Stable Cottage

42 Bishopstone Road Stone Aylesbury

Building

Roofed and walled permanent structures.

Asset type

Former stables/coach house, now residential

Age

Late C19

Architectural and Artistic Interest

Built between 1885 and 1898 to serve as a coach house and stables to Stone House. Set back from the road the building is a typical 'L' plan form with a two story domestic range to the front and stable to the rear. The front range is simple in its design, render which is painted white, slate roof and modern windows. There is a later two storey extension to the southern end which has been constructed to match the existing building in design, scale and materials. To the front there is a single storey leanto addition across the width of the original building. To the rear, the building is initially one and a half storey with a dormer in the roof space and exposed brick, before stepping down to the single storey stable block. The rear projection of the building is clearly more significant aesthetically due to the retained detailing around the windows and quoins. The buildings maintain a traditional appearance through the consistent use of white render on the building facades, with some exposed red brick details and grey slate tile roof. The design and materials of the property are generally in keeping with the character and appearance of neighbouring dwellings and the surrounding area.

Group Value

Formerly coach house and stables to Stone House. A number of ancillary buildings to the rear

Historic Interest

Historically the property was used as an ancillary property for Stone House at 38 Bishopstone Road, which is Grade II listed. Relationship to Stone House: From census evidence Stable Cottage appears to have been built between 1881 and 1891. Stone House, then called St. John’s Lodge, was then owned by Sir Henry Augustus Smyth (1825-1906) who had inherited the property in 1865 on the death of his father, Admiral William Henry Smyth (1788-1865). According to the list description of St. John’s Lodge, it was built by Dr John Lee of Hartwell who was a great friend of the Admiral. On the night of the 1851 census the Admiral and his wife were staying at Hartwell House and there seems to be no sign of St. John’s Lodge in the census for Stone in that year. However the 1861 census shows Admiral Smyth and his family in residence at St. John’s Lodge. By 1871 a separate gardener’s cottage (the present lodge at Stone House) had appeared. Sir Henry Smyth had a glittering career abroad in the army and the main house was let (or at least occupied by others) as shown by both the 1871 and 1881 censuses. There appears to be no property on the 1881 census next to St. John’s Lodge which might be Stable Cottage. While the 1891 census shows the gardener’s cottage lived in, St. John’s Lodge and its neighbour were unoccupied and it is assumed that this unoccupied neighbouring property was the present Stable Cottage shown on the second edition OS map. The Smyths were an eminent family as can be seen from the entries for both the Admiral and Sir Henry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Sir Henry rose to the rank of General and his last appointment before retirement was as Governor of Malta. After retiring in 1893, Sir Henry and Lady Smyth settled in St. John’s Lodge as their main residence as evidenced by the 1901 census. They became prominent in the life of the county generally and Stone in particular. After Sir Henry’s death in 1906 Lady Smyth continued living in the house with her servants and there are numerous newspaper reports of charitable events held in the grounds. Sir Henry’s nephew, Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the scouting movement, was a frequent visitor and Lady Smyth’s nephew, the architect Clough Williams-Ellis, designed the village hall which she had endowed. The 1901 census shows Stable Cottage occupied by the coachman, his wife and a groom. By the time of the 1911 census Lady Smyth must have acquired a horseless carriage since a chauffuer was living in the four room cottage with his wife and two children. By 1921, a groom had moved in with his wife and and two sons. Lady Smyth died in 1932 and the St. John’s Lodge Estate was let to William Harold Edwards, director of a tin and gold mining company. He was evidently a keen huntsman since there are several newspaper reports of the Old Berkeley Hunt meeting at what was now called Stone House. The 1939 register shows the Edwards family operating Stone House as a country estate with at least four live-in servants, a gardener in the cottage (called Stone House Lodge) and Mr and Mrs Howden in the Stone House Stables. Since James Howden was called the “Stud Groom” perhaps Mr Edwards was also a horse-breeder. There were newspaper adverts for the sale of manure from the stables. In any event, with the hunting activity it seems likely that the stables assumed more importance during the 1930s. In 1942 the lease of the estate was assigned to Max Raison. In 1946 an advert appeared for staff, with replies to go to R. Cornish at the Groom’s cottage. Unfortunately the estate seems to have become a financial liability for the next tenant, Basil Ivar (or Ivor) Royal-Dawson. The actor cum screenwriter moved in to Stone House in 1949 but faced a bankrupcy hearing in1951. The Bucks Herald (23rd November 1951) reported that Dawson had sub-let a flat in Stone House and a “stable cottage” but was still unable to afford the upkeep of the main house. So it seems likely that the use of Stable Cottage as a stable and accommodation ancillary to Stone House ceased sometime between 1949 and 1951. In 1953 Stone House was acquired as nurses’ accommodation and this brought a definite end to the former country house estate use leaving just the main house and the lodge (gardener’s cottage), with Stable Cottage being sold off separately. ………………… The above information is taken from a rapid online survey including the following websites: Ancestry, the British Newspaper Archive, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Wikipedia, British Listed Buildings, National Library of Scotland, Buckinghamshire Council Heritage Portal, Buckinghamshire Council planning. 31st May 2023 Marian Miller

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19 Oct 2023