are said to be exceptionally deep and were of Portland stone chippings laid in blue and yellow clay. The inner cavity walls are of Poole lime and sand bricks, the outer walls of white London bricks rendered in off-white cement. The roof is of Dutch pantiles, the spares being stored in the stable.
The staff wing was specifically built for Bushby's married couple who had looked after him for many years. Hilliers Nurseries of Winchester were responsible for laying out the grounds which included a rockery of fossil trees and calcite crystals quarried on Portland. Miss Bushby also stated that the well head is Istrian ( Italy) and of the 17th century. The entrance gates are of Sussex pig-iron made in 1810 and the small round-headed gate at the east end of the house was designed by Wellesley and made by W. Clarke. Apparently the boundary wall of white brick replaced old iron railing, presumably from the earlier house.
A wealth of detail remains concerning fixtures, fittings and even the colours used. Aside from the Staffordshire tiles used on the stairs there are green Kolmarden ( Sweden) marble tiles to window cills and bathroom fittings and tiles by W.N. Fray Ltd of London. The paint on the front door and windows was Delphinium blue by Goodlass Wall and Co., Valspar paint, and during Miss Bushby's occupation she assured us that the original colours were traditionally retained and repainting carried out by R.G. Spiller and sons, Fleet Street, Beaminster.
The dump waiter was installed by Hammond and Champness and the central heating and plumbing was by Jeffreys and Sons Ltd. Later modifications include Pillinger Oil-fired heating by Benham and Sons, British Hermeseal draught excluders on outside doors and door and window locks installed in 1974.
Although externally, and perhaps the main stair are Mediterranean in inspiration the interior fittings generally appear to be in the early 18th century idiom. The doors are six-panelled with bolection-moulded architraves; the bolection moulding also features in the skirting boards, and somewhat in the eclectic living room fireplace, and the dining room dado rail. Ascent of the main stair is aided by thick braided ropes in brackets either side. Detailed drawings of elaborate scrolled and moulded handrails were made by Trenwith Wills in 1959 to replace the ropes but these remained unexecuted.
The plan too, is deceptive. On entering the central loggia into the stair hall there is an impressive view of a grand stair with double doors at the top leading to what might be ab equally grand room. There is however, no grand room but the rear terrace. All the rooms in the house are fairly small, not living up to the initial expectations of the stair hall, with one exception, the living room with its false fireplace ( most of the rooms are heated by ( electric?) wall heaters).
The overall impression from the house is that this was a place for entertaining guests. The bathrooms and bedrooms spill over onto the ground floor, and seem almost crammed into the available space.
The kitchen once contained a closed range but is surprisingly small, considering the potential number of guests.
Wellesley's plan was slightly modified in the building and at ground floor level three proposed door openings along the south and east elevation were seemingly bricked up after they were put in. The living room door (3) now opens onto a blank wall as does door 8 in the dining room. The space behind the latter was cleverly adapted for use as a drinks cabinet.
The study simply has a shallow recess in place of its loggia door. Perhaps it was felt that the plan contained too many doors. Bedroom 1 alone has six doors, two of those exterior.
One other minor change was the number of windows in the service wing. An extra window was added to the servants bedroom where on the plan the second window was shared with the servants bathroom.
Some damage was done to the house during the war. The roof was holed in the bombing of 1940, which also blew out all the windows. The lobby doors ( D1) at the bottom of the main stairs were blown off their hinges.
After Miss Bushby's hip operation her mobility was reduced. Consequently bedroom 4 was converted to an upstairs sitting room by the washbasin being removed. Miss Bushby states this item was stored in the harness room of the stables.
The house was given to the National Trust in June 1970.

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