The Governor'S House

THE GOVERNOR'S HOUSE

A dwellings complex with attached boundary walling, incorporating gatepiers, formerly the residence of the Military Governor of the Garrison of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Built circa 1719, with 19th-century alterations and additions. The building is attributed to Nicholas Hawksmoor (1661–1730), commissioned by the Board of Ordnance as part of the development of the Berwick garrison barracks initiated in 1716. It is constructed of coursed squared sandstone with ashlar detailing, painted render to most of the rear elevation, wide gable chimney stacks, and slate roof coverings.

The plan follows a symmetrical elongated linear arrangement, with a tall principal range at the centre and lower flanking service ranges on either side. From the north service range, a tall boundary wall extends northwards and returns eastwards to the defensive ramparts at the east end of the garden.

The front elevation facing Palace Green displays a central range of three storeys above a basement, comprising five bays. The two end bays are articulated by full-height pilasters without capitals. A central doorway, set within a 19th-century porch, is flanked by window openings containing sash frames without glazing bars, set within painted stone surrounds. Above the doorway sits a coat of arms within a cartouche. Between the first and second floor windows runs a deep cornice, with a second, less elaborate cornice at eaves level. The flanking ranges are of two storeys and three bays, with the centre bays articulated by flanking pilasters and coped gablets.

The north service range is now a separate dwelling, featuring an inserted semi-circular headed window, a Venetian window, and a keyed circular window at ground floor level, along with sash windows in painted surrounds to the upper floor. The south range, formerly stables and coach house and latterly a workshop, retains upper floor windows with sash frames, three of which appear to be original openings. A blocked former coach house doorway to the centre bay has a shallow ashlar arch and keystone. A part-rendered bay at the right-hand end incorporates the end bay of the former service range but has been raised and extended. The rear elevations have been significantly altered and extended, though they appear to retain the original projections to the centre bays.

The interior of the north wing, which has been inspected, has been remodelled to form a separate dwelling but retains the large full-width hearth and tall chimney that formerly served the 'mess kitchen' shown on a plan of 1837.

The attached rubble stone boundary wall extends northwards with saddleback copings, then returns eastwards for the full length of the garden it encloses, terminating at the ramparts. A single inserted doorway sits at the junction of wall and house. A wide entrance gateway marks the corner where the wall returns eastwards, featuring V-jointed ashlar gatepiers with shallow pyramidal caps. The wall varies between two and two-and-a-half metres in height and is ramped at its southern end where it adjoins the ramparts. This section incorporates quoining and part of a band course, possibly a vestige of a detached garden building shown on a mid-18th-century engraving of the Governor's House.

The Governor's House and Garden forms a key element of Berwick-upon-Tweed's garrisoned frontier settlement, which evolved throughout the medieval and post-medieval periods following the town's capture by Edward I in 1296 and the subsequent remodelling of its castle and construction of town walls. From 1482, the town was garrisoned under a military governor, with documentary evidence suggesting that the Governor was provided with a residence and garden in this location. The present house was initially thought to have been built in 1719 to designs by Vanbrugh, but is now attributed to Hawksmoor. In 1717, the Board of Ordnance authorised the construction of barracks accommodation in Berwick for 600 men and 36 officers, ending the unpopular practice of billeting soldiers with the civilian population. The proximity of the barracks building campaign to the Governor's House suggests they formed parts of the same initiative. Hawksmoor is known to have been close to Brigadier-General Richards, the Surveyor-General responsible for the Board of Ordnance's buildings. Berwick ceased to be a fortified town in 1815–16, and in 1837, a pedestrian route around the ramparts was created and the Governor's House and Garden were sold.

The building forms a group with the Berwick Ramparts, old citadel, and medieval walls, and is a scheduled monument. The Governor's House and Gardens serve as a focal point within the military garrison, signalling the high status of the military governor within this most important garrison settlement. The land occupied by the house and gardens lies close to the Elizabethan ramparts, with the garden wall to the north physically attached to the defences. The unique status of Berwick in a national context and the importance of its Governor's residence and gardens within the early-18th-century garrison hierarchy imparts outstanding historic and architectural significance to this site, which has additionally influenced the development of its civilian surroundings over two centuries.