Back in October (2012) our neighbour told us that a nearby house and gardens was open to the public. Portland House – just five minutes' walk from our house, but in another world entirely – is owned by the National Trust and is let out as a
holiday cottage, so chances to visit this unusual property are rare.
It wasn't publicised as an event on the Trust's website as the last time they did this they were overwhelmed by visitors and this time it was just advertised locally on posters.
We have walked past the grounds of the house along a former part of the South West Coast Path (the path has been diverted near here as a little further along the cliff had collapsed, taking the old path with it) not realising what the property was and wondered who would be lucky enough to live there with such a lovely view over Portland harbour.
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| Click on picture for link to BBC article |
The house was built in 1935 by the architect Lord Gerald Wellesley, who later became the 7th Duke of Wellington. It was damaged by bombing in World War II and then donated to the Trust in the 1970s. It was renovated by the Trust in 2011.
Portland House sits within large gardens laid out by Hillier's Nurseries including a rock garden, large lawned area and sloping grounds down towards the sea. The foreshore below is within the Portland Harbour Shore Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), now included within the Jurassic Coast.
The villa is furnished in Art Deco style and contains some beautiful original features and period furniture.The clock above and the furniture to the left can be found in the sitting room.
It has two broad terraces, one above the other, and most rooms in the
house have large French windows opening onto them. At each end of the
front, wrapping around each corner of the building, are arcaded loggias,
perfect for shade on hot summer days.
It makes excellent use of the natural slope maximising exposure to the fine south-facing views.
The house sleeps twelve and each of the bedrooms is furnished with the most stylish 1930s furniture. At just over £3,000 for a week in the high season it might seem a lot
for a holiday cottage but, as it sleeps twelve, with seven bedrooms,
that's only £35 per person per day.
From the
Twentieth Century Society:
"It is an excellent and very complete example of the Hollywood Spanish
style in Britain. There are very few remaining examples of this style in
Britain, certainly none with such a wealth of original fixtures and
fittings.
Portland House is a particularly valuable part of inter-war
architectural history as a fine example of the eclectic fantasy
architecture of the period. It brilliantly reflects popular imagery of
the day: a combination of the glamour of the cinema with the exoticism
of the sunshine holiday."
It reminded me of a setting in one of Agatha Christie's novels and I could just imagine sitting on the terrace in the late afternoon/early evening summer sun sipping champagne cocktails before dinner, but without the murders, of course!
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