The spectacular Marble Saloon, designed for Earl Temple in the 1770s and completed for his nephew, the 1st Marquess of Buckingham, is the centrepiece of Stowe, one of the largest Classical country houses ever created. In 1923, following the sale of its contents, Stowe was saved from demolition by becoming a school. In 1989, its park was taken over by the National Trust and, in 1990, the Stowe House Fund was launched.
Stowe House — also popular among cricketers.
When it became apparent that the school could not undertake the gargantuan task of restoring the building within its charitable remit, the Stowe House Preservation Trust (SHPT) was formed in 1997. Its stated purpose is to restore and preserve Stowe for the benefit of the nation and the public.
The plaster frieze shows a procession of triumphant soldiers in high relief and supports a huge elliptical coffered dome which reaches a height of over seventeen metres.
Since then, the SHPT has been involved in the incremental restoration of the interiors at a total cost of £26 million. In the process, it has demonstrated the effectiveness of what was in the 1990s a novel approach to the care of a great historic building. Similar trusts have achieved the restoration of other houses, such as Lytham Hall, Lancashire, and Westonbirt House, Gloucestershire.
Work to the Marble Saloon began in 2003, with generous support from the World Monuments Fund in Britain and the Heritage Lottery Fund. Under the supervision of Purcell Miller Tritton, the coffered ceiling, as well as the bas-relief frieze beneath it, was restored.
In 2009, with the help of the trustees of the Stowe School’s Hall Bequest (‘A triumphant return’, October 21, 2009), other lost elements of the interior recorded in the 18th century were installed: eight plaster casts of classical gods, goddesses and heroes, as well as reproduction incense burners on tripods, known as athéniennes.
-
A Cotswolds property that's the strangest mix of old and new we've ever seen... and yet somehow, it all worksThe Gasworks is a house quite unlike anything you've seen before — or at least anything you've seen all in one place. Toby Keel takes a closer look.
-
'Sir David Beckham came to see our cattle a couple of years ago. He was fascinated': The stockman at the Glympton EstateTrevor Kirk, a Scottish stockman who now tends the Aberdeen Angus herd on the Glympton Estate in Oxfordshire, is one of Sir David Beckham's rural heroes in the special guest-edited issue of the magazine. He spoke to Julie Harding.
-
Where is 'The Traitors' filmed? Inside a storied Scottish castle that was sold via the pages of Country Life three timesMelanie Bryans delves into the Country Life archives and uncloaks the history of the turreted Highland castle made famous by the global TV franchise, 'The Traitors'.
-
Stefan Pitman: Making great country houses cost less to heat than a suburban semiThe trailblazing architect Stefan Pitman — founder of SPASE — joins the Country Life Podcast.
-
The Henry VII-era house that was dismantled piece by piece and shipped to the USAAgecroft Hall, near Manchester, didn't meet the same miserable end as some of Britain's other country homes. Instead, it was shipped to the USA and repurposed as a museum.
-
The great house that is 'one of the most compelling products of Britain’s 18th-century love affair with Antiquity'John Goodall looks at the sources of inspiration behind the design for the magnificently idiosyncratic West Wycombe Park in Buckinghamshire.
-
Say goodbye to the traditional ski shop and hello to the 'boot room of the future' — as reimagined by Norman FosterThe British architect has completed the first phase of a major transformation at the Kulm Hotel in St Moritz.
-
The unfortunate case of the Tudor estate that was bombed, torn apart for firewood and then buried underneath a golf courseFew houses have suffered a fate as protracted and violent as Belhus in Essex.
-
Belmont House: The 'jewel in Kent’s celebrated crown', created by a decorated soldier who was sent to prison and premature death by false accusationsBelmont House in Kent is a Georgian creation rich in military associations, now run by a trust. Steven Brindle looks at its history and the remarkable architect responsible for its design; photographs by Will Pryce for Country Life.
-
A derelict school turned into a gorgeous home with 'an interior of harmony and visual éclat'Capel House in Badminton, Gloucestershire — the home of Gerald Harford and Jane MacEwen — is a fine 18th-century estate building with a remarkable history has been converted into a stylish home, as John Martin Robinson discovers. Photographs by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
