Oldway Mansion
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Oldway Mansion is a large house and gardens in Paignton, Devon in the United Kingdom. It is used today as offices by Torbay Council and BBC Radio Devon, but was built originally as a private residence by Isaac Merritt Singer. The mansion was rebuilt in the manner of the Palace of Versailles by Isaac Singer's son Paris.
Oldway Mansion is a well known local landmark and is situated on the main Torquay (A3022) to Paignton road, around half a mile from Paignton town centre. There are sixty free car parking spaces and two coach parking spaces.
[edit] History of Oldway Mansion
In 1871 the previous building on the site was purchased by Isaac Merritt Singer, the founder of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. He then proceeded to build a new mansion as his residence. Isaac Merritt Singer died on July 23, 1875, and his funeral was one of the largest of its time in the Torbay area. At the time of his death Singer had 22 living children and various wives, both legal and common law.
Paris Singer, Isaac Singer's third son, was responsible for enlarging Oldway Mansion into the form it takes today. The enlargement was modelled on the Palace of Versailles with other areas inspired by the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The grand staircase is made from marble with balusters of bronze, while the ceiling has ornate painting in the style of the Italian School.
Above the dual staircase is a large replica painting entitled The Crowning of Josephine by Napoleon by Jacques-Louis David. The original was sold by Torbay Borough Council and now hangs in the Palace of Versailles.
The gallery is a miniature reproduction of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, and is floored in parquet. The gallery leads into the ballroom, which contains walls of gilt panelling and mirrors, and floors of sprung parquet for ease of dancing. The ballroom also contains an oil painting of Louis of Bourbon. Today the ballroom is used as the council chambers, and for a variety of other events including musical concerts.
Oldway Mansion is set in 17 acres of gardens which are laid out formally on an Italian theme. One of the most famous features is the maze, which is made from dwarf box hedging and flower beds, and is often seen on postcards of the mansion. The grounds were laid out by a French landscape architect named Duchesne, who created the Grotto Gardens where a waterfall passes over a rocky cave into a pool below. The gardens contain many sub-tropical plants and shrubs.
Opposite the main entrance to the mansion is a large round building known as The Rotunda. This was built in 1873, and was used originally as a riding pavilion and exercise area. It had a wooden floor that could be removed in order to ride the horses.
Paris Singer is famous for his love affair with the dancer Isadora Duncan, who died tragically in a road accident in 1927. Following the breakup of their relationship in 1917, Paris became an American citizen and went to live in the United States. This was done partly for tax reasons, and after 1918 Oldway Mansion was no longer the permanent home of the Singer family.
During the period of the First World War from 1914 to 1918, Oldway was used as a hospital, under the name of The American Woman’s War Relief Hospital. The Rotunda was converted to house rows of beds for the wounded soldiers being brought back to England from the trenches of France and Belgium. In November 1914, Queen Mary visited the hospital.
During the Second World War from 1939 to 1945, Oldway was used once again in the war effort by housing RAF cadets training to be aircrew. In 1943 Oldway was damaged in an air raid, along with many other buildings in Paignton.
Torbay Borough Council purchased Oldway Mansion from the Singer family in 1946 for the sum of £45,000. It is estimated that Isaac Merritt Singer originally spent around £200,000 on building the mansion. Today the building is used mainly as council offices and for civil marriage ceremonies. In recent years the cost of maintaining the house and gardens has increased considerably, leading to the suggestion that the mansion should be sold and turned into a casino or apartments. This suggestion has proved controversial, since local residents argue that the mansion was sold to Torbay Council at a reduced price on the understanding that it would be open to the public at all times. [1]
[edit] Use as a film location
- During the spring of 2004, Oldway Mansion doubled as Buckingham Palace for filming of Churchill: The Hollywood Years, featuring many popular British comedians alongside Neve Campbell and Christian Slater. Pink gravel, guard houses and period vehicles were all used to recreate the royal courtyard. [2]
- The 1968 film Isadora starring Vanessa Redgrave and telling the life story of the dancer Isadora Duncan appropriately used Oldway Mansion as one of its locations. [3]
