Wednesday 15th August, The Feast of the Assumption.
Nikolaus Pevsner has a reputation for being dry to the point of dullness, so the dedication in his 1968 guide in The Buildings of England series, Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough surprised me.
“To the Inventor of the Iced Lolly.” I must digress. The first in the series, Middlesex, was chosen because of its proximity to London when petrol was rationed. His publisher (Penguin) paid for accommodation on his travels to research the books. Pevsner fed himself – it seems on sandwiches, fish and chips and iced lollies.
But back to Bedfordshire and Wrest Park. When the house was built in 1835 it was unique – the only house in England built inside and out in the style of Louis XV. Of course the Rothschilds were to jump on the bandwagon later in the 19th century. You’d better know who the French architect was: James Cléphane. No, I’d never heard of him either.
Only the ground floor was open and essentially there is an enfilade with well-restored decoration but not much in the way of furniture and pictures. There is plenty of information about the family and a small exhibition about the conversion of the house into a hospital in WW I.
That seems reason enough to visit Wrest but really better still are the pleasances and messuages, laid out in the 18th century.
There is much to admire: a sculpture gallery in the Dairy, a pagoda and bridge in a bringing to life of Willow Pattern, Bowling Green House, a Bath House, an Orangery, fountains, water features and much statuary. The focal point and highlight is the Archer Pavilion.
My thoughts will turn again to Wrest Park when I wrestle with the jigsaw when the evenings are drawing in.
To be continued.
Pevsner, almost universally accurate, must have been asleep on watch in Bedfordshire. The architect of the house was in fact its owner, Thomas de Grey (ii Earl). His frequent visits to Paris inspired his rococo masterpiece. Although often cited as an ‘amateur’ architect, he was in fact the first president of the RIBA.
Clephan was only responsible for designing some elementary plumbing &c.
I am intrigued as to what inspired the author to include note of yesterdays feast day? I thought I was going to be presented with an order of service for Choral Evensong. I do however warmly approve, and hope the trend will continue. I will be keeping watch for Bernard of Clairvaux on the 20th day of this month.
The titles accumulated by the de Grey family are fiendishly complicated and will feature tomorrow. Thomas de Grey got his earldom from his aunt, who was, I think also Lady Lucas. Thomas’s father was Lord Grantham.
James Cléphane‘s contribution to the design of Wrest Park is certainly pooh-poohed by English Heritage. They more or less consign him to hod-carrier status. Incidentally, when Pevsner visited Wrest in the 1960s the house was being used as offices by a research institute. It was only acquired by English Heritage in 2006 and they have done a really good job restoring house and grounds. Pevsner does mention Thomas de Grey’s RIBA Presidency.