The Gentleman Magazine Issue 18 | December 2019 | Page 50

GALLIARD & ACORN UNVEIL RESTORED HOPE HOUSE: BATH GEORGIAN
MANSION, ONCE THE HOME OF ENGLAND’S FIRST ‘CHAMPAGNE’ VINTNER
Acorn Property Group and Galliard Homes have unveiled
the completed restoration of Hope House, a Grade-II listed
Georgian mansion in Bath, now providing 54 refurbished
and newly built homes set in six acres of parkland, originally
the home of Charles Hamilton England’s first commercial
‘champagne’ vintner.
Hope House and its surrounding parkland was originally built
as a stately home for the Hon. Charles Hamilton (1704-1786),
the son of the 6th Earl of Abercon, who was England’s first
commercial vintner, renowned for producing Surrey’s first
‘champagne’ sparkling wine in 1753 at his 200 acre Painshill
Park vineyard estate.
Hamilton’s Surrey ‘champagne’ sold for 50 guineas a barrel, a
considerable price at the time, and a fan of the sparkling wine
was the Duke of Mirepoix, the French Ambassador, whose
praise resulted in vintners travelling to Painshill Park from
France to review the distinctive wine produced.
In 1773 Charles sold Painshill Park for £25,000, a fortune at that
time, and he used this windfall to purchase six acres of hilltop
land on Lansdown Road in Bath and commissioned architect
John Palmer to build a magnificent Georgian mansion, now
known as Hope House, on the site between 1781-82. It was
here that Charles enjoyed his retirement and continued to
indulge in his viticulture expertise.
Charles brought his wine-making knowledge with him to Bath.
Providing incredible views over Bath, Hope House fronted
onto formal terraced lawns, with parkland beyond including a
large private vineyard which Hamilton planted in the grounds.
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Visitors to Hope House and its vineyard included Charles’
nephew Sir William Hamilton and his fiancé Emma (who
was to become the famous mistress of Vice-Admiral Horatio
Nelson); his nephew James, the 8th Earl of Abercorn, and His
Excellency Ambassador Piper, who was sent from London by
HM The King of Sweden to study the beautiful gardens and
vineyard. These illustrious guests enjoyed wine produced from
the estate’s vineyard.
Palmer, who also designed adjacent Lansdown Crescent, gave
the mansion bow windows to the south and west fronts, tall
sash windows, high ceilings, elegant cornice detailing and
balustraded parapet.
After the Hamilton family, Hope House was owned by a
series of aristocratic families before becoming Bath High
School in 1926. Alumni of the school include cook and TV
presenter Mary Berry, Baroness Elspeth Howe and Dawn
Austwick. In 1998, Bath High School merged with the Royal
School, becoming the Royal High School and relocating to the
James Wilson/Cranwell House buildings on Lansdown Road,
releasing Hope House and its parkland for restoration.
Over the last two years Acorn Property Group and Galliard
Homes have returned the mansion and parkland to its original
role as a prestigious residential address. The restoration
project has been guided by architectural heritage specialists
Nash Partnership, with specification by award winning design
house Lambart & Browne and landscaping by Matthew Wigan
Associates.
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