Bentley Wood (also known as The House at Halland)

Bentley Wood is approached on its eastern side from the west side of Knowle Lane across a cattle grid flanked by a one metre high, white-painted, picket fences attached to a five-bar gate. A 120 metre long, rolled gravel drive (now, 2005, widened and resurfaced from the original plain concrete) curves from the entrance in a south-westerly direction and is bordered by wide lawns with shrub and tree planting. Immediately inside the gate on the east side is a mature oak planted on a mound, beyond which is a kitchen garden and orchard enclosed by a 1.5 metre high beech hedge.

On the west side of the drive, hidden by rhododendrons, is the entrance to a water-filled quarry. After 30 metres the drive curves west for 60 metres, the views south to the Downs shown in contemporary photographs (eg Tunnard, 1939) now (2005) obscured by conifer planting. The drive finally curves gently north-west to approach the gravelled entrance forecourt on the north front of the house through a rectangular arch in a two metre high wall, which screens the forecourt from the east. The forecourt is bounded on the south side by the house, a service area on the east side and a low curving brick retaining wall on the north and west sides. Beyond the retaining walls there is a grass bank leading to glades and woodland.

From the south front of the house sliding doors open onto a raised terrace running the length of the house (now, 2005, extended by around 20 metres to the west to also serve the late-20th-century single-storey extension). Chermayeff's original concrete paving on the terrace has since been replaced by York stone (now, 2005, with self-sown plants and in poor condition). From the terrace, wide-sweeping views south-west to the Downs remain, but are marred by the earthworks of a lake (now, 2005, partly drained) constructed in an expanse of rough grass around 50 metres south of the house and, 30 metres to the south-east, by a brick-built swimming pool enclosure.

At the eastern end of the terrace, there is a sheltered eating area (8 metres x 8 metres). A rectangular pool, sited by Chermayeff in the angle between the building and screen wall, has been removed (2005), but an approximately 16 metre long terrace walk, his original ‘catwalk' path, now (2005) broadened and paved in York stone, has survived. Shrub planting and a grassed area beneath the screen wall enclosing the east side of this terrace walk also survive, as does a mature oak at its end, but Chermayeff's wooden screen to frame views to the countryside beyond the garden was destroyed in the 1987 storm.

The sculpture plinth has been removed (the sculpture was returned to Moore when the Chermayeffs sold Bentley Wood and is now the property of Tate Britain), and adjoining steps re-positioned to the south edge of the terrace walk. These steps lead south down to the rough grassland surrounding the drained lake and, to its east, the swimming pool enclosure. Adjoining the pool on its east is a wire-enclosed, sunken, hard tennis court. From here, an adjacent mown path leads through glades of semi-mature conifer and broadleaf trees around 100 metres along the eastern site boundary offering views across pasture to the kitchen garden.

From the west end of the terrace, a set of stone steps (late-20th-century) leads down to a curving path of concrete stepping stones set in the rough grass west of the house. The path, running for approximately 13 metres, leads south-west through light woodland before continuing as a grass path alongside a stream (now, 2005, mostly dry) bordered by low shrubs and woodland plants. This was originally Tunnard's ‘planted dell'. After around 150 metres the course of the stream opens out into a pool (now, 2005, concrete lined and dry) before continuing its course as a plant-filled, damp streambed, towards a wooded area around 200 metres from the house, which comprises the uncleared section of Bentley Wood.

Description written: August 2005