Statue of Diana at Shrubland Hall, Barham, Suffolk

Summary

Early C19 statue of Diana and associated balustrade.

Description

Early C19 statue of Diana and associated balustrade.

MATERIALS: artificial stone or cement.

PLAN: the building is situated at the end of Brownslow Terrace which runs northwards from the Hall through an avenue of ancient sweet chestnut trees.

EXTERIOR: the statue is the focal point of a classical style balustrade which forms the outer edge of the building's shallow, semicircular base. It rests on a centrally placed, square, panelled plinth and depicts Diana springing forward while taking an arrow from the quiver on her right shoulder and grasping a stag by the horns. She wears a knee-length tunic, sandals and tiara-crown.

The balustrade is stopped with half-balusters and terminates in square panelled plinths upon which rest urns enriched with gadrooning. On the face of the plinths at right angles to the balustrade is an elaborate scroll adorned with acanthus leaves and resting on a clawed foot.

The statue is overgrown by ivy and vegetation, and parts of the balustrade are broken and missing.

History

The Shrubland estate is thought to have originated with the building of the Old Hall by the Booth family in the early C16 but in the 1770s the architect James Paine (1717-89) was commissioned by John Bacon to design a new hall on a new site. This Georgian building still forms the core of the present hall and occupies a dramatic site at the top of a steep escarpment. Sir William Middleton purchased Shrubland in 1788 and the same year commissioned Humphry Repton (1752-1818) to suggest improvements, some of which were carried out. Sir William Fowle Fowle Middleton inherited the estate from his father in 1830 and had the Hall extensively remodelled by the architect J P Gandy-Deering. In association with his nationally renowned head gardener Donald Beaton (who remained in charge at Shrubland until 1852), Sir William and Lady Middleton developed an elaborate and complex collection of gardens by the Hall and at the foot of the escarpment. In the late 1840s (possibly 1848) they commissioned Charles Barry (1795-1860) to continue to turn their ideas for an Italianate house and garden into reality, and it was during this time that Barry oversaw the creation of the Balcony Garden, the Descent, and the Lower or Panel Garden. The gardens were finally finished in 1854.
After his death in 1860, Sir William's cousin Sir George Nathaniel Broke Middleton took over the estate which in 1882 passed to his niece and her husband James St Vincent, fourth Baron de Saumarez. During their period William Robinson was consulted on modernising some of the planting. The Hall was used as a convalescent home during the First World War and the Old Hall as a brigade HQ during the Second World War. In 1965 a health clinic was established in the Hall by the sixth Baron and on his death the estate passed to the seventh Baron. The site has since been sold and remains (2021) in private ownership.

The statue of Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting, is depicted on the Tithe Map of 1840 so it predates Barry’s involvement at Shrubland. It is shown terminating Brownslow Terrace, the gravel path leading north from the Hall along the crest of the escarpment, under the shade of the ancient sweet chestnuts which date from c1600. They were retained and incorporated in the layout of the grounds and are now a particular feature of the garden. The creation of Brownslow Terrace was almost certainly the idea of Repton, as in the Red Book he described his intention for this path to connect the new Hall with pleasure grounds laid out around the Old Hall. In the end, the path created was only 200 yards long, terminating at the statue of Diana.
The statue is a replica of the Roman marble sculpture known as the Diana of Versailles which was found in Italy and given by the Pope to the French king Henri II in the C16. The date has been disputed: it is now thought that the bronze original dated to around 100 BC rather than to the fourth century BC. It was transferred from the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1884 to the Louvre.

The statue at Shrubland is made of artificial stone or cement which was often used for statues and architectural features by this date. The use of Coade Stone (the first artificial stone) from the 1770s onwards led to a proliferation of practitioners offering reconstituted stone architectural features and ornaments throughout the C19.

Reasons for Listing

The early C19 statue of Diana and associated balustrade is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* it forms a very elegant termination to Brownslow Terrace, the classical balustrade creating a semi-circular enclosure surmounted by the graceful figure of the goddess of the hunt;

* it belongs to the phase of garden design when the return of formal, structured gardens around the house culminated in the 1840s and 1850s in the vogue for elaborate architectural gardens in the Italianate style.

Historic interest:

* it very likely dates to Donald Beaton’s time at Shrubland, although Brownslow Terrace almost certainly originated with Repton’s earlier ideas for improvements to the grounds;

* it is associated with the highly gifted gardeners and patrons who created the gardens at Shrubland, widely considered to be the most elaborate and famous gardens in Suffolk.

Group value:

* it has strong group value with the Grade I registered park and garden and the Grade II* listed Hall, along with the many other listed buildings situated throughout the estate.

External Links

Historic England Listing

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