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363:(SPAB), and during 1898 both Sydney Gimson and the SPAB secretary wrote to Blow complaining about the absences from their project, highlighting the problem of such a hands-on approach to architecture. Stoneywell was completed in 1899, the date and a Gimson 'G' being carved in the slate lintel above the front door. It was initially used purely as a summer residence. Humphrey Gimson, as well as re-roofing it after the 1938 fire, carried out limited alterations to make it habitable all year round, and Donald Gimson, from the third generation of the family, continued to live there until 2012.
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325:, principally designing and making wooden furniture, following traditional craft principles, applied to new designs using clean lines and unadorned surfaces. It was from this background that Ernest Gimson applied himself not just to the architectural plans for Stoneywell, but to designing and making the furniture too. Because the house has remained with the Gimson family throughout the 20th century, much of the furniture remains at the house, including Gimson's ladder-back chairs, a large table and dresser by the Barnsleys, and an oak bed made by Gimson.
268:. The rooms, windows and roofline step downwards, along the open z-shape of the groundplan, to follow the contours of the hill, such that the ground floor is on three levels, and both groundfloor and dormer windows are all at different heights. The fireplace and doorway have huge Swithland slate lintels, that were found nearby at abandoned slate quarries. The stone walls were built from undressed stones, their surfaces being kept even by the careful selection of each stone by the masons, to fit needs of the wall. Many of the stones were re-used from
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and Lea
Cottage. Stoneywell was the most architecturally 'extreme' of these, and remains the least changed. Ernest Gimson had suggested that it could be built for £500, whereas the final bill came in at £920. The cost over-run was not the only frustration experienced by Sydney. At the same time as building the Charnwood houses, Detmar Blow also had commitments to carry out painstaking repairs to
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and cars can visit, so as to minimise impact on the locality; all visits must therefore be booked in advance. A parking area has been created away from the site and visitors are carried on a shuttle bus to a reception centre in the converted stables. The coach house and stable of 1902, also by Ernest Gimson, are separately listed as Grade II as is a small pump house of 1899.
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required to walk round the house to get to the front door, which faces south-west over the rugged landscape. At one end the roof almost reaches the ground, and the massive chimney stack buttresses the south wall. The roof, like many of Gimson's houses, was originally thatch, but following a fire in 1938 was re-roofed in second-hand
346:. Following the principle that an architect should be able build what he designs, Blow had begun practical building alongside stonemasons in North Yorkshire. He came to Leicestershire to work on the cottages, and brought several Yorkshire stonemasons, as well as employing three Leicestershire men. The
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Stoneywell Wood is an area of ancient woodland adjoining the house and gardens. 4 hectares (9.9 acres) of the wood belong to
Stoneywell, which, along with 2 hectares (4.9 acres) of garden are open to the public. Stoneywell Wood as a whole occupies some 17 hectares (42 acres) of deciduous semi-natural
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Following an appeal, and donations from The
Monument Trust and the J Paul Getty Jr Trust, the National Trust was able to raise enough money to buy Stoneywell from the Gimson family. The house, gardens and woodland opened to the public in February 2015. There are strict limitations on how many people
350:
family were
Leicester industrialists, familiar with this corner of Charnwood. They bought three plots of land from James Billson, to build cottages for summer use by Ernest's brothers Sydney and Mentor, and their sister Margaret. Detmar Blow collaborated in the building of two of these, Stoneywell
263:
bedrock, Stoneywell creates the impression it is an organic part of the landscape. Set away from the road, it is close to
Stoneywell Wood and its surrounding gardens are by design and necessity more wild than cultivated. The house is built on a slope and approached from above so that a visitor is
242:
in 1899 for Ernest's brother Sydney Gimson as a summer residence, and along with much original furniture, it remained in the Gimson family for over a century. As part of a highly influential vernacular movement, it has become well known within Arts and Crafts circles. In spring 2013 the
National
514:), a little further down the Lea Lane from Stoneywell and built in tandem with it, sits hard against the road. It was enlarged in 1972 by the addition of a south-west wing. Unlike Stoneywell it is still a thatched building, and remains whitewashed externally, as in Gimson's original design.
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and outcrops around about. Externally the stone has been left in a natural state, whereas internally both the walls and the exposed timbers are white. These constructional timbers, matching the intricate irregularities of the ground plan, had been cut and prepared by
Richard Harrison at
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Stoneywell is one of five cottages designed by Ernest Gimson in
Ulverscroft. The earliest were a pair of workmen's cottages, built for James Billson in 1897. Rather than employ contractors, Gimson collaborated with a fellow Arts and Crafts architect,
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Trust announced that following a year-long appeal, it had been able to acquire the house with its Arts and Crafts contents, gardens and woodland. It was opened to the public in
February 2015.
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to Ernest Gimson's design, and transported the 150 miles for assembly on site, showing how much pre-planning and design had gone into Gimson's plan. In 1966 it was listed as a Grade II*
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Small slate-roofed well house, built in 1899 beside
Stoneywell Wood. Originally all water had to be carried by hand from here to a stone tank in the house.
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Rockyfield Cottage, the last of Gimson's Ulverscroft houses, was built for his sister Margaret nearly ten years later, close by on Priory Lane (
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Built between 1897 and 1899 out of the stones found in the immediate locality, and constructed directly onto outcrops of exposed
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This is the first house in Leicestershire to be in the care of the National Trust. (Their other properties in the county are
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Sketches of Stoneywell and Lea Cottage were published by R. A. Briggs in his 1904 book,
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woodland, and is part of the 105 hectares (260 acres) Ulverscroft Valley SSSI (
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Lea Cottage, Ulverscroft. The wing on the left of the picture was added in 1972
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National Trust: Local to You: Historic Arts & Crafts house could be saved.
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Historic house, gardens and woodland near Coalville, Leicestershire, England
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Sidney Barnsley's oak dining table, with Ernest Gimson's ladder-back chairs
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230:. Stoneywell is the largest of a small group of cottages designed in the
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888:"Coach House and Stable at Stoneywell Cottage (Grade II) (1178370)"
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Gimson and the Barnsleys:'Wonderful furniture of a commonplace kind'
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Chitterman House, the now greatly altered pair of workmen's cottages
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The entrance faces out away from the road, with no vehicular access.
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Wandering Architects: In Pursuit of an Arts and Crafts Ideal
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Natural England SSSI Unit list for Ulverscroft Valley SSSI
947:: National Trust News and Events - East Midlands. May 2013
860:"Leicestershire's Stoneywell cottage opened to the public"
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in 1864, the son of Josiah Gimson, engineer, founder of
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565:). The building work for Rockyfield was supervised by
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Charnwood.gov.uk Listed buildings: Rockyfield Cottage
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The Buildings of England: Leicestershire and Rutland
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255:Drawing of Stoneywell by Ernest Gimson, July 1898
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725:"Stoneywell Cottage (Grade II*) (1361102)"
361:Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
981:Charnwood.gov.uk Listed buildings: Lea Cottage
872:Stoneywell | Leicestershire | National Trust
1159:National Trust properties in Leicestershire
802:gimson.leicester.gov.uk, stoneywell cottage
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455:) and altered beyond recognition.
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1085:Dream Houses: The Edwardian Ideal
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438:Chitterman House, Ulverscroft
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1083:Gradidge, Roderick (1980).
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850:Accessed 27 September 2012
580:, architectural editor of
389:Ulverscroft Nature Reserve
355:in Wiltshire, followed by
323:Sidney and Ernest Barnsley
301:Ernest Gimson was born in
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1064:Drury, Michael (2000).
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191:Design and construction
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1045:Comino, Mary (1980).
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574:Homes for the Country
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1164:Borough of Charnwood
537:52.70022°N 1.26456°W
486:52.70157°N 1.26654°W
427:52.70177°N 1.27002°W
395:Ulverscroft cottages
159:Construction started
143:52.70149°N 1.26465°W
1007:, p. 167, 172.
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80:Architectural style
67:General information
846:2012-10-28 at the
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344:Detmar Blow
240:Detmar Blow
216:Ulverscroft
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121:Coordinates
102:Ulverscroft
1138:Categories
1094:0094619301
1075:190028913X
1056:0237448955
1017:Drury 2000
930:9 February
899:9 February
826:Drury 2000
814:Drury 2000
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736:9 February
681:Drury 2000
607:References
546: (
524:52°42′01″N
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353:Lake House
208:Stoneywell
131:52°42′05″N
24:Stoneywell
527:1°15′52″W
476:1°16′00″W
417:1°16′12″W
311:Cotswolds
303:Leicester
289:Furniture
261:Charnwood
234:style by
220:Coalville
167:Completed
134:1°15′53″W
945:Near You
844:Archived
93:SK498118
90:Location
319:Pinbury
112:Country
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804:(2007)
348:Gimson
183:Client
247:House
210:is a
1108:ISBN
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1051:ISBN
932:2015
901:2015
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387:and
178:£920
175:Cost
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162:1898
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