Broad Leys, on eastern shore of Lake Windermere, HQ of Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club, Lake District, Cumbria, England UK
THE HOUSE & HISTORY "Broad Leys – Voysey's masterpiece on the lake" Charles was born in Yorkshire in 1857 He first studied with J. P. Seddon until 1874 then with George Devey for a year. Voysey's early work was as a designer of wallpapers, fabrics and furnishings but he made his name as an arts and crafts architect of a number of outstanding country houses, these typically exhibit white rough rendered walls with horizontal ribbon windows and large pitched roofs and are recognised as his distinctive style through their simplicity and originality. Broad Leys, a superb example of Voysey's design lies just south of Bowness-on-Windermere in the English Lake District. Voysey's masterpiece according to Pevsner, “Overlooking Windermere, with extensive front terraced gardens and three distinct large curved bay windows, stretching from the ground to the fist floor, providing magnificent views over the lake”. Broad Leys is the Headquarters of the Windermere Motor Boat Racing Club a private members club, that has traditionally allowed members of the public occasional access to this magnificent building to marvel at the works of Voysey. Members decided rather than to keep such a historical masterpiece to ourselves, to invest heavily in time and resources and return the bedrooms to their original classic Arts and Crafts style and offer the unique opportunity of staying at Broad Leys, arguably Voyseys finest work, a true show piece of his genius. Voysey's fame derived through total disregard of contemporary design at the time. He drew away from the ornate and intricate look, so many architects and designers favoured during Victorian times and began a fresh look, using straight lines, gentle curves and open spaces. He took something of a minimalist approach and held firm in the belief that less is more, an attitude we see readily returning Hall/Lounge is a true reflection of Voysey's desire for open space and this has been retained despite the demands
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Photo credit: © John Morrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: architecture, boat, boats, broad, broadleys, charles, cumbria, daffodils, district, england, house, lake, lakeland, lakes, leys, spring, springtime, uk, voysey, windermere, wmbrc, yacht, yachts
