Significant alterations were made to the terrace façade and stair as part of Charles Barry’s 1851 designs, which were drawn up for the Duke and Duchess of Sutherland after the second fire at Cliveden destroyed the majority of the house above. Barry intended the sweeping design to make the gardens feel like an additional room in the great house, and for the owners and their guests a central part of the Cliveden experience, as the gardens are today.
Saving the South Terrace
The South Terrace is thought to be the oldest surviving structure at Cliveden. With alterations and repairs along the way, it's survived two fires and over three centuries of Cliveden wind and rain. But sadly, the damage to the Terrace became more and more obvious as the years went by. Faulty drainage meant significant water damage caused water to soak into the stone, accelerating the decay. The original balustrade was also showing its age. The 17th-century stonework was barely being held together as the crumbling masonry began to wither.
A labour of love
The Terrace
Work on the Terrace included painstakingly taking up the Terrace flagstones, reparing the cracks, and then re-laying them in their original formation. The defective drainage system, which caused some of the deterioration to the Terrace itself, was also replaced.
