The Grade II listed Fishery Cottage in Blenheim Park has been rebuilt following extensive fire damage. The rebuild aims to preserve the original character of the cottage, with a modern but subtle extension, and will stand within the historic Great Park, which enjoys both a Grade I listing and a UNESCO World Heritage rating.
In the period before Blenheim Palace was built, the general location of Fishery Cottage was occupied by a small building, which provided a home for the person in charge of managing the fish and waterfowl stocks. Such food would have been supplied to both the ‘Old Manor of Woodstock’, now demolished, as well as the current Palace.
Fisheries Cottage lies at the extreme northern tip of Queen Pool, a body of water said to have been named after Queen Philippa, consort of King Edward II, whose son Edward, the Black Prince, was born near the site, at Woodstock in 1330. Queen Pool was created by Lancelot Capability Brown in the 1760s and sits along the edge of an important site line which links Woodstock village to the Column of Victory in the park.
Brown partly blocked the southern view from the cottage by infilling the old Pond to create a series of little islands which were then planted with trees. This satisfied his design intention of screening Fishery Cottage from the Palace. The modern extension to the North of the cottage is designed to be minimalist, with the same stone on the facade as on the cottage. The grey zinc clad roof of the extension is designed to look as if it is floating, making for an eye-catching design up close, but an overall minimal visual presence from afar.