Clandon Park: Clash over restoration of fire-hit stately home

An intense fire destroyed the house in 2015 - only one room survived

A stately home in Surrey destroyed by fire nearly a decade ago is at the centre of a clash between the National Trust and splinter group Restore Trust.

Clandon Park will be discussed at the National Trust annual general meeting with Restore Trust demanding the Marble Hall and other interiors be restored.

Trustees said the damage was so great only one room could be repaired.

The future of the house has generated media headlines with rows over the National Trust itself.

Constance Watson, a member of the family that donated the house, has hit out at the lack of restoration and in 2021 wrote about the National Trust's handling of the property's links to slavery.

The fire at the Grade I listed, 18th Century home near Guildford in 2015 burned through floors and ceilings and spread through voids.

About 80 firefighters tackled the blaze as crews fought to save valuable antiques.

Later, investigators said the fire was probably caused by an electrical fault.

One room - the Speakers' Parlour on the ground floor - survived almost intact, along with a chimney piece designed in the 1720s by the architect of the house, Giacomo Leoni.

The Speakers' Parlour was the only room that survived

Restore Trust researcher Oliver Clement claimed the National Trust should be "focused on preserving historic houses, maintaining the land that's in their care and we think that the focus has somewhat shifted".

But the National Trust said: "We do not believe that a restoration is the right thing to do at Clandon, because we would lose the layers of the building and the history which we have discovered since the fire, and which are unique."

Its planned "laid-bare" design is intended to offer visitors an X-ray view of the structure in its fire-damaged state, with suspended walkways and platforms.

The National Trust board recommended members vote against Restore Trust's resolution at the upcoming annual general meeting in Swindon on 11 November.

A report said hidden voids would have allowed the fire to spread

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