Oak props for ancient wisteria

[CPA]

Good afternoon all,
I have a mainly 16c oak framed house with an ancient and large wisteria growing up the front of it.
About 3 months ago the wisteria, part of which was attached to the house by iron hooks, fell by about 2 feet.
Firstly this prevented entry through the front door. Secondly and more worryingly I was worried that the weight of it might pull the front of the house off.
So we very gradually lifted it, using a genie, back to its original position and secured it from below with some temporary posts. This is the current situation and I hope this photo will appear here. If not I'll have to start again tomorrow as I have to leave the office:

 

[CPA]

Ah good that appears to have worked !
My current thinking, with some advice from some structural engineers, is to make sure that the front of the house bears as little weight as possible.
So what I am thinking is:
2 vertical oak uprights to take the bulk of the weight from below.
2 diagonal "crucks" to prevent the uprights from moving horizontally
2 synthetic hemp ropes looped round the wisteria and back onto the iron hooks but bearing very little load.
Does this make sense to the experts on here ?

Incidentally I had some useful advice here regarding my chimneys which I took. The work has been done and I'll post on here tomorrow so thank you all.
Best wishes
Charles

 

[CliffordPope]

Is it worth it? I don't think the wooden structure and the grotesquely overgrown wisteria actually enhance the house.
Will a wisteria regrow from the bottom if you cut it down?
If not, I'd look at securing cuttings from the plant and once they are securely rooted, take down the old one and start again.
You are only the current custodian for the house. In 50 or 100 years time it will again have an old and lovely wisteria, and it will still be the same plant.

 

[Feltwell]

Beautiful house Charles.

Presuming you do want to keep the wisteria, what you describe sounds like it will do the job, but aesthetically will it look right? Another option to consider is getting a blacksmith to make an arbour that looks like it's made from wrought iron - something which could bridge your path but also support the wisteria. This could potentially be a more delicate looking structure and hence not as visually intrusive as oak props.

 

[88v8]

I would just spread the load amongst more iron hooks, not all fastened to the same uprights.
Mature plants are beyond price.

Ivor

 

[Kearn]

I would be of the camp that thinks your beautiful house is being obscured by a plant which is beautiful for a couple of weeks a year! Not to mention functionally impeding access through the stunning oak door (which also can't really be seen in all its glory). Ancient plants are great, but surely they are there to enhance the house not detract from it?!? Contentious I know... :roll:

If I were keeping it, I'd be with Ivor and use iron into the oak at multiple fixing points to spread the load - adding a further distracting visual structure in front of your house would be a shame.

 

[CliffordPope]

I think it's past it's looking beautiful date, and is in danger of becoming a curiosity - the house hidden in a giant wisteria, or the wisteria that ate a house, like a bicycle in a tree trunk. I'd cut it down and start again, but preserving the plant genetically if that is important to the building's heritage.

We've got a family tree, a bay tree started as a cutting by my great great great grandfather in about 1850. He was head gardener at a big house near Knaresborough, and planted it in his own garden in the town centre. The family have kept cuttings going ever since, planted out in a succession of other gardens or kept in pots. Our original tree has long gone, the house demolished to form the site of the town's bus station, but it lives on, and I recently distributed a cutting to a newly discovered descendant.

You should have a look at an old recording of Alec Clifton-Taylor's English towns, and hear his rant about lovely old buildings ruined by being draped in creepers of various kinds. "Out with the chainsaws"! was his cry.

 

[CPA]

Sorry I'm slow replying to responses I've been tied up. I'll come back properly next week.
I must say no one has ever said before that the wisteria looks grotesque !
The village love it and I believe it's one of the oldest in the south of England.
I'll put a photo up of the whole facade on Monday and see if that improves matters !
Best wishes
Charles

 

[CPA]

This shows the front of the house from a distance of ~ 200m:



If I cut the wisteria down I think my demise at the hands of the villagers would be swift and painful !!
Best wishes
Charles

 

[paulc]

It is rare to find such an old wisteria, and I think it certainly worth preserving. If the main stem could be jacked up to unmask the doorway, that would be a plus in my opinion. Not sure oak props would be ideal - I'd go with steel painted black...

 

[88v8]

Staying with the multiple iron hooks idea, the other question is how to secure it to the hooks so as not to damage the stem. Tree ties, rubber webbing, polyester webbing perhaps.
https://www.safetyliftingear.com/products/round-sling-2tonne-lengths-from-0-5mtr-to-6mtr-ewl-available/round2xlg?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwf2ehNvv1gIVUhgbCh2UsA-CEAQYBCABEgJnOfD_BwE

I love old climbers. Your wisteria looks as much deserving of a Listed status as the house.
The front of our previous house was clothed in climbing hydrangea, the back in ivy. Never tried wisteria, but a house in the village has a well grown example.

Ivor