Interior perspective of the conservatory at Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire, looking east
Thomas Allom (Lambeth 1804 - Barnes 1872)
Category
Architecture / Drawings
Date
circa 1850
Materials
Watercolour
Measurements
858 x 563 mm
Place of origin
England
Order this imageCollection
Wimpole, Cambridgeshire
NT 205759
Summary
Henry Edward Kendall (1776-1875) and Thomas Allom (London 1804 - Barnes 1872). Interior perspective of the conservatory at Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire, looking east, c.1850, watercolour (858 x 563mm)
Full description
This view illustrates how transparent Kendall intended the conservatory to be: wall-high windows were to be inserted on the north side to balance those to the south, and both pitches of the roof were to be glazed. Shown supporting this structure is a series of extraordinarily elaborate hammer-beam roof trusses in a vaguely 'Jacobethan' style. Colza oil lamps hang from the trusses, suggesting that the room was to used in the evening. At the east end, the entrance into the bookroom is shown with an elaborate, Renaissance-style shell head. While this spectacular perspective must have had a seductive effect on Kendall's client, a photograph of the interior taken before the conservatory was demolished shows the degree to which Allom exaggerated the size and impact of the room. Catalogue entry adapted from David Adshead, Wimpole Architectural drawings and topographical views, The National Trust, 2007
Provenance
Charles Philip Yorke, 4th Earl of Hardwicke (1799-1873); bequeathed by Elsie Kipling, Mrs George Bambridge (1896 – 1976), daughter of Rudyard Kipling, to the National Trust together with Wimpole Hall, all its contents and an estate of 3000 acres.
Makers and roles
Thomas Allom (Lambeth 1804 - Barnes 1872), artist Henry Edward Kendall (York 1776 - Westminster 1875), architect Henry Edward Kendall (York 1776 - Westminster 1875), artist Thomas Allom (Lambeth 1804 - Barnes 1872), architect
References
Adshead 2007: David Adshead, Wimpole Architectural drawings and topographical views, The National Trust, 2007, p. 122, no. 248 Brooks 1998: Diana Brooks, Thomas Allom (1804-1872) RIBA Heinz Gallery, London, 1998, colour plate 3 Jackson-Stops 1992 Gervase Jackson-Stops, 'An English Arcadia: Designs for Gardens and Garden Buildings in the care of the National Trust 1600-1990', exh.cat. (1992), pp.126-130, cat. no. 100 Wimpole Hall, Cambridgeshire 1991 [The National Trust; David Souden] 1991, p.37