Oldway Mansion

The southern elevation of Oldway Mansion at dusk

Oldway Mansion is a large house and gardens in Paignton, Devon, England. It was built as a private residence for Isaac Merritt Singer (1811–1875), and rebuilt by his third son Paris Singer in the style of the Palace of Versailles.

The mansion and gardens

Around 1871 the Fernham estate in Paignton was purchased by Isaac Merritt Singer, the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. The old buildings on the site were demolished and he commissioned a local architect, George Soudon Bridgman^[1] to build a new mansion as his home. Isaac Merritt Singer died on 23 July 1875, shortly before work on the original mansion was completed.

The grand staircase at Oldway Mansion with The Crowning of Josephine by Napoleon after David.

Paris Eugene Singer, Isaac Singer's third son, supervised the alterations at Oldway Mansion between 1904 and 1907. The rebuilding work was modelled on the Palace of Versailles, and the eastern elevation of the building was inspired by the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The interior of the building is noted for its grand staircase made from marble and balusters of bronze. The ceiling of the staircase is decorated with an ornate painting based on an original design for the Palace of Versailles by the French painter and architect Joseph Lebrun. The ceiling is a replica painted by Carl Rossner, who studied the original by Lebrun before creating the reproduction.

Above the grand staircase there is a reproduction of the first version of Jacques-Louis David's painting The Crowning of Josephine by Napoleon. The original was purchased by Paris Singer in the late 19th century. The painting was sold to the French government in 1946 and now hangs in the Palace of Versailles. The reproduction at the mansion, which is in the same place as the original, is a colour photocopy and was unveiled in 1995.

The gallery on the first floor is a reproduction of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, and is floored in parquet. The gallery leads into the ballroom, which contains walls of gilt panelling and mirrors. Above the fireplace there is an oil painting of Louis of Bourbon dating from 1717.

Oldway Mansion is set in 17 acres (69,000 m²) of gardens, which are laid out on an Italian theme by the French landscape gardener Achille Duchesne. Beneath the eastern elevation of the building is the maze, which consists of dwarf box hedging and flower beds. To the south of the mansion there is the grotto garden where a waterfall passes over a rocky cave into a pool below. The grounds of the mansion contain many sub-tropical plants and shrubs.

The eastern and northern elevations of Oldway Mansion

Opposite the main entrance to the mansion is a large round building known as The Rotunda. This was built in 1873, and was used originally as a horse riding pavilion and exercise area. Isaac Merritt Singer gave this building the nickname of "The Wigwam".

History

Following the end of an affair with the dancer Isadora Duncan in 1917, Paris Singer became an American citizen and went to live in the United States. This was done partly for tax reasons, and after 1918 Oldway Mansion was no longer the permanent home of the Singer family.

During the period of the First World War from 1914 to 1918, Oldway Mansion was transformed into the American Women’s War Relief Hospital. The Rotunda was converted to house rows of beds for the wounded soldiers being brought back to England from the trenches of France and Belgium. Queen Mary visited the hospital in November 1914.

Oldway Mansion became the Torbay Country Club in 1929. During this period tennis courts and a bowling green were added to the grounds that can still be seen today.

During the Second World War from 1939 to 1945, Oldway was used in the war effort by housing RAF cadets training to be aircrew. In 1943 Oldway was damaged in an air raid, along with many other buildings in Paignton. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visited the mansion in 1943.

Oldway Mansion has large formal gardens laid out on an Italian theme

Oldway Mansion today

Oldway Mansion shown within Devon
(grid reference SX8960)

Paignton Urban District Council purchased Oldway Mansion from the Singer family in 1946 for the sum of £45,000. It is estimated that around £200,000 was spent on building the mansion. Today the building is used mainly as council offices and for civil marriage ceremonies. There are also offices for the BBC local radio station Radio Devon in the building. The mansion and its grounds can be visited free of charge by members of the public, and it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Torbay. The mansion has a small museum with exhibits linked to the building's history, including antique Singer sewing machines. Oldway Mansion is a Grade II* listed building.^[2]

In recent years the cost of maintaining the building and gardens has increased considerably, leading to the suggestion that they should be sold and turned into a casino or apartments. This suggestion has been controversial, since local residents argue that the mansion was sold at a reduced price on the understanding that it would be open to the public.^[3]

In May 2010, it was reported that Torbay Council had reached an agreement with the property developers Urban Splash, which will transform Oldway Mansion into a £10million 85-bed hotel, and build around 160 homes on the site. The contract was valued at £1 million and allowed for around £3 million of repairs needed at the mansion. Torbay's mayor Nicholas Bye supported the plan, while opposition councillors expressed concerns that the site had been undervalued.^[4][5]

• Oldway Mansion has been used as a film location on several occasions. During the spring of 2004, it doubled as Buckingham Palace for the filming of Churchill: The Hollywood Years, starring Christian Slater and Neve Campbell. Pink gravel, guard houses and period vehicles were used to recreate the royal courtyard.^[6] The 1968 film Isadora starring Vanessa Redgrave and telling the life story of the dancer Isadora Duncan also used Oldway Mansion as one of its locations.^[6]

See also

• Kirkham House

References

1. ^ George Soudon Bridgman also designed Paignton Pier, which opened in 1879. [1]
2. ^ UKPG Database | Sites | Oldway
3. ^ "Anger over plans to sell mansion". BBC News. 29 January 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6309337.stm. 
4. ^ "New lease of life for Oldway as £1m contract approved". Herald Express. 20 May 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5prkQ7ILV. Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
5. ^ "New Oldway Mansion luxury hotel and homes plan unveiled". Herald Express. 6 October 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/62ESIMZ4G. Retrieved 2011-11-06. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Churchill: The Hollywood Years (2004)

Further reading

• Oldway Mansion web page on Torbay Council's website - lists opening times
• Oldway Mansion: Paignton by Torbay Borough Council ISBN 090 184 215 x
• Oldway Mansion, historic home of the Singer family by Paul Hawthorne, Torbay Books, ISBN 978 0 9551857 6 2 published October 2009

Coordinates: 50°26′35″N 3°34′04″W / 50.442978°N 3.567738°W / 50.442978; -3.567738