C O N T E X T 1 1 5 : J U LY 2 0 1 0 21 acceded. Some months later the hall acquired a new owner, whose first question was: ‘How much new building can I put on site?’ Large blocks by the lake and big private houses forward of the two principal façades (which involved breaching an 18th century listed wall) were proposed. The proposals of the next owners, following detailed site and historical studies, were comprehensive, well thought-out and sensitive. The hall, with its principal rooms reinstated, would become the centre of an over-55s retirement village. The toilet blocks would be removed, as would the ugly 1900 servants’ wing. This wing was to be replaced by another attached block, subtly opening up the previously covered east façade and containing the exit of the necessary fire escape staircase from the hall. New retirement units would still be needed. Some of them would be in the hall’s upper floors, long ago converted into flats for academic staff; some in listed outbuildings; others replacing the concrete garage range (whose demolition concerned English Heritage) burnt down by students. Some would screen the new housing estate, elevated up to three metres above original ground level because the rubble from the institutional blocks had been kept on site. One would be built innovatively in glass across the service pond, screening new housing and providing a visual stop to the view from the stables arch (carefully rebuilt after a double-decker bus attempted to pass through it in 2001). Purchasing the car park beyond the south lawn from the housing developer had solved the problem of vehicular access. The unrecorded intentions of Wigley’s 18th century landscaping of the tree-flanked lawn can only be deduced. One option was that the lawn would open out so that the hall could enjoy a borrowed landscape of the fields beyond, which are soon to absorb more housing. The alternative was that the flanking woodland would close across the lawn, affording mere glimpses of the hall through it. The former would have made the south façade public, the latter would have given privacy and a sense of secrecy. The far end of the lawn, shown open on late 19th century maps, was by the late 20th century a car park. The local planning authority had rebuffed ideas of building six standard houses on it, but did agree to two carefully designed symmetrical houses, purportedly to echo lodge cottages. These left a central viewpoint to the south front of the hall, allowing it to be glimpsed for the first time for a century. Now, controversially, two longer blocks were proposed at the far end of the 160m-long south lawn, backing up to the flanking woodland and leaving a wide central aspect to the south front. English Heritage, objecting in total, asked for the applications to be called in. Its concerns were that the proposals should be considered as enabling development; that any new build was unacceptable in principle and was not justified; and that a third marketing exercise should be undertaken for a single residential owner. It was concerned about the highly detrimental impact on the grounds (which it described as registered II*) and on the setting of the hall and church. Of its former 100 acres less than 10 remain, the westward spread of Leicester having now reached the village and overtaken the hall. Following a public inquiry, the inspector found in favour of all the proposed points, accepting on balance the two blocks on the south lawn. He found that the proposals did accord with local and regional plans; that they were not enabling development; and that they would make a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the conservation area. The proposed change of use would result in the sensitive restoration and conversion of the buildings, ensuring their retention and preservation. The demolition of the servants’ wing would be beneficial to the massing and appearance of the hall. The contemporary glass design of a block on stilts over the utilitarian pond, he found, would be a dramatic visual contrast, affording an unexpected degree of surprise and visual interest, adding to the architectural vocabulary of the environs of Scraptoft Hall. The new use for this building and its remaining grounds will have saved this fine early Georgian building in its 21st century setting, and opened up views to it for everyone to enjoy. The rare clairevoie to the west front, unaffected by any of the new proposals, will remain as it has been for over 250 years. The south front will now be visible from the public lane and its symmetry empathised by the corridor vista towards it. The contemporary glass block across the pond, designed to be a dramatic backstop hiding the housing estate when first seen from the stables arch, will transform a view that has previously always been utilitarian. RosalindWillatts is a former conservation officer with Harborough District Council. Left: Student accommodation dating from the 1960s behind the hall Right: Burnt-out garages on the site of the former farmyard
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