Oldway tree damage won’t deter volunteers

Volunteers working to preserve a historic feature of one of Devon’s most famous buildings have pledged to battle on despite damage caused by a giant falling tree.

Safety fences have been put up around the historic grotto at Paignton’s Oldway Mansion after the giant pine tree fell across it.
The Monterrey pine fell as Storm Chandra brought heavy rain and gale-force winds to South Devon, coming to rest on the upper section of the Grade Two listed Victorian structure which was commissioned more than 100 years ago by Oldway’s flamboyant owner Paris Singer.
Teams from Torbay Council made the area safe and called in a tree expert, Fence panels were put up around the grotto.
A spokesperson for the council said further specialist assessments would determine whether the grotto had sustained any damage and what conservation or restoration work may be required.
Volunteers from the Oldway Gardens Group have been working for years to secure the restoration of the grotto.
“It has been long fenced-off due to years of neglect,” said a group spokesperson. “The whole cave is now exposed, the tree uprooted, and all the rocks and metal fabric caved in.
“It is one big hole. It’s sad to see more setbacks at a site that’s been at risk for so long.”
Built between 1900 and 1902 by Devon landscape gardener F.W. Meyer, working for Veitch’s of Exeter, the grotto was personally commissioned by Paris Singer, the son of sewing machine magnate Isaac Singer.
He said he intended it to be ‘the crowning jewel’ of his ambition to transform Oldway into a mini-Versailles.
Using around 1,000 tonnes of stone, Meyer created Devon’s largest grotto, a man-made cavern with a waterfall tumbling into a pool below.
“The storms have caused severe damage to the grotto and the plans for progress but we won’t give up,” said the spokesperson. “We’re more determined than ever to overcome these challenges and return the grotto to show its once breathtaking glory.”