Whitefields Mansion
Whitefields Mansions
This place brought back happy memories for me as it was the first place I ever explored when I got my first DSLR. The place has an alright story to it too, are you sitting comfortably…
As local legend goes the wealthy owner (whom I believe to be a retired master of St. Johns College at Cambridge University) had a ding-dong with his partner and started a bit of a burn up. Unfortunately due to it’s remote location, and access, the fire brigade didn’t arrive in time to save Whitefields.
Here’s the view down said driveway:
At the top there is a pillbox!
Inside the pillbox I found this photo:
Over a year after I put this photograph online, I received a letter from a man named Andras from Budapest:
“I have recently acquired a series of watercolours by Frederic William Green, a noted Cambridge Egyptologist and keeper of antiquities at the Fitzwilliam Museum (1869-1949). There are a few of his paintings that are inscribed 'Whitefield' or 'from Whitefield'. I found this site while researching this locality, based on the posts and discussion everything seems to point in the direction that indeed Green's Whitefield is Whitefield Mansion. Incidentally aside Shaw, the photo shows Howard Carter (of Tutankhamun fame, left) and Sir Leonard Woolley (excavaror of Ur in Mesopotamia, right), both among the two most significant British archaeologists, it would seem Green would have fitted perfectly into such circles.”
“Another painting shows a reservoir, whose name is illegible (possibly starting with Ch..), also inscribed 'from Whitefield' - is there any larger body of water near the perimeter of the property ?”
He was also kind enough to share the above mentioned painting with me:
After the fire the mansion (what was left of it) was unceremoniously bulldozed into the swimming pool. Cars and all.
I’ve had these cars identified by an expert as being (top to bottom): A 1980 Toyota Corolla, a 1983 Honda Prelude, and a late 80s Volvo 340.
A burnt bike is entwined with the cars:
The heat completely plasticised the RSJs
Uplands Mansion:
From here you can see the end gable of the main house is just supported by one small corner.
I very carefully make my way inside. It seems strange to be sat in the living room of a luxury, albeit very derelict mansion, staring out of the bay window.
Em_UX and UrbanX
Unfortunately there has been a further fire here since I was here last as you can see by these photos of the veranda :
Jan 07:
Feb 08: - Yes that one post is holding the whole roof up!
Looking through the west wing of the house (Uplands)
One of many chimneys:
I remember one year after getting back from Glastonbury, my bath looked similar to this:
Guest House:
This has escaped the ravages of fire, and is now being beautifully reclaimed by nature
Inside the first floor doesn’t look too structural
...that little ladder built into the wall is too tempting, I’m going up…
Epilogue:
Firstly I’d like to ask anyone thinking of exploring here to be careful, as it is a habitat for ever dwindling newts.
The owners have applied for planning permission to demolish the buildings, and build a hotel in its place. The first application of a 22 bed hotel was approved. They applied again and again, increasing the number of rooms to test the council’s threshold. Eventually their application for a 119 room hotel was refused, leaving the largest successful application at 99 rooms.
They propose to completely raze the site, including all houses, pill boxes etc. to make way for the massive hotel. And it is massive:
17,500m2
6 Storeys
18m high facades
Trees will be cleared to make way for 119 parking spaces, for up to 200 guests, and 220 staff.
Decision on the full application is ‘pending’ and is due imminently.
I have been through all of the drawings for the full planning application, and am frankly appalled at how out-of-scale the proposal actually is. I kid you not, here is the proposal:
Proposed Hotel Links
94 Page Health and Safety Report:
Hmm.. interesting quote from the above report, admitting to completely ignoring the archealogical significance of the site:
”The site lies within a rich archaeological landscape, with important sites dating back to
Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Romano-British, Saxon and Medieval eras.44
No intrusive investigations were undertaken within the planning application site. Three
trenches (Tr97, Tr98 and Tr99) were excavated on the Uplands site, north of the application
redline boundary. No intrusive investigations were undertaken on the Whitefields site.
The 1999 study discovered a number of prehistoric and Roman features (pits, postholes,
ditches and a human burial) in the adjacent golf course site.”
Cambridge Archive Sale record (1913) Record Only:
Planning Supporting Statement (Januarys)
Ground Floor Plan
Landscaping Plan:
Side Elevations & Section:
Overall Design:
Location Plan (Carta Jonas) It’s interesting to note that the applicants also have to outline any other adjacent land that they own in blue...
Documents Available index page:
This place brought back happy memories for me as it was the first place I ever explored when I got my first DSLR. The place has an alright story to it too, are you sitting comfortably…
As local legend goes the wealthy owner (whom I believe to be a retired master of St. Johns College at Cambridge University) had a ding-dong with his partner and started a bit of a burn up. Unfortunately due to it’s remote location, and access, the fire brigade didn’t arrive in time to save Whitefields.
Here’s the view down said driveway:
At the top there is a pillbox!
Inside the pillbox I found this photo:
Over a year after I put this photograph online, I received a letter from a man named Andras from Budapest:
“I have recently acquired a series of watercolours by Frederic William Green, a noted Cambridge Egyptologist and keeper of antiquities at the Fitzwilliam Museum (1869-1949). There are a few of his paintings that are inscribed 'Whitefield' or 'from Whitefield'. I found this site while researching this locality, based on the posts and discussion everything seems to point in the direction that indeed Green's Whitefield is Whitefield Mansion. Incidentally aside Shaw, the photo shows Howard Carter (of Tutankhamun fame, left) and Sir Leonard Woolley (excavaror of Ur in Mesopotamia, right), both among the two most significant British archaeologists, it would seem Green would have fitted perfectly into such circles.”
“Another painting shows a reservoir, whose name is illegible (possibly starting with Ch..), also inscribed 'from Whitefield' - is there any larger body of water near the perimeter of the property ?”
He was also kind enough to share the above mentioned painting with me:
After the fire the mansion (what was left of it) was unceremoniously bulldozed into the swimming pool. Cars and all.
I’ve had these cars identified by an expert as being (top to bottom): A 1980 Toyota Corolla, a 1983 Honda Prelude, and a late 80s Volvo 340.
A burnt bike is entwined with the cars:
The heat completely plasticised the RSJs
Uplands Mansion:
From here you can see the end gable of the main house is just supported by one small corner.
I very carefully make my way inside. It seems strange to be sat in the living room of a luxury, albeit very derelict mansion, staring out of the bay window.
Em_UX and UrbanX
Unfortunately there has been a further fire here since I was here last as you can see by these photos of the veranda :
Jan 07:
Feb 08: - Yes that one post is holding the whole roof up!
Looking through the west wing of the house (Uplands)
One of many chimneys:
I remember one year after getting back from Glastonbury, my bath looked similar to this:
Guest House:
This has escaped the ravages of fire, and is now being beautifully reclaimed by nature
Inside the first floor doesn’t look too structural
...that little ladder built into the wall is too tempting, I’m going up…
Epilogue:
Firstly I’d like to ask anyone thinking of exploring here to be careful, as it is a habitat for ever dwindling newts.
The owners have applied for planning permission to demolish the buildings, and build a hotel in its place. The first application of a 22 bed hotel was approved. They applied again and again, increasing the number of rooms to test the council’s threshold. Eventually their application for a 119 room hotel was refused, leaving the largest successful application at 99 rooms.
They propose to completely raze the site, including all houses, pill boxes etc. to make way for the massive hotel. And it is massive:
17,500m2
6 Storeys
18m high facades
Trees will be cleared to make way for 119 parking spaces, for up to 200 guests, and 220 staff.
Decision on the full application is ‘pending’ and is due imminently.
I have been through all of the drawings for the full planning application, and am frankly appalled at how out-of-scale the proposal actually is. I kid you not, here is the proposal:
Proposed Hotel Links
94 Page Health and Safety Report:
Hmm.. interesting quote from the above report, admitting to completely ignoring the archealogical significance of the site:
”The site lies within a rich archaeological landscape, with important sites dating back to
Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Romano-British, Saxon and Medieval eras.44
No intrusive investigations were undertaken within the planning application site. Three
trenches (Tr97, Tr98 and Tr99) were excavated on the Uplands site, north of the application
redline boundary. No intrusive investigations were undertaken on the Whitefields site.
The 1999 study discovered a number of prehistoric and Roman features (pits, postholes,
ditches and a human burial) in the adjacent golf course site.”
Cambridge Archive Sale record (1913) Record Only:
Planning Supporting Statement (Januarys)
Ground Floor Plan
Landscaping Plan:
Side Elevations & Section:
Overall Design:
Location Plan (Carta Jonas) It’s interesting to note that the applicants also have to outline any other adjacent land that they own in blue...
Documents Available index page:
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