UPPARK- Revitalization

Uppark is a 17th-century house in South Harting, Petersfield, West Sussex, England. It is a Grade I listed building and a National Trust property

The grand Uppark House is located at Sussex Downs and was built by Ford Greyor the first Earl of Tankerville, in the year 1690.

In 1989, the conservation work was just a couple of days from completion and only thing left to complete was lead roofing. Due to the negligence of two workmen and a live blowtorch, fire engulfed the grandeur of Uppark (see figure 4.2) and reduced its splendour to ashes. The house’s attic and the upper floor were completely destroyed (see figure 4.4), fortunately the ground floor and the basement were fairly undamaged .

The fire at Uppark on 30th November, 1989 was catastrophic yet the volunteers working therealong-with 156 firemen were able to salvage most of the paintings, curtains, furniture, etc. from within the house on time.

There were many reasons to go in for restoration, like; the building was not completely destroyed, most of the artefacts were rescued, the interiors of the ground floor and the basement were substantially intact, the house was a grade I listed building so demolishing it was not an option, neither was renovating it.

Before work on Uppark could begin a detailed study of its architectural history needed to be done. This was carried out by shifting through the records first drawn up by the National Trust, the old photographs of the Fetherstonhaugh family and also the visitors were asked to submit any piece of information that they had from their visit to UpparkThe first main assignment was to reinforce the scaffolding of the building and then build a new roof. The fire revealed red tiles under the roof and so while rebuilding the roof the same technology was used- red tiles were laid inside and were covered with Delabole slates on the outside, as in the original .

The National Trust was uncompromising in its stand of using traditional methods and materials for restoration work, they even went a step further and used the same techniques used byyesteryear craftsmen (see figures 4.6 & 4.7). They believed that using the traditional techniques would not just keep the character of the house intact but also provide Uppark with longevity, consistency, and the movement required to keep the old charm of the place intact.