A CC APPRAISAL Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan December 2008 C Downton Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Contents Page No. Part 1: Introduction Background to the appraisal 1 Planning Policy Context 1 Purpose and scope of the document 1 Executive Summary 2 Part 2: Appraisal Location and setting 3 Historic development and archaeology 3 Settlement plan 4 Archaeological potential 5 Key historic influences 5 Spatial analysis 6 Character areas: 6 General overview 6 1. The Headlands 7 2. Long Close and Gravel Close 7 3. The Borough 8 4. The Island 9 5. Waterside 9 6. High Street and Church Precinct 10 7. The Moot House and The Moot (Scheduled Monument and 11 Registered Park and Garden Grade II*) 8. Barford Lane 12 9. Lode Hill 13 Architectural and historic qualities of buildings 14 Activity: prevailing and former uses 14 Contribution made by key unlisted buildings 15 Prevalent local and traditional materials 15 Local details 16 Contribution made by green spaces, trees, hedges and natural boundaries 17 Key views, vistas and panoramas 18 Degree of loss of architectural and/or historic elements 20 Negative elements 20 Conclusion 21 Part 3: Management Plan Vulnerable buildings and buildings at risk 22 Article 4(2)Directions 23 Boundary revisions 23 Proposals for enhancement 26 Potential redevelopment/development of sites 27 Policies/recommendations for new buildings 27 Traffic management/street improvements 29 Downton Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Bibliography and references 30 Appendix 1 Schematic maps Appendix 2 Historical maps Appendix 3 Proposed Article 4 Directions Appendix 4 List of buildings of local importance Glossary Downton Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Part 1: Introduction Background to the appraisal There are seventy conservation areas in Salisbury district covering historic settlements and small villages. A conservation area is described in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as “an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance”. Conservation areas are designated by the local authority and designation is the recognition of an area’s special qualities, which the council intends to safeguard as an important part of the district’s heritage. It is the accumulation of an area’s positive architectural or historic attributes, rather than the quality of its individual buildings, which makes it worthy of conservation area status. The attributes might include: the landscape setting of the area; the grouping of traditional buildings and the resultant spaces and sense of enclosure; the scale, design, type and materials of the buildings; historic boundaries; public realm; landmarks, views and vistas; and the present and former pattern of activities or land uses. Conservation area designation allows for strengthened planning controls, gives protection to trees, and provides control over the demolition of unlisted buildings. Planning policy context The local planning authority is required by the legislation to periodically review their existing conservation areas. An appraisal of each area is therefore required in order to identify the particular attributes that make each conservation area special. Guidance is provided to the local authority in carrying out this task in the English Heritage publication Guidance on Conservation Area Appraisals and its companion document Guidance on the Management of Conservation Areas, both published in August 2005. There is also guidance from central government in Planning Policy Guidance Note 15: Planning and the Historic Environment (1994), which advises that the local authority should formulate and publish proposals for the preservation and enhancement of its conservation areas. This is achieved by producing management plans for each conservation area. Salisbury District Council has encapsulated the broad principles of the government guidance in its existing local plan policies (policies CN8-CN17). This will shortly be reviewed as the council starts to produce new policies through the local development framework. Planning applications that affect the character of the conservation area should be considered on their individual merits, in the light of the Local Plan policies, and taking into account all other material considerations. The appraisals and management plans are used to guide and inform the decision-making process. Purpose and scope of the document Conservation area appraisals and management plans are seen as the first steps in a dynamic process, the aim of which is to seek the preservation and enhancement of the character and appearance of conservation areas and to provide a basis for making decisions about their future management. This is a stand-alone document which forms part of the evidence base under the emerging local development framework. Each appraisal and management plan aims to: 1 Downton Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan • identify those elements of the conservation area that contribute to its character; • identify elements that detract from the character; • propose measures to maintain or improve the positive character, local distinctiveness and sense of place of the conservation area. The importance of conservation area appraisals and their associated management plans is expressed in central government Best Value Performance Indicators BVPI 219a, b and c. The indicators emphasise the need to follow the English Heritage guidance and the importance of involving the local community. All reasonable steps have been taken to carry out a thorough appraisal of the conservation area, and with the exception of some areas of private land that it has not been possible to access for the survey, the appraisal is as comprehensive as it can be. Executive summary Downton Conservation Area was designated on 1 May 1973. The boundary of the conservation area as designated is shown in Appendix 1. The key characteristics of the Downton Conservation Area are: • Its distinctive settlement layout and the contrast between the village core and The Borough. • The survival of the important former industrial core to the village centred around the river. • The setting of the valley floor comprising flood plain and former water meadow systems. • Distant glimpses of buildings in a mature treed landscape. • The importance of roofscape in local views particularly from The Moot. • Continuous building lines providing good enclosure, defining roads and spaces complimented by the use of brick and flint boundary walls. • The valuable survival of a significant number of thatched buildings individually and in groups. • The use of traditional high quality, eighteenth century brickwork, often to re-front earlier timber framed buildings. • Deep, narrow, open plots often backing onto open countryside The summary of recommendations for the Downton Conservation Area arising out of this document are: • The boundary should be revised to ensure consistency and regularise changes in ownership. Recommended revisions include: • Removal of three modern housing estates, removal of open fields to the northeast. • Extensions to include important buildings (Wick Lodge and South Lane Cottage) and structures (flint retaining wall – Lode Hill) • Buildings at risk be addressed • A list of buildings of local importance which contribute to the character of the conservation area be considered for Article 4(2) directions. • Public realm recommendations to include – • Improvements to the Lode Hill ‘gateway’, • Use of appropriate materials to the lanes feeding onto the main road, • Revisiting the traffic-calming scheme through the link between The Borough and the village, i.e. on The Island. 2 Downton Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Part 2: Appraisal Location and setting Downton lies in the wide, flat, valley of the River Avon in south Wiltshire 6 miles south of Salisbury. The older part of the settlement, on the east side of the river, occupies the gently rising ground above the flood plain whilst the medieval village to the west of the river occupies the valley floor. Chalk downland rises to both the west and east of the valley. The downland to the west forms part of the Cranborne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Historic development and archaeology The earliest documentary reference to Downton dates from the eighth century. This document records King Offa’s confirmation of King Cenwalh’s gift of Downton to the Church at Winchester, probably as part of the original endowment of Winchester Cathedral in the mid- to late seventh century. The Domesday Book records an estate with a church, seven mills and a sizeable settlement but the entry would have included outlying settlements and some of the mills would have been located outside Downton making it difficult to gain a clear picture of late eleventh century Downton. However, because the estate formed part of the bishopric of Winchester, it is remarkably well documented, with annual accounts surviving for most years throughout the medieval period, which include details such as expenditure on the buildings of the estate farm and bishop’s residence. This residence or palace, which was visited by several kings including John, who stayed there on several occasions, continued in use until the late fourteenth century after which time it appears that the site was neglected. During the Anarchy in the early twelfth century King Stephen’s brother, Henry of Blois, was Bishop of Winchester. Henry fortified six manors and held them in his brother’s cause. The earthworks of The Moot were probably constructed at that time and formed a ring work castle which may have covered part of the site of the bishop’s residence. Its construction may have also impacted on any property plots on the south side of High Street. After the Civil War the castle probably saw little use. In the early thirteenth century Bishop Peter des Roches founded a new market village at Downton. The new village was set apart from the old village, being located on the west side of the River Avon. Renting properties for a cash rent rather than in return for service in the bishop’s fields provided a more certain income than farming and gave the tenants time to work at other trades. This form of land holding is known as burgage tenure and the typically long, narrow, property plots, laid out in blocks are called burgage plots. Around 120 burgages were being rented out in the early years of the village but unfortunately for Downton, Salisbury began to be developed around 20 years after its foundation and the small village could not compete with its larger neighbour. During the medieval period cloth-making was an important industry in the village but had all but disappeared by the eighteenth century. Tanning was a significant industry until the later 20th century and lace-making, carpet-making, bacon curing and engineering have all been elements of the local industry. Although Downton effectively failed as a market village, borough status still allowed the village to return Members of Parliament until the Reform Act disfranchised such small ‘rotten’ boroughs. 3 Downton Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Settlement plan Downton consists of two parts: a village on the east side of the Avon and a medieval new village foundation on the west side of the river. This arrangement is similar to some of the other new village foundations created by the bishops of Winchester around the turn of the thirteenth century such as Overton and New Alresford in Hampshire where the new towns were laid out on former fields across the river from the earlier village. The clear importance of Downton from the Late Saxon period, with a Minster church, bishop’s residence and the role of the village as a central place for the Hundred means that it is likely that there was a market here also. It is possible that the slightly wider area of High Street near its junction with Church Hatch was the early market place but it may be that the construction of The Moot in the twelfth century altered the plan of the village. It is not clear at present how the palace site was approached from the village – it may be that Waterside, the short road on the east of the river leading south, formerly led to the palace but has since been truncated. The construction of The Moot may have resulted in the demolition of houses to create a clear area around the defences or the reduction of the backland area to properties on the south side of High Street – the present rear boundaries of the western block of properties appear to follow the line of northern limit of The Moot. North of the church is the Manor House. This site almost certainly represents the location of the Saxon manor farm and estate centre. The foundation of the new village in the early thirteenth century on the west side of the Avon resulted in the creation of the distinctive wide main street, The Borough which was lined with regular long, narrow, properties known as burgage plots. What distinguishes Downton from the Hampshire new towns is the large size of the new development at Downton – if the length of The Borough with its wide market area is accepted as the original size of the planned extension. At the centre of the planned development is a crossroads where the market cross stands. On the south side of The Borough the land blocks either side of the cross roads do not appear to contain the typical burgage plots as seen to the west and east. The winding nature of South Lane also seems to suggest that the block to its west was not wholly divided into burgage plots. On the north side of The Borough burgage plots extend to the east from the central cross roads up to the river but to the west is a largely unoccupied block of land, with only the frontage to The Headlands, the road to Salisbury, completely built up. It is notable that the depth of this unoccupied block does not match that of the occupied block east of the cross roads, being somewhat deeper. Whether this block was ever fully developed and why it should be deeper than the other main blocks is not known. Between the east end of The Borough, marked by the main course of the Avon, and the mills is a sinuous length of street that was also considered part of the borough of Downton in the nineteenth century. This section does not have the regularity of the burgage plots of the planned village but its inclusion within the limits of the borough suggests it could be of medieval origin although there are no early buildings in this area. At the western end of the planned village The Borough meets the north – south road between Salisbury and Fordingbridge. There is some uncertainty over the date of the development of this route but given that such a T-plan arrangement of market street and main route is also seen at some of the other bishopric foundations, it is likely that this route existed in the early thirteenth century. The importance of this north-south route has almost certainly meant that this area was built up in the medieval period although the earliest surviving buildings date from the sixteenth century. At this western end of The Borough there is an ‘island’ of buildings bounded by roads. Such development into a wide market street is often characteristic of the process of the gradual development of market stalls into permanent shops and buildings. However, this encroachment stands in contrast to the apparently empty block on the north side of The Borough. 4 Downton Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Nearing the bottom of Lode Hill, leading into the village from the east, is a small cluster of buildings around the junction with Slab Lane. Most of the historic buildings in this area sit within small plots that are typical of encroachment onto roadside verges, often by poorer members of society and usually dating from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Archaeological potential Downton has recently (2004) been subject to an English Heritage funded Extensive Urban Survey undertaken by Wiltshire County Council. This assessment recognises that the core of the settlement may be considered important archaeologically and as such the Local Plan carries an archaeological policy CN23 which reinforces PPG16. However, within the core, which can be defined from historic maps, there are some areas where the archaeological interest is greater, either because of the importance of the remains or because better than average preservation could be expected. The Moot, the remains of a twelfth century castle built during the time of the Anarchy of King Stephen’s reign is a Scheduled Monument and so is defined as being nationally important. Archaeological remains of the palace of the Bishops of Winchester that may have originated in the Saxon period may also partly lie within the scheduled area. The bishop’s palace site, called Old Court, also extended to the south west of The Moot occupying low ground near the river. Archaeological excavations on the island between the main channel of the river to the west and a mill stream to the east recovered pottery dating from the seventh to eight century. The likely presence of a high status site that was largely abandoned from the fourteenth century, combined with the possibility that archaeological deposits may be waterlogged makes this area highly significant. It should be regarded as being nationally important although it is not scheduled. The church and manor house, together with the earlier village area on the east side of the River Avon has the potential to inform us about the origins of the Saxon village and of any preceding settlement. Small-scale interventions in this area have the potential to encounter important archaeological deposits. The origin of the medieval new village is documented but there remain some unanswered questions about the development of the planned borough. For example, it is uncertain whether the block on the north side of The Borough and west of Gravel Close was ever occupied by burgage plots. The blocks either side of South Lane also raise questions as to their development which may only be answered by archaeological excavation. Elsewhere across the area of the new village, including the area between the river and the mill stream, apart from sites that have been subject to modern development where archaeological deposits are likely to have been destroyed or compromised, there is the possibility that evidence for the origins and development of the village and its occupants will be encountered that could further illuminate the known history of the settlement Key historic influences • An important Anglo-Saxon settlement at the heart of a royal, and later ecclesiastical estate, developed on the east bank of the River Avon and served as a central place and probable market for the surrounding area. • Important high-status properties belonging to the Bishops of Winchester including a palace alongside the river and the manor farm near the church. • The Moot, an earthwork castle, was created in the early 12th century adjacent to the palace site. 5 Downton Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan • A medieval planned new village was created on the west side of the river with regular burgage plots ranged along the wide market street, The Borough. • Water provided power for important industrial processes in the village including milling and tanning giving the waterfront areas a distinctive industrial character. Spatial analysis Character areas Conservation Areas often vary in character within the broad designation. It is important to define these ‘sub areas’ and provide a clear understanding of the defining elements, which make up the character of a particular part of the conservation area. This can lead to a much more useful and comprehensive document in development control terms and provide a clear idea the make up of distinctive areas which have some cohesion. It should be noted that whilst sub areas have been identified, the transition between areas is also important and there is a cohesion to the whole conservation area, which should always be considered when addressing the character of the Downton Conservation Area. Each character area makes reference to the following in bullet points. • Form (cohesiveness-justification for a character area) • Scale and building line • Significant groups • Materials • Views • Local features General overview Downton Conservation Area can be confidently divided into two distinct areas of settlement both with characteristics which distinguish the townscape in particular. The planned wide open character of The Borough is in contrast to the enclosure and intimacy of the High Street area. Both the above locations have important views out to the open landscape of the valley. Particularly emphasis should be made of the important historic role of the river setting for Downton with its survival of medieval water meadows forming such an integral part of the immediate setting of the settlement. The river threads its way through the village by a series of channels and tributaries. The river has also sustained a number of industrial uses which have dramatically shaped and still define parts of the village, for example the survival and recent conversion of the remaining part of the Tannery building which, due to its scale and robust detailing, forms such an imposing landmark in the village. To the east, the important historic sites of the Church of St Laurence and The Moot (a scheduled ancient monument) to the south of the High Street form defining elements which have had significant influences on the form of the village and its subsequent evolution and development. 6 Downton Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan Bridges and water management features, such as sluices and water mills, are important features in the conservation area as they are evidence of the character of the water-based settlement. From the Moot, important views of the village emphasise the importance and sensitivity of the scale of buildings and in particular their roofscape. Dormers, rooflights and chimneys are particularly prominent when seen from this elevated position, the latter forming an important part of the character of the skyline of the historic settlement. Mature trees form an important part of character of much of the conservation area. Extended views towards the village show the dense tree cover to much of the village and buildings particularly in The Borough are often seen against a backdrop of mature trees. In addition, trees also define the line of the river north and south and emphasise the rural character of this view corridor when seen from the village (particularly from the bridges in the settlement). Figure 1 The Bull Inn Figure 2 Distinctive porches Figure 3 Local views into The Borough (Nos 1-3 The Headlands) 1. The Headlands • Linear development focused on the junction with The Borough • 2 storey, back of pavement development. The substantial Bull Inn; 2½ storey with small dormers (figure 1). • Key grouping of The Bull Inn and Nos. 1-3 The Headlands around the junction with The Borough – prominent and distinctive porches producing a pleasing rhythm, which leads the eye along the terrace (figure 2). • Brick, painted render, slate, tile and some thatch (but not dominant). • Important local views into The Borough (figure 3) and long views along Salisbury Road enclosed by development on back of pavement. • Stone number plaques, porches and prominent roofs with distinctive dormers cutting the eaves line. 2. Long Close and Gravel Close • Long Close has an informal country lane character, historically following the path of the rear of burgage plots • 2 storey throughout apart from the institutional scale of the school emphasised by double height spaces and projecting octagonal belfry • The informal set of unconverted farm buildings set in the semi rural lane make a good group combined with the varied forms of cottage type dwelling and the more polite façade of Long Close House. Terraces to the northern section of Gravel Close provide good enclosure. 7