The epic restoration of the Marble Saloon at Stowe included stabilising the plasterwork decoration of the 17 metre-high coffered dome and Roman triumphal frieze, identifying missing elements through research of historic photographs, and replacement of these with hand-modeled elements created using materials to matched the original composition. As well as carefully cleaning the marblework that gives the saloon its name, lanterns reproduced from a nineteenth century watercolour have been re-introduced, as have four ?Athenienes? ? gilded torcherers copied from two surviving originals. The Marble Saloon at Stowe is the jewel in the crown of the principle monument of the famous Landscape Gardens and its restoration one of the greatest of this generation.
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Defanging the Gardens Trust will hurt our most precious landscapesThe Government has proposed to remove the Garden Trust's position as a statutory consultee in planning permissions for up to 1,700 historic landscapes and gardens in order to speed up building.
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A new gilded age: Sir David Attenborough christens a rare golden eagletThe first golden eagle to fledge from the nest of a translocated bird has been rewarded with a name selected by Sir David Attenborough.
