The Great Country Estates of Britain Series: Holkham Hall Revisited 2 of 5

After taking in the park and external architecture we ventured inside, to be welcomed by the vast marble hall (actually made of Derbyshire alabaster)...

Above and Below: The amazing coffered ceiling.

The alabaster had dramatic red seams running through it which gave it a warmer atmosphere than a pure austere white marble would have. In the niches are plaster replicas of Greek statues.

Next is an assortment of photos of the statues from the statue gallery. This gallery boast having the most complete collection of authentic classical statues of any private house in Britain (many houses having sold off their originals when the fell on hard times, and replaced them with plaster copies). On the day we went there there was a display of dresses in the gallery, so one had to manoeuver oneself carefully to find shots without couture in them...

The gilded coffered apse at one end, with and without the chandelier...

Details from the marble fireplace in the statue gallery...

Other marble pieces from around the hall...

The North Dining Room...

I love the chair upholstery, being a very similar fabric to that which we have chosen for our dining room Chippendale styled chairs, and also the stunning savonnerie carpet.

The table is also amazing, using a very ingenious mechanism designed in 1830 by Robert Jupe, to enlarge or reduce the table top area as required...

and example of how the mechanism works can be seen in this video of a dining table on a yatch below:

Above: Panorama of the dining room...

The other clever feature of this room which I like is the apse, which when viewed from all but the most acute angles looks like a straightforward archway, but if you get the angle correct, you can see the hidden servants entrances on either side of the apse...

In previous centuries they would have lead down to an old kitchen like this...

Above: A collection of copper pans and fish broilers

Below: Juice jars, churns, butter patty makers and a marmalade slicer

Above: A large knife sharpener (as pointed out by Don of The Lothians)

Below: A large open over with mechanized spit roaster

Below: A close up of the cute marmalade slicer. One puts orange pieces in the forcer at the rear and then rocks the knife back and forwards as one forces the fruit up the chute...

Stowe Landscape Gardens Part 3 of 3

On the final leg of our garden jaunt, we begin with the restored garden of The Saxon Deities. These are replicas of carvings by John Michael Rysbrack of the seven deities naming the seven days of the week (Sunna, Mona, Tiw, Woden, Thuner, Friga, and Seatern).

Above: Friga

Below: Sunna

Above: Woden

Below: Mona

Below: Tiw

Leaving the statuary behind we next come across the Cobham Monument. It is the tallest structure in the gardens, rising 104 feet tall. It was built between 1747-49, by Capability Brown. The top is formed from a belvedere of 8 arches and supports a statue of Lord Cobham.

Below: Lord Cobham

The four Coade stone (lithodipyra) lions were added later, in 1778. 

Next on the walk was The Queen's Temple, designed by James Gibbs in 1742.

Above: The lovely rustic fence enclosing a flock of sheep in the field running from the temple all the way down a hill towards the Gothic folly.

Above: A view south from the porch.

Below: Detail of the stone balustrade. 

Some balusters have obviously been replaced.

All the buildings had lovely screens of trees for backdrops. It is quite an art to plant and maintain copses of trees. Knowing how they are going to develop and the way they will look in decades to come. Also many trees need to be replaced with alternate generations as most don't live as long as the grand old oak. It is important to have a sense of which trees need to be felled and replaced, and when to do so.

Strolling down the hill from the Queen's Temple we come across The Gothic Temple, designed in 1741 by James Gibbs and completed in 1748. It is a quirky folly, being built of ironstone, on a triangular plan, with a pentagonal tower and two belvederes. It is actually available to let through the landmark trust for brief stays!

Above: The Western side of the folly

Below: The Southern face of the folly

continuing down the hill from the Gothic Temple we arrive at the Palladian Bridge. It was a stunning English Summer's day. By this stage Peter had left me to seek the cool shade and was to be found later under the trees by the Temple of Friendship.

Above and Below: View of the bridge approaching from the North.

Below: The view East from the bridge.

Below: Yours Truly on the Palladian Bridge. I had seen this bridge in photos hundreds of times and wondered if I would ever get to see it in person, being a complete Neoclassical-Anglophile. This is a copy of the Palladian bridge built at Wilton House. Unlike the bridge at Wilton House, built two years earlier, this was built for traversing by horse and cart, and this has shallow ramps at either end instead of steps. It is one of five near identical bridge in the UK.

Below: View over the lake to the Temple of Friendship where Peter lay under the trees.

I left then sun behind and went to join him in the shade of a beautiful Plane tree...

Ombra mai fu

di vegetabile,

cara ed amabile,

soave piu.

Frondi tenere et belle

del mio platano amato

per voi resplenda il fato.

Tuoni, lampi, e procelle,

non vóltaggino mai la cara pace

ne giunga a profanarvi austo repace.

Never was the shade 

of any plant,

dearer, and more lovely,

and more sweet.

Tender and beautiful fronds

of my beloved Plane tree,

let fate smile upon you.

May thunder, and lightening, and storms

never bother your dear peace,

nor may you by blowing winds be profaned.

Ombra mai fu, from Serse, by G.F. Haedel.

Once we were refreshed we set off back to the car, past some horses stabled in a very 'Cold Comfort Farm' looking block  near the exit.