+ 2nd Baron Wardington (1924-2005)
Michael Rhodes
Oxfordshire, died 7 July, 2005, at the age of 81.
The peer, a passionate collector of books, has, since the 1950s,
amassed incunabula (early printed works), bibles, atlases and
geographical works to form a collection worth £17m - and one of the
most important in private hands.
Christopher Henry Beaumont Pease was born 22 January, 1924, son of John
William Beaumont Pease, Chairman of Lloyds Bank 1922-45 and of the Bank
of London and South America 1922-47, who was elevated to the peerage in
1936 as the 1st Baron Wardington.
Christopher's mother was the Hon. Dorothy Charlotte, widow of Capt the
Hon Harold Fox Pitt Lubbock, of the Barons Avebury, and daughter of the
1st Baron Forster.
Christopher - known as Bic - was educated at Eton.
Career: - - - - >>>Captain, Scots Guards, served in WWII (was wounded);
a partner in the firm of Hoare, Govett, 1950-86; an Alderman of the
City of London, 1960-63; Member of the Council of the Stock Exchange,
1963-81; Member of the Corporation of Foreign Bond Holders from 1967;
member of the Public Works Loan Board, 1964-69; Chairman, Athlone
Trust; Chairman, Friends of the British Library; Trustee of the Royal
Jubilee Trusts, 1939-45, &C.
His home, Wardington Hall, was badly damaged by fire in 2004,
fortunately the £17m map collection was saved but the medieval manor
is still being rebuilt.
At Easter, 2004, Lord W's adopted daughter, Helen Pease, was sitting at
her kitchen table with a cup of tea when the postman rang. Along with
the mail, he brought the worrying intelligence that thick smoke was
pouring from the other side of the home she shared with her parents.
Helen recalled: 'I shouted up the stairs to the housekeeper and his
mother. I grabbed the children (Charlie, now 3, and Poppy, 2). Then we
stood on the grass and waited for the fire brigade.'
The conflagration that was to consume more than 50% of Wardington
Manor, near Banbury, Oxfordshire, started on Friday, April 16, 2004 at
about 8am, and the last fireman left three days later. It was the
longest of long weekends for the family, yet their memories of the fire
are less about the destruction and more about the impromptu salvage
squad, formed by more than 100 villagers, whose immediate assistance
saved all but a handful of their possessions. Pease says: 'It was one
of those days you'll never forget. It puts your faith back in
people.'
As the flames took hold, Pease could tell that the firemen did not
expect to save the whole structure. They got the fire under control and
said, 'We've got to start the salvage - what are the most
important things to get out?' I was standing in the library and
wondering which were most valuable.' That was when the small miracle
began. People had seen the fire from all over the village of Upper
Wardington and, as the firemen passed out the rare volumes, a handful
of helpers began to form a chain. Local radio reported the blaze and
prompted more arrivals.
Local builders brought wheelbarrows and spread plastic sheeting across
the lawn so that furniture could be set out without getting damp. The
lawn filled up with tables, chairs, paintings and ornaments: these were
photographed and listed, labelled and taken to safety. By noon, not
just the books but everything of value was gone from the house; by 7pm,
nothing remained on the lawn.
One of Pease's first calls was to the insurance broker. They
despatched loss adjuster James Scott Brown, who specialises in
historic-house claims, to the scene.
'On the way there, I kept phoning with advice. Cover the grass with
plastic, make a list, take photographs ... every time I suggested
something, she said, 'Thanks, but we've already done that'.'
The euphoria of the rescue operation cannot disguise how bad a blow the
destruction was to the family. The redoubtable Lady Wardington, an
elegant ex-model and former fashion journalist, says: "Eight in the
morning is a good time to have a fire - lots of daylight." However,
even she admits to utter dismay at first sight of the ruin: "We came
back on the Sunday evening and went straight to the house. It was
heartbreaking. It was half-light and water was pouring through
everywhere." Lord Wardington was briefly admitted to hospital on
their return.
A year on, the cause of the fire is still being investigated, but the
shell is surrounded by scaffolding, complete with flapping plastic
rigging. Scott Brown has assembled a crew of specialist architects and
builders, some of whom were called in after the fire at Windsor Castle
and are almost indecently enthused about the reconstruction, which is
expected to take until August 2006. Scott Brown explains: 'It's so
rare to be able to strip back a house to its bare bones and see its
history; with this project we are working from the cellars up to the
chimneys, rebuilding a medieval manor.'
Constructed around a medieval core, built in local brown ferruginous
limestone, the manor's history includes two periods of near ruin, in
the early 17th and in the 19th century, and subsequent renovations,
some of very poor quality.
The Wardingtons's brokers, HSBC Estates and Private Clients, swiftly
confirmed they would receive more than £3m to cover all works and
related losses resulting from the fire damage. However, once the
building was stripped back, historic neglect and ancient bodging became
a pressing problem. Timber supporting one 17th-century staircase,
though undamaged by fire, had rotted away. Lintels, riddled with
centuries of woodworm and rot, were barely supporting the remaining
roof structure. Numerous similar findings have prompted a parallel
programme of works that will cost a further £1m, to leave the manor
structurally sound for future generations. Part of the rescued library
is to be sold to cover these extra works: 700 atlases illustrating six
centuries of map-making, and forming the most important collection of
cartographic works to come to auction in living memory.
So far, only the clearance and salvage stage of the works has been
completed. The floorboards, panelling and plasterwork were removed,
catalogued, labelled and placed in storage, ready to be conserved. One
of the glories of the house was the fibrous plasterwork in the
northwest library wing, described by Pevsner as "the most
extraordinary decoration in the house". Despite the conservation
team's best efforts, after the fire, water from the firemen's hoses
and subsequent exposure to the elements, many of these beautiful panels
will need to be entirely replaced.
Significant structural works will start later this year, with the
sub-floor, floor and roof to be rebuilt first. Although in a Grade
II*-listed building English Heritage would ordinarily insist on
like-for-like replacement, in this case, losses are so severe that some
areas are being treated as new-build. Oxford Archaeology has been
commissioned to investigate and record the oldest sections, including a
couple of mysterious underground chambers that emerged beneath the
floor of the " smoke room" in the central part of the house, and
several previously undiscovered doorways, set in early mud and rubble
walls. Then the rebuild can begin in earnest.
Lady Wardington, who lived after the blaze with her husband in a
cottage on the estate, took a lively interest in each stage. She says:
"I've been fascinated by every bit of the house: finding new
doorways where we never knew they were, and windows appearing in the
middle of the house." She has one complaint, however: "The really
maddening thing is that the kitchen was absolutely untouched. That was
very disappointing. I would have liked a new kitchen."
The sales of the atlases are on October 18 and in March 2006. Viewing
at Sotheby's until June 13, 34-35 New Bond Street, London W1, 020
7293 6000, www.sothebys.com
Lord Wardington leaves an adopted son, Christopher, and two adopted
daughters, Lucy Anne and Helen Elizabeth.
The heir to the peerage is Lord Wardington's younger brother, the Hon.
William Simon Pease, b. 15 Oct, 1925 who married 1962, the Hon
Elizabeth Jane Ormsby-Gore (d. 2004), daughter of the 4th Baron
Harlech.
Source: Daily Telegraph 9 July, 2005
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