Caryatids at Pitzhanger Manor; but not at King’s Observatory …

Well I’d no idea what a ‘caryatid’ was … but picked up the name as I went on a tour of one of our local Eastbourne theatres – then the Saturday Times had an article on Pitzhanger Manor, Ealing, London … where caryatids were mentioned.

Caryatid displayed in
the British Museum

The way things seem to happen in this learning world of ours – well it does to me … once one hears about something, then it keeps popping its head above the parapet.

Sir John Soane c 1800
portrait by Thomas Lawrence

Sir John Soane (1753 – 1837) used the Manor as a sort of laboratory to develop his architectural ideas.  Sir John was a son of a bricklayer, who rose to the top-most heights of his profession …

… as professor of architecture at the Royal Academy, and an official architect to the Office of Works – the English Royal Households castles and residences overseer.

Bank of England facade 1818-1827
with a facade of caryatid columns

His design of the Bank of England, soon after destroyed by fire, set the tone for commercial architecture;  

Dulwich Picture Gallery
Interior

Dulwich Picture Gallery was a major influence in the planning of subsequent art galleries and museums.  

Soane Museum

The main legacy – his home in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, was designed to display the art works and architectural artefacts that he collected during his lifetime – is described in the Oxford Dictionary of Architecture as “one of the most complex, intricate, and ingenious series of interiors ever conceived”.

I feel like I probably should be a caryatid at the moment – I’m like a static person holding up numerous tendrils of learning – attending lots of classes, giving some talks, going to films by the dozen, being round and about with the encumbent mashed brain trying to remember where and when I’m doing what …on the other hand I've no wish to be turned to stone!

Caryatid Building, Madrid

… to add to myself insulting me … ‘my bus’ decided to do a funny on me:  I don’t usually take the bus, as I can walk from town quite happily … but felt like a ride back on Saturday …

… there are two of ‘my buses’ one goes round via the theatres and thence to my stop, the other goes up the hill to the Eastbourne village of Meads, round the top and back down to my stop – I got this one …

Pitzhanger Manor - front entrance
(with caryatid pillars)

… I was minding my own business – enjoying the view as I took the long route home – but hey ho, fiddle dee dee  … the bus went straight back to town to ‘dump me’ where I’d got on --- I then walked home, which obviously I should have done forty minutes earlier!!  Ridiculous life?!

Pitzhanger Manor library c1802

Enough of the wobbling chit-chat … Pitzhanger Manor has just reopened, having been refurbished – and looks a great place to visit …

Circle and Upper Circle, Devonshire Park Theatre Eastbourne

… as is another restored rather magnificent building: King’s Observatory, Richmond … which has a telescope observatory on the roof.  Both of which are now on my list of ‘to see’ places … I guess I need a TBS list: to be seen!

Looking out from the Theatre bar towards the
refurbishing of the Devonshire Park Tennis Centre
(the area is almost ready for the 2019 season - after much
redevelopment of the area, including the Congress Theatre -
a 1963 (I'd say) brutalist building! which has been restored)

Ah well … I’m failing … but I’ll write about the Theatre another day … my head needs to get into gear … so for April I’ll be gathering those tendrils of brain (if possible) – but will continue with the #WATWB (We are the World Blogfest) posts at the end of the month and will do WEP – see my side bar … but not the A-Z Challenge …

Ionic Entablature
engraving c/o Wiki

So this static caryatid person with an entablature on her head full of who knows what … is signing off …

 If any of you can make head or tail of this post = well done is all I can say … but something got written!  Caryatid is the key … 

I’ll be around … vaguely probably – thank goodness it’s getting lighter and I’ve six months to get myself into gear while the longer days are around.

The restored King’s Observatory post …

Pitzhanger Manor – via Wiki

My post mentioning Eleanor Coade 

An immediate addendum to this post about the King's Observatory ... a simultaneous posting by the Royal Society refers to the Observatory ... gives more details, shows more, mentions the Transit of Venus, and talks clocks - the subject of the post ... no caryatids though!

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Bucket List – part 7 of 9: Chapel in Queen Mary’s Court, Old Royal Naval College and the Observatory …

The Royal Hospital for Seamen at Greenwich built on the instructions of Queen Mary II (1662 – 1694), had been inspired by the sight of wounded sailors returning in 1692. 

Sir Christopher Wren and his assistant Nicholas Hawksmoor were appointed architects of the new Royal Hospital.  Sir John Vanbrugh succeeded Wren as architect, completing the complex to Wren’s original plans.

Queen Mary portrait by
Sir Godfrey Kneller - 1690

Queen Mary (of William and Mary) had ‘with as much Indignation as her excellent good Temper would suffer her’ refused to have her view blocked … she wanted to retain its ‘visto’ of the Thames – which had only been gained once Charles II cleared the old Tudor palace of Greenwich … part of which has been found under the Painted Hall building and is now being excavated see my earlier post …

… so the quadrants (or Courts) were split providing the avenue we see today from the river through the hospital grounds up to Queen’s House and Greenwich Hill beyond, with its other historical features and buildings … eg The Royal Observatory – see link at end.  

The Chapel's interior

Queen Mary’s Court houses the hospital’s chapel … the original burnt down in a disastrous fire in 1779, being rebuilt and decorated with ‘Greek Revival’ architecture.

James ‘Athenian’ Stuart (1713 – 1788), as Surveyor of the Royal Hospital, was appointed to re-design the Chapel - was a stroke of good fortune for architecture and design that changed the look of buildings in the late 18^th century onwards.

James "Athenian" Stuart - self-portrait

Stuart proved to be a talented artist, after the death of his father, supporting his mother and family, by becoming apprenticed to a fan maker.

After 20 years or so he walked to Italy (he still couldn’t afford to go any other way) to expand his artistic knowledge … where he was apprenticed, learning Latin, Italian and Greek, while studying Italian and Roman art and architecture.

He went on to Naples, round to Greece … cementing his interest in studying ancient ruins and designs.  Returning to London he co-authored with Revett a 'design sourcebook' – fuelling the Greek Revival Movement in European architecture … Grand Tours became popular as the love of antiquity spread.

An illustration in the 'design
sourcebook'

Nicholas Revett (1721 – 1804) considered himself a gentleman and was probably sufficiently well-off not to have to earn his living … but he and Stuart documented the ruins of ancient Athens … further enhancing European knowledge of Greek architecture …

On his appointment as Surveyor to the Royal Naval Hospital Stuart was able to share his passion for this style of architecture when the new Chapel was built.

An example of scagliola - seen in the
Allen County Courthouse, Fort Wayne

This gave the Greek Revival Movement a real boost … master craftsmen were brought in … creativity came to the fore – but as the cost of Stuart’s design would have been way over the top … funds were scarce - a number of money-saving decorative effects were used … meaning design trickery. 

Scagliola came into fashion in Tuscany in the 17^th century … this was used for producing the imposing marble-like stucco columns at each end of the Chapel.

Trompe L'oeil wall by
Jacob de Wet (1730s)

The life-sized figures of evangelists and apostles in the niches are paintings – not sculptures … using the Grisaille technique - artwork entirely in shades of grey or neutral greyish colour … 

The limestone, horsehair and sand plaster decorations on show in the chapel were made in moulds – some of the moulds surviving to this day …

Shire Books have produced
this little booklet about
Coade stone

Coade stone was an artificial ceramic, manufactured in Eleanor Coade’s Lambeth factory – sadly the technique has been lost.

Eleanor Coade (1733 – 1821) was an entrepreneurial businesswoman known for her methodical procedures to produce consistently high quality products.  She had managerial skills, entrepreneurial flair and a talent for marketing and public relations.

She is worth reading up about … her success may be gauged by Josiah Wedgwood’s complaint that he “could not get architects to endorse his new chimney- piece plaques”. 

Twinings: the original shop in the
Strand - the frontispiece is of Coade
stone - rediscovered under a century
of soot

The Chapel contains many Coade stone products … the angel heads and column capitals in the nave, the crest of the Royal Hospital on the balconies, while in the vestibule there are four life-sized Coade stone statues representing the virtues:  Faith, Hope, Charity and Meekness.

Duty reforms made imports cheaper; mahogany could be used more freely … when it was mixed with home grown woods … the art of wood-turning was discovered.

The Chapel's Aisle with the
organ pipes set into mahogany
and oak

The pulpit and the organ … both were made from local and imported woods – oak, mahogany and limewood … the organ is still used almost every day by organ scholars … and remains known for its beauty of tone.   Sadly the organ builder, Samuel Green (1740 – 1796), died in near poverty – how often that happens … yet the names of great craftsmen can live on.

The Chapel was extensively restored in the 1950s … and now looks almost as it did when it was built … it is a stunning and beautiful place of worship … hosting a regular Sunday service.

Plan of Greenwich Courts, Queen's House and
at the back Greenwich Hill

This completes my Greenwich posts … I need to visit again … but in the meantime there are some links, one of which is to another blogger’s recent excellent post on the Royal Observatory …

I will write up one more post in this Bucket List series on the health of the River Thames … then I change tack and carry on with whatever springs to mind.

Thanks for joining me on my various jaunts with the friend who was over from South Africa … it’s been a good journey and knowledge gathering time …

Blogoratti’s post on A Day at the Royal Observatory …

Eleanor Coade - her Wikipedia page

Details about Eleanor Coade and her factory are shown in this blog post

Scagliola … the technique that came into fashion as an effective substitute for costly marbles ... 

Grisaille technique - particularly used in place of a sculpture ... 

More interesting information here on the hospital:  'A Refuge for All' 

Old Royal Naval College - Architecture ... details on the College's architectural development

while under the Chapel's link ... there are some stunning photos ... 

 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

The cycle of life of the Birmingham Library ...

One of my trips in the summer was to see the new Birmingham Library … it had been much vaunted … and as my goddaughter was in the city at University I needed to make the trip.  Well talk about waiting til the last minute – she was packing to leave … having successfully finished her degree.

The new library

Her mother and I went up to the house, gulped at the packing scenario, and left to see the Library, have a lunch and relax and just forget the student’s boxes, bags, hamster bits (yes hamster I did say!), CDs, books, book case … and go and enjoy ourselves … before we ‘stuffed’ things into the car to get home!

The facade

I posted about Libraries old and new in early 2012 andmentioned the Birmingham Library then.  It’s had a chequered history … there is no change now … it even has three separate entries in Wikipedia.

The first Birmingham Library was founded between 1635 and 1642; a letter to Viscount Conway surviving in the state papers of Charles I refers to the fact there is no catalogue of the books available … this would be rectified "that the first catalogue is delivered to yr L'rp".

Looking down through the aluminium
circles which brings the whole design
together, including the interior and
play area as here

Unfortunately as the Library had puritan origins … its collection was dispersed after The Restoration of the English Monarchy in 1660.

A library had been due to be incorporated into the Birmingham and Midland Institute, but under the 1850 Public Libraries Act the municipality had to be involved.

The Lending Library was opened in 1865, with the Reference Library being opened a year later; initial use of the library was so heavy that the need for an extension was agreed and started in 1878. 

The destructive fire of 1879

However a fire broke out in January 1879 behind wooden partitioning and only 1,000 volumes were saved from a stock of 50,000.

The Clerestoried Reading Room

Demand was obviously so great that plans to rebuild the library were approved in 1879, with the library being built in the Lombardic Renaissance style with a tall clerestoried Reading Room.  This second Central Library opened in June 1882.

The display case letting us know about the fire, and telling
us how generous the public were in donating to the
Collection - as only 500 volumes had been saved

John Chamberlain, the architect, had his Shakespeare Memorial Library included into the 1882 library; the room was in an Elizabethan style with carvings, marquetry and metalwork representing birds, flowers and foliage: was highly praised.

By 1938, the Council resolved that a new library was ‘an urgent necessity’ – but the War intervened and it was not until 1960 that the project was looked at anew.  The government ruled that the Shakespeare Memorial Room be preserved.

From Chamberlain Square looking
towards Madin's 'brutalist' style library

This next Central Library was opened in 1974, designed by John Madin, a Birmingham-based architect.  Its inverted ziggurat form is a powerful example of the Brutalist style – it was one of Birmingham’s key Modernist buildings.

The brutalist Central Library of 1974

Brutalist architecture – what a term … but what does it mean: it became popular with governmental and institutional clients from about 1950s to the mid 1970s.  Examples are typically massive in character, fortress-like, with a predominance of exposed concrete construction, or in the case of “brick brutalists”, ruggedly combining detailed brickwork and concrete.  The Madin design does comply … doesn’t it?

Then in 1999 as in my Canterbury Cathedral post … a small piece of concrete fell from a cladding panel … highlighting the need to be concerned over the state of the building.

Frankly, are these tower blocks of flats any better -
I guess they provide housing ... which we are very short of
- I took this from the roof garden

Should it go - - or should it stay and be preserved … the area was being comprehensively redeveloped, as too the main railway stations – eventually the battle was lost and another Birmingham Library went to dust.

I was so keen to see the latest library and its architecture … it had been so hyped up and god-daughter and boyfriend love it and were going to show me around – by the time I got there … the chap was working in another city.  Still we had a good look round, probably needed longer, we went to the roof area and looked out over the city-scape.

One wall of the Shakespeare Memorial Room -
this was special

The best part was the Shakespeare Memorial Room at the top of Library … amazing woodwork and panelling in the Elizabethan style.

I was unimpressed by various parts of the building and the disinterest by some of the staff … and now see that I am not alone … as expressed here in the Guardian article.

The attention to detail was good - it
was the whole that was suffering

It seems incredible that in the space of a couple of years – yes 2 years – it’s got to this sorry state … asking for books, job losses –  which means more work for others … then they’re grumpy … yes there’s politics … it is a sad state of affairs. 

Where to … I do not know … but I am off for lunch with god-daughter and my mate … we are off to visit a Victorian professor of Botany … sadly you can’t join us … but you can experience the visit in my next post …

Here's the Guardian article on the Dutch architectural practice Mecanoo, who co-ordinated the whole project - perhaps too many cooks spoiling the broth ... or perhaps Birmingham Council, or a sign of the economic times ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories