Restoration of Clandon Park causes controversy

When Clandon Park was gutted by fire in April 2015 hundreds of years of history, artworks, tapestries and artefacts were lost forever.

With little more left than just the charred walls of the building the National Trust, which has owned the Surrey mansion since 1956, faced a choice – leave it as a ruin, or embark on what has been described as "the biggest conservation project of a generation".

The Trust chose the latter, and has now shortlisted six possible designs.

Project curator Sophie Chessum said she hopes the work will bring this once magnificent family home back to life.

She told Sky News: "We’ve reached a really exciting stage.

"It has been great working with the architects and they have put a huge amount of effort into their concepts so we now have six teams with six concept designs and we are really looking to them to bring some creativity back to Clandon.

"You know Clandon was created in the 1730s by an international team of architects and designers and we are looking for that now to renew Clandon and give a new spirit."

But the 8th Earl of Onslow, Rupert Onslow, whose family owned Clandon Park until 1956, is hugely disappointed by the plans.

Since the fire he argued that a part modern, part restoration build would not do his family’s former home justice, and that he would rather it was left as a ruin or for the £30m budget be spent on a project elsewhere.

"Clandon is dead," he said.

"It is a tragedy – it was a magnificent, extraordinary place that a lot of people claimed as being one of the great houses of Britain.

"But it has gone now, it is different, it’s totally not there, 95% of it has gone."

For now the Grade 1 listed 18th-century mansion sits covered by tarpaulin, which is protecting the precious remnants of marble and plasterwork from the elements.

A final design for the restoration is due to be chosen in September, with construction work due to start in 2019.

(c) Sky News 2017: Restoration of Clandon Park causes controversy