Saturday, 1 October 2011

Bramham Park: Restoration

Haycock Associates are working closely with Bramham Estate to restore this rare 17th century water feature. Over the past three years Haycock’s have been reviewing the design and operation of a complex water system within the Estate. This work has been supported by both Leeds and Durham Universities. The current engineering works will be completed in December 2011 and will mark the end of phase one of the restoration plan for the Park.

For more information see our project summary: Bramham_Summary_2011.pdf

Client: Bramham Estate

Location: Bramham Park, Leeds

Haycock Associates were commissioned by Bramham Estate and English Heritage to provide technical advice and detailed designs for the restoration of the historic T-pond water feature at Bramham Park, Yorkshire. The estate is more recently known as the location of the annual Leeds Music Festival. The T-pond is one of two functioning water features at Bramham, which is a Grade I listed landscape. The T-pond was historically designed to feed into a number of water features on the estate, all fed by spring water which is gravity drained over several kilometres. Obelisk pond, which is the only other functioning water feature, is designed to receive overflow from T-pond, however this connection no longer functions. In the 1960s, the clay lining of the T-pond degraded, resulting in a lowering of the pond’s water level due to leakage. The connections to other water features are no longer functioning due to reduced water levels, which are even greater reduced during dry summers. This absence of flow, and the loss of connectivity between ponds, has led to their degradation and the loss of these water features. The formal setting of the T-pond, with well defined straight banks and clear mown grass edges, has been lost. The restoration of T-pond in 2011 is the first phase of a much larger water feature restoration project for the entire Grade I listed landscape.

Haycock Associates have utilised their extensive restoration experience to develop a restoration plan for T-pond. This included a site investigation to locate sources of water inflow to the pond, as well as detailed designs for the restoration of the pond banks and the hydrological connection to the other water features on site. The current overflow connection from T-pond will be replaced by a weir, designed by Haycock Associates, to deliver a precise volume of water to the downstream feature during periods of high water levels. The formal pond edges are to be redefined using traditional limestone rubble walling, specially selected to compliment the historical landscape, and the pond lining is to be replaced using puddled clay to reduce leakage. The restoration pond design also takes into account the ecology of the pond, newt ramps will be added to the design to allow newt species and ducklings to exit from the pond when water levels are low. Oxygenating plants will be preserved in the top of the T-pond during construction, to be returned following the completion of the restoration. The design aims to restore the historical aesthetics of T-pond, as well as improve the hydrological connections to the catchment and the remaining water features.

Haycock have worked with the Estate from project inception through to detailed design and now are technically supervising the capital works within a larger design team. Haycock Associates are known for our flexibility and effectiveness at following projects through from conceptualisation up to completion on the ground. Our clients recommend us for guiding them through their projects in a successful, smooth and cost effective manner.