High Fell House proposal, further information
High-Fell House
In 2012 I was commissioned as part of the Art Roots Grizedale programme to create a new landmark sculpture in the northern area of the forest, to be accessible to both cyclists and walkers. The proposal was as follows (at the time of writing we have planning guidance approval and are close to completing the engineering scheme):
"Grizedale was once an Estate owned by the grand family of the Cunard shipping company, the Brocklebanks. Over the generations the former owners built a series of country houses here, the last of which was levelled to the ground on this site and only these balustrades overlooking the landscaped grounds remain. Today Grizedale is a working forest and instead of generations of Brocklebanks maturing on the estate, swathes of timber producing trees are grown and unceremoniously harvested in a continuous cycle of cut and sow. Whereas the abandoned footings of the house have been macadamised into this car park the abandoned feet of the cropped trees form a starkly brutal, violently textured blanket across the landscape.
"I propose to bring together the emotive texture of these abandoned stumps and the idea of 'The Grand Country House' to create a new vision of a stately home that is part temple of the dead, part fairground catacomb, part moor-top mausoleum and part lovely place to visit. Just as the abundance of skulls after the Paris plagues enabled the intricate boney patterns of the catacombs and the abundance of stone-carvers brought about the fabulous façade of Wells Cathedral so the abundance of tree stumps within the Forestry Commission's sphere of operations can enable the creation of a grand façade along with elaborate stump features punctuating a semi-formed garden."
It is proposed that 'High-Fell House' would be created in a clear felled area at the northern end of the forest, in a hidden natural bowl within the forest landscape. Facing south the sculptural façade will overlook its landscaped grounds in the foreground and Carron Crag on the horizon in the distance. From Carron Crag, the only distant point from which 'High-Fell House' can be viewed, the House will offer all the promise and confidence of classic architecture in the English landscape properly nestled in an amphitheatre of its own woodland. 'High-Fell House' itself will be accessible only by bike or by foot and will be an experience in bold contrast to the vision that might have been formed by the view from Carron Crag. As Sabin himself suggests:
"The wispy branches of the roots will catch the rain and mist and the wind will blow through the open window frames; the fine statuary and ornamental vases will be seen to be chaotic and punctuated by voids. There will be grandeur but a grandeur of a different order."
