Riffhams

www.historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list

An early 19th century house surrounded by a park laid out in 1815 following advice from Humphry Repton.

DESCRIPTION

LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING

Riffhams lies on the north-west edge of the town of Danbury, on the north side of the A414 Chelmsford to Maldon road. The c 20ha triangular site is set in a rural part of Essex, bounded to the north by Blake's Wood, to the east and south-east by Riffhams Lane, and to the west by farmland. Graces Lane cuts through the northern end of the site, dividing the main house and park in the south from Cedar Park in the north. The gently rolling landscape falls south and south-east from the house towards a stream, dammed to create two lakes, which runs from east to west through the centre of the park. The ground then rises again to the southern boundary.

ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES

Riffhams is entered off Graces Lane, through a pair of stone gate piers beside the road. The short, c 50m drive curves south-west to arrive at the gravelled forecourt on the east front, and then continues round to the north of the house into a service courtyard. A second entrance off Graces Lane, c 80m west of the first, leads directly into this courtyard. There is also a track which enters the southern tip of the park and runs through Hall Wood along the western boundary. This now (2000) continues north to link with Riffhams Farm (located to the west of the boundary of the site here registered) and it is not clear from map evidence whether this was ever used as an approach drive for the main house.

PRINCIPAL BUILDING

Riffhams (listed grade II) is a two-storey country house of white brick, standing on a high point to the north of its park. The entrance front to the east is of seven bays, the southern three projecting slightly with a central Doric portico. The south front, facing the park, has five bays, with a central garden door leading onto a small balustraded terrace. The house was built in 1815-17 for J R Spencer Phillips and was extended during the mid C19 by the Holt family. A small carriage house stands beside the north front.

GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS

The gravelled forecourt below the east front looks onto a lawn divided from the park by a metal fence. Deep mixed shrub borders screen the service courtyard to the north. The small enclosed and balustraded paved terrace below the south front looks onto a sloping lawn on which stands a fine mature cedar of Lebanon and two small urns on plinths. The lawn is enclosed by a metal park fence with extensive views beyond into the park.

The main area of flower gardens lie to the west and south-west of the house and are divided from the service courtyard to the north by a tall wall of white brick surmounted by urns, at the southern end of which a covered loggia has been created (late C20) looking out onto the sloping west lawn. Beyond the loggia the wall, now of red brick, extends west to become the southern wall of the kitchen garden. Beyond the west lawn, c 70m south-west of the house, is a sunken rhododendron dell. Steps from the path below the kitchen garden wall lead south down to a gravel path between azalea and rhododendron beds to a central circular pool, beyond which the path continues and emerges close to the boundary with the park. This feature was added to the gardens in the late C19. On the west side of the Dell is a croquet lawn. To the north of this lies an enclosed hidden woodland garden, while to the south a mid C20 tennis court has been added beside a small early C20 rose garden with central formal pool. A cherry-lined walk along the boundary with the park runs east past the south end of the tennis court, rose garden, and Dell to link back to the south lawn.

PARK

The park at Riffhams lies mainly to the south of the house, enclosed along its western boundary by Hall Wood, and by thinner belts of trees along the south-east boundary, broken to give views north towards the house and gardens. Within these boundaries the park is laid to grass with a good scatter of mature trees, mainly oak and horse chestnut. At the lowest point in the south park, the stream running through it has been dammed to form two small lakes, c 170m south and south-west of the house. The south park was laid out following advice received from Humphry Repton in 1815 and it remains much as he proposed. To the north of Graces Lane lies Cedar Park. Laid to grass and enclosed by Blake's Wood, this area contains a few mature cedar of Lebanon which date from the same period as the main body of the park.

KITCHEN GARDEN

The walled kitchen garden lies c 50m to the north-west of the house and appears to have been built at the same time, since one of the walls carries a date plaque of 1815. It is divided by grass paths and box-hedged borders which are cultivated for fruit, vegetables, and cut flowers. A range of C19 glasshouses are currently (2000) under restoration. In the south-east quarter a hedged enclosure screens a mid C20 swimming pool, created by the Benson family following the enlargement of a mid C19 lily pool.

REFERENCES

T Wright, History of Essex (1836)

N Pevsner and E Radcliffe, The Buildings of England: Essex (1954), p 156

The Garden, (September 1983), p 366

English Heritage Inspector's Report (1988)

F Cowell and G Green, Repton in Essex (2000), pp 115-118

Maps

OS Surveyor's drawings, 1799 (Essex Record Office facsimile)

OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1874

2nd edition published 1897

Illustrations

H Repton, Watercolour, 1815 (copy held at University of East Anglia)

Description written: December 2000

Amended: April 2001

Edited: September 2001