The Sounding Chamber at Cliveden

The Sounding Chamber
In 2012, we began the five-year, £6 million restoration project on the South Terrace and below Sounding Chamber, one of the only elements of the 17th century house to have survived two devastating fires. The complex nature of the work meant the Chamber's doors were closed to the public whilst the conservation project was undertaken. Now the extensive work is complete, we're inviting you to step through the gilded gates and discover the secrets of Cliveden's Sounding Chamber.

A Conservation Project
A bat abode
Before the first hi-vis could even be put on, work on the project had to come to a halt. The Sounding Chamber is a cave like structure, which is the ideal habitat for bats. In England all bat species, their breeding sites and resting places are fully protected by law, therefore any work on the Chamber had to be posponed whenever the bats decided to cosy up in the Terrace Ferneries.

Gilded Gates and Grilles return
In 1895 William Waldorf Astor commissioned Singers of Frome to produce lavish gold gates and grilles to adorn his show-piece South Terrace. Originally made from ironwork and then covered in 23¾ carat gold leaf, the gates and grilles sadly were not kept up to their intended splendour. In the many years following their installation they were simply painted over using gold imitation paint. Specialist blacksmiths discovered years of rust and corrosion had seriously damaged the design of the pieces and extensive repairs were needed. They repaired and reforged missing elements to match the original design and restored them to their original colour by re-applying 23¾ carat gold leaf. The gates and grilles can now be seen for miles around as they sit glimmering right at the heart of the house.

Ornamental floor
An extensive survey of the floor’s condition showed a large number of the floors stones had suffered cracking, sinking and dampness leading to instability and fragmentation, making costly repairs critical. The Cliveden Conservation Workshop began the process began by investigating the materials and condition of each and every stone – no simple task given its elaborate design. Though comprised of varying types of stone pavers arranged in different decorative patterns, the main material was identified as Devonian limestone – traditionally known as ‘marble’, although this isn’t strictly true in geological terms. The impressive central compass feature within the inner chamber appears to have been cut from a piece of ‘marble’ known as Red Ogwell, surrounded by a ring of black Pooil Vaaish from the Plymouth area. The work needed to conserve these pieces included: taking up and re-setting broken stones, filling losses with fine lime mortar, re-pointing over 40 linear metres of stone, and replacing two square metres of stone in the middle chamber, which have been missing since electricity was installed in the mid 20th century. Now the floor has been repaired and relayed, visitors can once again walk in the steps of the past.

nationaltrust.org.uk/cliveden/features/the-chamber-of-secrets-at-cliveden-is-now-open