Hamlet
Take a seat and enjoy a panoramic view of Blaise Hamlet. Gaze across the bucolic village green for the signs of life animating the quaintly individual stone cottages.
In its image of rural perfection, Blaise Hamlet, located a short distance from Blaise Castle House, is a complete work of architectural scenography. Arranged around a bucolic ‘village green’, the idyllic composition invites an enjoyment through inhabitation. Each cottage is provided with a bench to encourage residents to enjoy the view onto the common green.
The Hamlet was laid out and built in 1812 to designs by Nash, a commission to build nine cottages to house former estate workers and employees. A terraced walk runs past and links the cottages, all of which are substantial stone buildings made more fanciful through complex roof forms and exaggerated chimneys. Though built at the same time, the cottages are irregularly aligned and spaced around the undulating green, which has a sundial and pump in the middle (1815). Each building is different, but with common design features, like tall chimneys, dormer windows and overhanging eaves. The common feature of the bench encircling each cottage underlines the fact that this is a self-conscious arrangement, allowing interaction and delight in the pastoral setting.
Nash’s scheme went as far as to include planting proposals to clothe the walls and porches of the cottages, further exaggerating the image of the ideal village. Blaise Hamlet has been described as the epitome of Picturesque landscape and design.
