Later Twentieth-Century Cobham, 1957-2001 |
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The Ministry of Works decided to tackle the problem of Cobham’s deterioration through state intervention. The State purchased the house and immediate grounds in 1959 and through the Ministry of Works embarked on a major repair programme which lasted until 1962, with the intention of opening it to the public as a historic house. However, over-commitment of limited public funds led to the abandonment of this plan, and alternative users were sought. In 1962 the newly-formed Westwood Education Trust opened a private girls’ boarding school; initially tenants, they acquired the freehold to the house and inner grounds soon afterwards. The Trust, now known as Cobham Hall, has invested large sums in the improvement and maintenance of the main Hall complex of buildings. What remained of the outer Park was divided up among a number of different owners: although the Darnley Estate still owned much of Cobham Wood, including the Mausoleum.
The ever increasing vandalism to the mausoleum and surrounding woodland was of a scale that could not be tackled by Lord Darnley, and the property was sold to a developer in the late 1980s, following the granting of permission to convert the Mausoleum into a residence at a Public Inquiry in 1985. However, by then the property boom of the mid 80s was over, the developer became bankrupt along with his mortgagee and the building came into the hands of the official receiver. Effectively without an owner the building became the target of increasing vandalism and graffiti, while the surrounding Park became the destination for off-road bikers and joyriders. With the Mausoleum was being used for parties, raves, witchcraft and sorcery, the whole area became no man’s land for anybody wanting to enjoy the outstanding landscape.
Early negotiations for the route of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link led to a compensation fund of £750,000 from Union Rail the developers of the link, earmarked towards the conservation of Cobham Park as a whole. The fund was used to establish CAMS in 1997, and with this and the development of the Cobham Park Heritage Project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Gravesham BC was able to purchase (on behalf of CAMS) the Mausoleum and 165 acres of registered Park was the Receiver in February 2001 for the sum of £150,000. This purchase was dependant on an agreement with the National Trust to take the Mausoleum over once the agreed capital repairs have been carried out.
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