# Pitt Place - Chelmsford - July 2011



## nelly (Jul 27, 2011)

Once owned by Essex MP John Archer Houblon from 1810 to 1820 and a descendant of the first governor of the Bank of England this has been on the buildings at risk register for several years.

The following was taken from The Essex Chronicle.

_Despite the roof missing a quarter of its tiles and the attic windows being broken and open to the elements, locals say Mrs Jill Rigler still lives there.
The Riglers bought the house from agents Cheale in 1995.
On several occasions when the Chronicle called, only the growling of a guard dog through a cat flap indicated residency, and the stable block was in use.
A neighbour said: "We get a lot of people knocking here to see if the place is for sale. We long to see it reinstated. Mrs Rigler is a very private person."
Allen Buckroyd, Baddow's village historian, surveyed the property in 2004 and was shocked this week to see how it has deteriorated since then.
Sad place "Compared to the photograph taken in 1925 it is a sad place," he said.
"It used to be vibrant then with garden parties around the lake.
"Now I can only conclude someone is biding their time to have the whole place covered with houses because there is a plan to so develop a field on the other side of the road."_







The this from a later edition of The Essex Chronicle

_THE former mansion home of a 19th century Chelmsford MP has been saved by a property developer. Neglected Pitt Place in Great Baddow - top of the county's at risk register two years ago - has been rescued by Douglas Carroll, who runs property developer Newells in Moulsham Street, Chelmsford. 
For years the mansion was owned by teacher Jill Rigler until Newells bought it with plans to return to its "regency glory".
Baddow historian Allen Buckroyd, who watched the building deteriorate rapidly since 2004, said: "It's a house worthy of a lord of the manor and now it seems it can start looking like it again.
"It is the most wonderful piece of heritage, with stately rooms and panelled ceilings.
Mrs Rigler's son, John, said: "My mother had owned the property since 1990 but has never been in the position to take care of it in the manner it deserves.
"My mother is a very private person who sadly chose to batten down the hatches and hoped the problem would go away.
"We would have sorely loved to approach a body for a grant of some sort but would not have known where to start."
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In the garden near the lake was a thatched single roomed summer house




















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## UrbanX (Jul 28, 2011)

Nice one! What a lovely old place! I hope it gets properly restored soon! 
Great pics and write up!


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## Em_Ux (Jul 28, 2011)

Wow that place is lovely! 

Fantastic shots


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## oldscrote (Jul 28, 2011)

Bagsy me the summerhouse,I can just imagine sitting on that porch in my rocking chair with a tall cold glass of something nice.....Love the staircase and the pierced work on the newel posts,nice one Nelly.


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## podman (Jul 28, 2011)

thats a great looking building - some smashing photos as well

thanks for posting


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## TeeJF (Jul 29, 2011)

Brilliant! I take it the old dear and her dog weren't behind the cat flap then!


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## waley_bean (Jul 29, 2011)

Beautiful place. Love the wooden panelling, very similar to what I saw at The Mount in an old Victorian building.


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## scribble (Jul 29, 2011)

Some unusual wallpaper there. Very impressive.


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## nelly (Jul 29, 2011)

TeeJF said:


> Brilliant! I take it the old dear and her dog weren't behind the cat flap then!



No they weren't but we did get halfway through the splore only to find that we were not alone, there was actually a workman in there and he must have heard us moving about above him, he came up to investigate and we did the brave thing and hid behind a bedroom door each, a nerve wracking 10 minutes while he looked around, when he went back down we made our way out sharpish through a second story window onto the scaffolding.

I reckon he told his Mrs that night that he wasnt going back to the "Haunted Job" next week


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## leepey74 (Jul 30, 2011)

Wonderfull pics 

Hope this place gets the renovation back to its former glory!

Maybe you could do some shots of its progress over the next few months??


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## inceptionwave (Jul 30, 2011)

Excellent report, love the woodwork on the staircase and hallway. Great photos! I hope they restore it to how it was. I bet the workman won't return lol


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## King Al (Jul 30, 2011)

Super find Nelly! The stair case really reminds me of potters... nice pics


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## smiler (Jul 30, 2011)

Great Stuff once again Nelly, I Loved it, Thanks.


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## Foxylady (Aug 8, 2011)

I seemed to have missed this one...fantastic place, Nelly. Some really lovely original features there. Great find.


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## Janey68 (Aug 8, 2011)

Lovely old building, beautiful pictures. I really enjoyed looking at those


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## scribble (Aug 8, 2011)

That's a beautiful house. Grand but not too grand to be cosy. I love the shaping at the top of that internal door.


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## yellowbelly1981 (Aug 8, 2011)

Brilliant pics as usual Nelly! Well done


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## Nobby1974 (Oct 10, 2011)

There's some real craftmanship in that place - I do hope they keep as many of the original features as they can. Thanks for sharing.


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## Tizzme (Oct 12, 2011)

Great report bud thanks.


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## Sshhhh... (Nov 6, 2011)

What a wonderful building!! So happy its being rescued and not left to rot. Thanks, great report


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## klempner69 (Nov 6, 2011)

Just noticed the name Houblon..that name is linked to Kingsmoor House.


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## nelly (Nov 6, 2011)

klempner69 said:


> Just noticed the name Houblon..that name is linked to Kingsmoor House.



Ah, well done matey, I hadn't noticed that.

Just read this on British History Online.

_The largest house in the parish is Kingsmoor House, Paringdon Road, which was the centre of a small estate built up in the 18th century. (fn. 16) It belonged to John Risden in 1845. (fn. 17) From c. 1848 to c. 1870 it was the home of Frederick Archer Houblon._


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