Knights In White Satin

None whiter… TUES14FEB23

uilt by David La Touche in 1753, The Banquet Room gave those on the Bellevue estate a chance to chew with an incredible view.

Known today as The Octagon, it remains the centre piece to the woods occupying the east side of the Glen Of The Downs valley.

And it’s about to get a whole new lease of life, thanks to conservation experts Oldstone.

The Octagon mid-19th Century

With more than a little help from Silvia Mambriani at L7 Architects, the plans include restoring as much of the original structure as possible, bringing it back to former glories by also adding new four stainless steel seats, herring bone brick sitting in the centre in an octagon shape, reinforcing the original stone, unearthing the patio to the right of the main building, and applying limewash – which absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – to the ancient walls.

All of which means that we’re going to end up with something pretty darn spectacular. Let’s just hope we can keep it that way. And that we can actually park nearby.

With work on The Octagon well underway, we swung by to find out more from Oldstone foreman Dave Hutchinson.