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Doncaster Mansion House
History and development
Presentation by Helen Hutchinson
• Helen thanked Bob Fitzharris for his kind introduction and invitation to speak
at the James Paine Launch Event
• Helen speaks as an architect not an historian; her work in the study and
analysis of historic buildings or areas, is through understanding how they
were built, how their plan, form and detail has evolved. In this Helen is
supported by parallel research into documentary sources. That way, we
build a holistic understanding, attempting to define the essence of a place.
That way, when we intervene in an historic building, we can work with it and
avoid the risk of damaging its essential characteristics. As Donald Insall
says, ensuring that we make each building more itself.
• And that is how Helen came to be involved with Doncaster Mansion House,
through the production of a Conservation Plan in 2003.
• So, what is a Mansion House and how does it differ from a town hall or
assembly room?
• The Georgian era saw considerable changes in local government and the
creation of new buildings to house them. Until the 18th century Parliament
and government in London was housed in rambling ancient buildings in and
around Whitehall and Westminster. In the same way many local
Corporations like that at Doncaster operated out of churches, inns and
houses.
Blandford Forum Town Hall, with meeting
rooms above an arcaded ground floor
Georgian Mansion Houses
• Blandford Forum
• Early town halls were often modelled on prototypes such as guildhalls and
markets. The typical form was a meeting room supported on a colonnade
above an open sided covered market.
• Although town halls were sometimes used for hosting entertainments, it was
common practice to hire rooms in a local inn or private house for such
events. The town hall was primarily for meetings of the members and did not
generally provide accommodation for the mayor.
• In some towns a mansion house was built as well or instead of a town hall,
for the mayor to carry out his duties; to host formal dinners and
entertainments and sometimes as his official residence. The model for such
buildings was invariably that of a substantial town house, both in appearance
and internal layout.
Floor Plans Elevation of York Mansion House
Georgian Mansion Houses
• York Mansion House elevation and floor plans
• In England it is York which boasts the first purpose built mansion house,
dating from 1730-32. The plan of York’s Mansion House is essentially that
of a large town house with a state room on the first floor
• York’s mansion house is attributed to William Etty, who is known to have
subscribed to William Kent’s book, the Designs of Inigo Jones published in
1727. As you will see, there are strong similarities between the plan of the
York Mansion House and that at Doncaster.
• The plan at York is simple, with a central entrance leading to a main stair to
the rear, a service stair to the side, large ballroom or banquet room upstairs
at the front with drawing rooms behind.
City of London Mansion House
Georgian Mansion Houses
• City of London Mansion House
• The most outstanding Georgian mansion house is probably that in the City
of London designed by George Dance the Elder in 1737 and completed in
1752. Here the plan form is derived from designs by Andrea Palladio for a
large palazzo designed around an internal courtyard.
• Its front elevation resembles contemporary country houses while the side
elevations and the dramatic rooftop pavilions perhaps hark back to Inigo
Jones’s Witon House built some 100 years previously.
Palladianism and Neo Classism
Villa Rotunda, Vicenza
Queen’s House, Greenwich
• Palladianism and Neo Classicism
• You will have noticed that Helen has referred now to Andrea Palladio and to
Inigo Jones a couple of times and it is time to look briefly at the architectural
influences on James Paine.
• Palladio stood out among Italian architects of the mid-16th century, for
rejecting the complex dynamic mannerism of his contemporaries such as
Michelangelo. Instead he looked back to Vitruvius, the ancient Roman
author whose work had been rediscover in the 1400s and which inspired
early Renaisance architects.
• Palladio’s publication “The Four Books of Architecture” had wide influence
beyond Italy. You can see here one of his most famous buildings, the Villa
Rotunda. It employs pure geometric forms, a restrained use of the classical
orders and repose. It has a deceptive simplicity and repose.
• Inigo Jones, was a solitary trail blazer for Palladio’s style in England in the
years before the Civil War. Renaissance architecture had limited impact
here before his time and had generally been a pick and mix approach.
Jones was the architect of the Queens House in Greenwich and the
Banqueting House in Whitehall. He harked back to Palladio’s work of the
previous century.
Palladianism and Neo Classism
Castle Howard, c1699-1709, John VanbroughBy Pwojdacz
• Energetic baroque - Castle Howard
• After the Restoration of the Monarchy it was the Baroque style, then popular
throughout mainland Europe, which prevailed for most buildings of
significance in England. This style is exemplified in the work of Wren,
Hawksmore and Vanbrough
Palladianism and Neo Classism
Stourhead, Wiltshire by Colen Campbell
illustrated in Vitruvius Britanicus
• Stourhead, Wiltshire by Colen Campbell illustrated in Vitruvius
Britanicus
• A sudden change in the tide of fashion occurred in 1715, coinciding with the
start of the Georian era, when two books were published. One was a
translation of Palladio’s Four Books of Architecture and the other was a
book titled Vitruvius Britanicus by Colen Campbell. This new trend had the
effect of turning the architectural clock back by 100 years, starting again
where Inigo Jones had left off.
• The next generation of architects made the Palladian Revival their own.
Among its key proponents were Robert Taylor, John Carr of York, the two
John Woods of Bath and of course, James Paine.
• By the 1750s the impact of archaeology became a factor in architectural
taste and Neo Classicism began to displace the Palladian style.
• Controversy raged over the merits of Roman or Greek design, the Greek
seen by opposing sides as either as pure or primitive, and the Roman as
either sophisticated or decadent. Some architects chose simply to take
inspiration from any source.
Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire by Paine but re-worked by Adam.
This elevation was inspired by a triumphal arch.
Palladianism and Neo Classism
• Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire. Originally by Paine but re-worked by Adam
• Among these were Robert Adam, followed as the century progressed by
James and Samuel Wyatt and Henry Holland. All these architects took
elements of the Palladian tradition and adapted it to incorporate the new
ideas emerging from study of Greek and Roman buildings outside of Italy.
As fashions changed poor James Paine suffered the indignity of many of his
houses being redecorated by Robert Adam.
• Towards the close of the 18th century architects began to combine the
elements of Classicism in yet new the new Regency style was emerging.
This with its roots in Palladianism and Neo Classicism, but increasingly
eclectic, inspired also by Gothic and Picturesque sensibilities and the
rapidly changing social conditions of early 19th century Britain.
Key Individuals
James Paine (1717 – 1789)
• So after setting the architectural context let’s look at the architect of this
building, James Paine. Here is a portrait of James Paine
• James Paine (1717–1789) was a prolific country house architect based in
Yorkshire during the mid-18th century.
• The son of a carpenter from Andover and probably trained at St Martin’s
Academy and his first commission was as clerk of works at Nostell Priory,
an early Palladian style country house not far from here near Wakefield.
The work took seven years and established Paine in Yorkshire.
• Between 1745 and 1770 Paine was involved in the design or alteration of
over 30 country houses. During that time he took over the established
practice of Daniel Garrett. Other well known houses that are associated with
Paine include additional buildings at Chatsworth and the original designs for
Keddleston. He is widely regarded as one of the great architects of the
Palladian Revival.
• He combined his Northern practice with London based appointments,
including the post of Clerk of Works to the Queens House at Greenwich
(that building crops up yet again!). He took a grand tour in Italy, and seems
to have preferred the interpretations of classical architecture by Palladio and
other Renaissance architects as his inspiration, rather than ancient Roman
buildings.
South Parade, William Lindley’s
Doncaster home
Key Individuals
• The other key architect for the Mansion House was William Lindley.
• William Lindley (1739-1818) began his professional career as an assistant
to John Carr of York, where he worked for some 20 years. He was
responsible for several public buildings in Doncaster, including a theatre, a
gaol and the grandstand at the racecourse.
• He designed and remodelled several houses in Yorkshire and adjoining
counties. Among his surviving buildings here in Doncaster, is his own house
in South Parade (1797). This elegant terrace would not look out of place in
Cheltenham or any other fashionable town of the period.
• His designs could be described as rather conservative, perhaps suited to
the provincial tastes of his clients and their modest means. He continued to
work in the style he had learned from John Carr, and had much in common
with the tastes of Adam.
• And the final known architect involved at the Mansion House is William
Hurst (1787-1844). He was born in Doncaster and trained under William
Lindley. The architectural practice took the name Woodhead and Hurst
following Linley’s death. Hurst was also a town councillor and in 1827 was
mayor of Doncaster. Other names associated with the building are Joseph
Rose, the plasterer and the contractor John Thompson, later Anelays of
York.
Medieval Doncaster showing the castle
in the North-East, The Great North
Road, Carmelite Priory and Market
Georgian Doncaster
• Medieval Doncaster
• Medieval Doncaster showing the defensive fort/castle site in the northeast.
The Great North Road, market and Carmelite Priory can also be seen
• As you might guess, Doncaster has its origin as a Roman fort at the
crossing of the River Don on the route from Lincoln to York.
• The same site was chosen by the Normans for the construction of the now
long lost Doncaster Castle. The Mediaeval town grew up mainly to the south
of the castle, clustering on the Great North Road and around the market
place.
• There were two religious foundations within the town limits, a Franciscan
Friary to the north and a Carmelite Friary in the south west.
Doncaster in 1828 with the Mansion
House shown on High Street
Georgian Doncaster
• Georgian Doncaster
• Georgian Doncaster was a medium sized market town on the immensely
important coaching route linking London, to York and Edinburgh. It was
home to the racecourse where the famous St Leger was first held in 1778.
The town corporation was based in the former St Mary’s church in the
market place. Civic events and banquets were held in rented premises,
such as private houses and inns.
• But by 1730 this was no longer considered adequate. A new building would
allow grander entertainments and increase the towns attraction for local
gentry and other visitors, so boosting prosperity.
• Land was bought on the west side of High Street, a garden occupying part
of the two and a half acres which made up the Carmelite Friary until its
dissolution in the 1530s. The young architect, James Paine was appointed
in 1744.Work commenced in 1745 and the building completed in 1749 with
the decoration finished a year later.
James Paine’s original design
Elevation with wings
• James Paine’s original design
• Paine’s original design was highly ambitious, with a large central block
housing the main entrance sequence and first floor banqueting or ball room,
and two flanking wings with ancillary and domestic accommodation; a
typical Palladian design as seen on a larger scale in many Palladian country
houses but here compressed to an urban site.
James Paine’s original design
Original historic plan, principle (first) floor
• Proposed plan with wings
• His design for the Mansion House was never fully implemented. The
Corporation did not purchase the adjoining houses on the High Street
necessary for the implementation of the flanking wings. However the main
central block and its magnificent kitchen wing to the rear was built and
closely follows the designs published by Paine shortly after its completion.
James Paine’s original design
Imperial stair and Venetian window
• Staircase and window
• The plan was compact and elegant in its simplicity. Paine was well known
for his ability to design well planned, manageable houses that catered to the
needs of the minor aristocracy while still providing the fashionable
architectural setting they demanded. He was also admired for his ability to
design staircases, always a complex three-dimensional exercise. Both of
these talents are evident at the Mansion House.
James Paine’s original design
Ground Floor plan as built
• Ground floor plan as published
• The front of the building is dominated at first floor by the large Ballroom,
Behind it are the Main Stair, a service stair and ancillary rooms for small
events, card playing and for men and women to withdraw after dinner.
Linked to the building via a colonnade was the Great Kitchen, carefully
designed to mirror the symmetry of the main building.
James Paine’s original design
Front elevation as published
• Front elevation as published
• The exterior of the Mansion House facing onto the High Street was, and is,
a fine example of the Palladian Revival style. A rusticated base supports a
tall first floor featuring paired columns in the composite order, supporting a
wide pediment.
• The central window is in the form of a Venetian window or Serliana; an
arched opening flanked by narrower rectangular openings. This feature
marks the central axis of the building’s symmetry and is repeated through
the interior and staircase
• The heavily rusticated base incorporates a central doorway flanked by
blocked columns. The ground floor is in fact rather squat compared to
Paine’s drawings, with a shallow arch in place of an entablature above the
door shown here.
James Paine’s original design
Part of Inigo Jones’ unbuilt
scheme for Whitehall Palace
• Part of Inigo Jones’ unbuilt scheme for Whitehall Palace
• Similarities between Paine’s design for the Mansion House and an
unexecuted design by Inigo Jones for Whitehall Palace are striking. Today
plagiarism may be scorned but the use of published sources, as inspiration
for a new building, was accepted practice at this time. Indeed by doing so
both the architect and the building were elevated by association with a past
master.
James Paine’s original design
Ballroom elevation as published
• Ballroom elevation
• The interiors of Palladian revival buildings varied in their treatment
attempting to imitate Roman precedents for which there was, at the time, no
evidence The spaces were often designed in mathematical proportions
defined by classical and renaissance precedent but with a variety of
decorative treatments. The Ballroom has timeless and elegant proportions
of a double cube.
• The decoration shown in his published scheme is highly ornate and almost
Baroque in feel, with heavy flowing scrolls, swags and drapery, Figures and
billowing clouds. The decoration implemented was less elaborate, and of
distinctly Rococo character, flowing and energetic but rather more
restrained.
Ballroom details
James Paine’s original design
Photographed by Colin Barnes
• Ballroom photographs
• The main focal point of the decoration is in the Ballroom and the Main
Staircase, with perhaps the ceiling of the Ballroom its climax. Although the
same character is carried throughout the building, as seen in the drawing
room ceiling and hall lamp brackets.
Door, door case and lamp
brackets in Vestibule
Rococo ceiling decoration of
the Imperial Staircase
James Paine’s original design
James Paine’s original design
The interior design and external architecture form a seamless whole
• Ballroom Window
• Here you can see how the main elevation and interior of the ballroom share
the same architectural treatment. The Mansion House has great
architectural integrity, unlike some later Neo-Classical building where the
interior and exterior often did not relate to each other, requiring the use of
contrivances such as blind windows to force symmetry on the elevation.
Original Ground Floor Plan
Original First Floor Plan
Evolution of the Mansion House
• Plans showing original as built layout.
• So here are simplified plans of Paine’s Mansion House as originally built.
The front of the building is to the left .
• On the ground floor were various offices, the large kitchen to the rear
reached via the long covered corridor. Visitors mounted the imperial stair
which splits, turns back on itself and lead towards the ballroom. Either side
are drawings rooms and to the side a service stair.
Street Views; external character of the building alters
from the original Palladian to suit more Neo Classical
tastes
Pre 1800 street view 1826 street view
Evolution of the Mansion House
• Regency extensions and alterations
• Sixty years passed before substantial alterations were made to the Mansion
House, possibly to coincide with a visit to the races by the Prince Regent
and the Duke of Clarence (later George IV and William IV). The alterations
were designed by the local architect William Lindley.
• Pre 1800 street view and 1826 view. The external character of the building
is now more in keeping with late Georgian or Regency tastes.
• First, in 1800, Lindley was commissioned to remove the pediment and
replace it with an attic storey crowned with urns and the Corporation’s arms.
This work was carried out in 1801 and it is believed that the original
stonework was rendered and painted at this time. When seen from within
the roof space much of the pediment is still in place, with the new windows
built on top or punched through the earlier structure.
• Until this time the plot to the north Of the Mansion House, where Paine had
planned one of two symmetrical wings, was occupied by a house of 17th
Century appearance. In 1801 the Corporation bought the old house and
planned its demolition. A new house facing the High Street was completed
and occupied by 1805. Seen here to the right of the Mansion House
Dining RoomPhotographed by Colin Barnes
Evolution of the Mansion House
• Dining room photographs
• In 1806 a new first floor Dining Room was built to the rear of the Mansion
House, also by Lindley. The new Dining Room is slightly longer and
narrower than the original Ballroom, but not as tall It is less imposing but
none the less has elegant proportions. Its decoration is in a light Regency
style, with dainty geometrical mouldings, contrasting with the flowing Rocco
work of Paine.
Original Ground Floor Plan (1745)
Evolution of the Mansion House
Ground Floor Plan in 1806
Evolution of the Mansion House
Original First Floor Plan (1745)
Evolution of the Mansion House
First Floor Plan in 1806
Evolution of the Mansion House
• Plans as built followed by plans in 1806 showing changes. Flick back and
forth to “animate” the coloured areas. Green house is 1 Priory Place.
• The original service stair was replaced and one drawing room enlarged to
create a large saloon.
• At ground floor the kitchen link corridor was replaced and a new stair was
created linking the dining room to the kitchens.
• You will see that as part of this work the Mansion House expanded outside
its original plot and became interlinked with the new house indicating that 1
Priory Place was constructed primarily with the Mansion House expansion
in mind.
• Lindley was careful to reinforce the classical rules of space planning in his
work and created a new secondary axis, with the Dining Room centred on
one of the side doors to the Ballroom. This created an enfilade, a long view
through the newly formed saloon to the dining room.
1 2 31 – 3 Priory Place
Evolution of the Mansion House
• Mid 19th century changes
• 1-3 Priory Place
• In around 1830 a new side street was created running back from the High
Street, named Priory Place, presumably after the Carmelite Friary. The rear
garden adjacent to the Mansion House was used for the development and
the street was filled a unified terrace of houses by Woodhead and Hurst.
You can see here number 1 on High Street, the lower number 2 and taller
number 3.
• Plans of building as at 1805/6 and coloured plan of 1830s additions /
changes. Flick between the two to animate the changes.
• The first two of the new houses on Priory Place, like the earlier house on
High Street, interlinked with the Mansion House. Number 3 has no staircase
of its own, rather it uses the stair built in 1806 linking the great kitchen to the
dining room. This house may have been occupied by the house keeper and
butler to the Mansion House. Other evidence suggests that it provided
offices for the town clerk. Windows were added to the earlier house, now
known as 1 Priory Place, when the new street was created.
First Floor Plan in 1806
Evolution of the Mansion House
First Floor Plan in 1831
Evolution of the Mansion House
The amazing detail of the 1851 map shows the interior of public
buildings including the Mansion House and 3 Priory Place
Evolution of the Mansion House
• The amazing detail of the 1851 map shows the interior of public buildings
including the Mansion House and 3 Priory Place
• The use of these domestic buildings to support the Mansion House points to
the strength of Paine’s original design which incorporated ancillary side
wings. I wonder if anyone in the town corporation regretted not being bolder
back in the 1740s when they had the chance to build the whole scheme?
• The later 19th and early 20th century changes
• The last significant alteration to the Mansion House was undertaken in
1864.
• A link was formed across the back of the Mansion House, behind the main
staircase, creating a space now known as the Buffet. The Venetian Window
that lit the Main Stair was moved to the new back wall and an opening in the
same Venetian form was used to allow light and views through to the stairs.
This attractive new, top lit space copied the original decorative scheme in its
detail. The architect for this work was John Butterfield, the Borough Steward
Evolution of the Mansion House
First Floor Plan in 1864
Evolution of the Mansion House
View from the Main Stair through the Buffet
• View from the Main Stair through the Buffet
• Intervening in this central part of the Mansion House was a bold move but it
was carefully done; retaining the central axis of symmetry, the flow of light
and repeating the use of the Serliana motif.
• This extension is at first floor only and is supported on four large cast iron
columns.
• Other work from this period onwards can best be described as ad-hoc
tinkering. At some point in the closing years of the 19th or early 20th century,
a set of gentlemen’s toilets were constructed below part of the Buffet,
encapsulating two of the iron columns.
• Ground floor flick book for 1864-1910
Evolution of the Mansion House
Ground Floor Plan in 1864
Evolution of the Mansion House
Ground Floor Plan in 1910 Ground Floor Plan in 1910
Modern Times
Unfortunate additions to the rear of the Mansion House
and Buffet
• Modern times
• Courtyard elevation
• The last century has seen only modest changes. Sheds and outhouses
have appeared in the small yard areas. Flues and ducts sadly mar the
courtyard wall. A corrugated iron air raid shelter was created in the cellar.
• More importantly the Mansion House took on more and more of the
functions associated with a town hall. Rooms changed their function, for
instance with the dining room becoming the main council chamber.
• The Peace Window
• The most attractive modern contribution to the building is the Peace
Window commemorating the International Year for Peace in 1986.
Modern Times
The Peace Window
Photographed by Colin Baily
The Mansion House today
The Mansion House elevation to High Street as
seen today
• The significance of the Mansion House today
• James Paine’s legacy, Classicism, the survival of a historic public
building.
• And so we arrive back in the present day. The Mansion House is listed
Grade I and is therefore recognised as a building of outstanding national
significance.
• The main frontage of the Mansion House to High Street is a design of
exceptional quality. Although altered from Paine’s original concept by an
architect of rather lesser importance, the resulting elevation has a scale and
dignity rare in a Georgian market town and remains very substantially
Paine’s design.
The Mansion House today
Great Kitchen InteriorPhotograph Colin Barnes
• The Great Kitchen
• The great kitchen remains in its original form. The survival of an 18th
century kitchen is of itself quite remarkable, with most comparable
examples having been lost or substantially altered in the 19th or 20th
centuries.
The Mansion House today
Stairs and ballroomPhotograph Colin Barnes
• View from the Balcony to the Ballroom
• The complex interrelationship of spaces and interior detailing represented
by the Mansion House remains undiminished in the 2 and a half centuries
since it was completed. We have seen how Lindley’s dining room created
another layer of complexity while respecting Paine’s original design. So too,
the formation of the balcony retained the original spatial qualities and
lighting of Paine’s staircase.
• The building represents the fusion of Neo Classical and Regency elements
within a fine Palladian building. The continuity of the classical tradition has
played such an important part in the evolution of the Mansion House.
Paine’s design survives substantially complete and the architectural
character of the interior is undiminished.
• And so here we are today, celebrating the survival this splendid building, the
vision of the people of Doncaster throughout the 18th and 19th century and,
above all, James Paine’s remarkable talent.
The Mansion House today
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