Remains of Trentham Hall: orangery, sculpture gallery and clock tower, Swynnerton, Staffordshire

Summary

Orangery, sculpture gallery and clock tower, designed in the Italianate style by Sir Charles Barry and built between 1838 and 1849. Attached to the north of the sculpture gallery are four bays of Barry’s stable block and service quarters.

Description

MATERIALS: built of brick that has been rendered with stucco architectural detailing. The upper stage of the clock tower is of stone. Clay pantile roofs. Timber-framed sash windows. Chimneys with bracketed cornices.

PLAN: L-shaped, with the orangery forming the south range, running west to east, and the sculpture gallery forming the east range, running north to south. Attached to the east elevation of the sculpture gallery are a series of single-storey buildings, and to the west elevation is the clock tower, with the entrance to the dairy at its base.

EXTERIOR: the south elevation of the two-storey orangery, with rusticated basement, comprises a twelve bay Classical arcade of moulded round-arched openings with scrolled keystones, framed by a colonnade of three-quarter Ionic columns supporting the entablature above; the end bays have pairs of Ionic pilasters. Between the columns are two-panel sections of iron railings with a crossed arrow motif to each panel. The entablature is surmounted by a balustrade with pedestals at intervals, and set back from the balustrade is the second storey with square sash windows divided by rusticated piers that rise above the roofline. The easternmost bay is set-forward and forms a two-storey tower. The first-floor two-bay arcade is formed of coupled Corinthian columns above the blind stone balustrade and is flanked by widely spaced pairs of pilasters with elongated scrolled capitals supporting the entablature. The parapet walls above have pairs of pedestals to the corners with acorn finials, and sections of balustrade. The east elevation of the tower is curved.

The north elevation of the orangery is plainer. It has a five-bay colonnade with Doric piers, and is beneath a lean-to roof. The ground floor windows have cambered heads, whilst to the first floor, above the cill band, are small square sash windows. To the west end is a two-storey rusticated porte-cochère with a balustrade.

To the west elevation of the sculpture gallery the Doric colonnade from the orangery continues, but with a flat-roof forming a first floor balcony with parapet wall. The ground floor windows have cambered heads and the first-floor windows are divided by piers (this is repeated to the east elevation). To the centre of the west elevation is a clock tower. The ground floor of the clock tower comprises a round-arched entrance flanked by banded three-quarter Tuscan columns set in front of banded Tuscan pilasters. Above the entablature, to either side of an inscription panel that had the Latin inscription ‘Lac non defit’ (Milk does not fail), are pedestals with ball finials. The niche above contains a stone copy of the late C16 sculptor Hubert le Sueur’s bronze of Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Leveson, a descendent of the Dukes of Sutherland who was also a naval commander during the reign of Elizabeth I. Above the niche, is a semi-circular pediment supported on console brackets. The upper stage of the tower changes from stuccoed brick to stone, with a carved triangular pediment above the clock, and a campanile with ball finial above.

There is a one bay, two-storey, gabled wing at the north end of the sculpture gallery. To its right are four bays of the two-storey former stable block and service quarters with shouldered and eared architrave to the square casement windows.

INTERIOR: not inspected (2018) but the arcade to the orangery has a mosaic floor.

History

Trentham Hall and gardens were established on the site of a C12 Augustinian priory when, in 1540, after the priory was dissolved, it was purchased by wool merchant James Leveson. Under the ownership of the Leveson-Gower family, the house and grounds were redesigned multiple times. From 1630 to 1639 a new house was built for Sir Richard Leveson, in 1707 it was redesigned by William Smith of Warwick, and it was redesigned again between 1737 and 1738 by Francis Smith of Warwick. In the mid-C18, at the same time as Capability Brown enlarged the lake, the house was enlarged by Henry Holland from nine to fifteen bays, and in the early C19 Charles Heathcote Tatham added the west and east wings to its south elevation.

In 1833, following the death of George Granville Leveson-Gower, the 1st Duke of Sutherland, the estate was inherited by his eldest son the 2nd Duke of Sutherland and his wife, Harriet (née Howard). In the same year they commissioned the architect Sir Charles Barry to redesign Trentham Hall on a palatial scale reflecting their huge wealth. Barry’s scheme included the addition of the grand entrance at the west end, and the belvedere tower over the old kitchen at the east end of the house. The building of an orangery, sculpture gallery and clock tower, and the rebuilding of the stables and service quarters formed the second phase of Barry’s work at Trentham. The design for the orangery first appears on plans dated 1838, with the plans for the sculpture gallery and clock tower drawn out by Barry in 1840. The design of the Italianate formal gardens is also attributed to Barry, formed of two shallow terraces leading down to the lake with parterres and balustrading, statues, urns, pavilions and fountains as features.

Trentham Hall was largely demolished from 1910 to 1912 and in the 1920s the site became a public pleasure garden. The various structures built for entertainment in the C20, such as the tennis courts, ballroom and open-air swimming pool have since been demolished. The estate is now operated as a commercial leisure attraction.

Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860) was a leading architect in the early to mid-C19. Best-known for his design of the Houses of Parliament with AWN Pugin, he was also an influential country house architect, and a passionate architectural gardener, popularising the Italianate style.

Reasons for Listing

The Remains of Trentham Hall: orangery, sculpture gallery and clock tower are listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* designed by Charles Barry, a significant and influential architect of the period;
* for the overall quality of the composition of this group of buildings and the successful use of the Italianate style to combine the Classical architectural detailing of the orangery with the more rustic elements of the other ranges.

Historic interest:

* as part of the remains of a pre-1850 country house; one of the earliest examples of an Italianate country house in England, and which had a considerable influence on the design of Prince Albert’s Osborne House (Grade I) as well as other buildings in England;
* as an example of Barry’s architectural work for one of his most significant patrons, the 2nd Duke of Sutherland, who commissioned him on a number of projects and was a key figure in helping to establish Barry’s reputation as a country house architect.

Group value:

* with the grand entrance and conservatory (Grade II*) and the former stable block and service quarters (Grade II) as well as numerous listed garden buildings and features within the Grade II* registered park and garden which together illustrate Barry’s Italianate scheme for the Trentham Estate as a whole.

External Links

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