Blaise Hamlet

Blaise Hamlet

Blaise Hamlet is a fascinating collection of picturesque cottages designed by Regency architect John Nash in 1809. There are nine cottages in total, each designed to a different plan, and set in a peaceful, secluded location. The cottages were intended as residences for pensioners from the Blaise Estate.

History

John Scandrett Harford purchased the Blaise Castle estate in 1789 and built the large house that now serves as the Blaise Castle Museum. Harford brought in Humphry Repton to redesign the castle grounds and later invited John Nash, most famous as the architect of the Brighton Royal Pavilion, to design cottages for retired estate workers. These cottages became what we now know as Blaise Hamlet.

Nash designed the cottages in a picturesque style, with the dwellings clustered around a central green with a combination sundial and water pump as the centrepiece. The village pump was added by John Harford Jr in honour of his father.

There are nine cottages, all thatched, around the green. The cottages are delightfully picturesque, though very small by modern standards. Notable features include ornate brick chimneys and benches built into the exterior walls. Several of the cottages have dovecotes built into their gables.

Visiting

The hamlet is accessed through a gate off Hallen Road, just west of Henbury village and north of the B4057. There is also parking in the Blaise Castle Estate grounds, a very short walk away.

Note: only the exteriors of the cottages can be viewed, as they are tenanted. A path leads around the hamlet.