Bramble Villa East

Light from the sea in its rooms

The Rev. Heaven first built a bungalow with an east-facing verandah on this site in 1893. Martin Harman later named it Brambles, as its garden had become something of a jungle. By 1970 the building too ramshackle to save, so the Landmark Trust replaced the corrugated iron ruin with a pair of cedar villas, deliberately recalling the original bungalow’s style. These were shipped, ready-made, from the mainland and first used as one to house those repairing the island’s buildings. Later, the villa was separated in two: Bramble Villa East looks out over the sea towards Devon and the light from the sea plays in its rooms.

After the Heavens left Lundy, the Bungalow was used by staff or for letting. Constructed in colonial style, with its verandah facing east, it would not have been unfamiliar to expatriates living in India, Africa or Australia. Mr Martin Harman later named the Bungalow `Brambles' as its garden became something of a jungle.

One of the greatest problems that the Landmark faced after it took over the administration of Lundy was where to house the extra men needed to do the work. In 1970 the old Bungalow was demolished and by January 1971 a new one in similar style was built on the mainland to Philip Jebb's designs by a firm called Timbaform. This was then shipped over and put together on the island. To help with this project, and in all the works that were to follow on Lundy, Philip Jebb brought in the Quantity Surveyor Theo Williams, of Bare, Leaning and Bare of Bath. Theo Williams and his family became regular Lundy visitors, besides doing much other work for Landmark, and he was appointed one of its Trustees in 1989. Theo served as Trustee for thirteen years and as a happy postscript before his retirement from the Board in September 2002, was awarded an OBE in recognition for his unstinting service as a Landmark Trustee.

In the event, it was the new agent, Ian Grainger, who moved into the new Bramble Villa. Mr Gade retired in 1971, but there was no question of his leaving the island. Somewhere had to be found for his replacement therefore, and Brambles was the obvious answer. Like its predecessor it could be divided into two, and since 1982 has formed two cottages, each for four people.