Building Name

“Cragwood” Ambleside Road Windermere

Date
1909 - 1910
Street
Ambleside Road
District/Town
Windermere
County/Country
Cumbria, England
Client
William Warburton
Work
New Build

Gardens               Thomas H Mawson


 

Designed in 1909-1910 by Frank Dunkerley for William Warburton,  Date-stone over door and incorporated in plaster-work of ceiling. Norman Buckley, close friend of Donald Campbell and water speed record holder on Windermre owned the house in the 1950s

CRAGWOOD, WINDERMERE - This house, which is now approaching completion, is being erected for W Warburton Esquire on a delightful site overlooking Windermere, about one mile south of Lowood on the east side of the lake. It is built of rubble stone quarried on the site, the mullioned windows and dressed stone generally being from Cullingworth. As the roofs are covered with Tiberthwaite seconds slates, it will be seen that the building is representative of local materials. The house is well placed, all the entertaining rooms commanding delightful views and the gardens and grounds are being laid out in a very interesting way. The hall and staircase are being panelled in oak and the principal floors are of American oak. The leaded lights and casements are by Messrs Humphreys Jackson and Ambler. The heating is by Hayden and Company and the sanitary goods are by Greatrix of Manchester. The principal contractor is Mr Arthur Jackson of Ambleside and the architect is Mr Frank Dunkerley FRIBA of 17 St Anne’s Square, Manchester. [British Architect 29 October 1909 Page 309]

 

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the headland near the boat-house was a commercial quarry providing the stone for many of the larger local houses including Belle Isle. These quarries were re-opened to provide the stone for Cragwood before being transformed into grottos and water gardens by Thomas Mawson - these are now partially ruinous. The existing boat-house for Cragwood is built over the former barge dock.

Reference           British Architect 29 October 1909 Page 309
Reference           Country Life 17 August 1912 Supplement Page 7 (not available MRL)
Reference           The Architects' and Builders' Journal, Vol. XXXII, No. 816, September 21, 1910. London, England. One-half column of text. Two page plate and two plan illustrations.

 

 

© Richard Fletcher