Richard Sidebottom
Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

2003 US/ICOMOS Intern with

The National Trust
The Conservatory at Tyntesfield, Near Bristol, Somerset County,
England, United Kingdom

Richard Sidebottom's internship was at Tyntesfield, a large Gothic Revival country house about ten miles outside of Bristol, England, in northern Somerset County. The National Trust purchased Tyntesfield in 2002. The property was the home of the late Lord Wraxall and the seat of the Gibbs family for nearly 170 years.  William Gibbs purchased the property in 1843; in the 1860s the Gibbs family altered the house at Tyntesfield to incorporate Gothic forms.

Changes to the estate include enlarging the conservatory attached to the west side of the main building.  The new conservatory was a 50-x-80-foot iron frame glasshouse with statues of seated lions around the roofline and a 50-foot high dome and gilded cupola modeled after San Marco's in Venice.  By 1917, the conservatory was considered outdated and too difficult to maintain, so it was torn down.

Richard's internship involved gathering historical materials relating to the property and writing a history of the conservatory site by examining physical evidence, historic photographs, and architectural plans.  As part of this process, he acted as a liaison for the National Trust with members of the Gibbs family, who still own records relating to the property.  His work contributed not only to historical knowledge of the structure but also to the development of a feasibility study for rebuilding the conservatory as a visitor education and service area for the estate.

"I lived on the second floor of the main house with two other members of the staff and had a wonderful time trying to make the fifty-room mansion seem like a cozy home."

Richard Sidebottom
US/ICOMOS Intern
2003

The US/ICOMOS Internship in the United Kingdom was sponsored by The National Trust (England) and The Royal Oak Foundation.