Print of Wimpole Hall
Printed c1875 Hand Coloured View
(Click on picture to view full
screen 900 x 618 pixel image)
The original image measures 5 x 7.5 inches.
Wimpole Hall - a fine antique coloured view
said to be printed by Benjamin Fawcett of Driffield c1875. Benjamin
Fawcett was one of the great colour printers of the 19th century.
"A delightful view employing delicate colouring showing this
great English Hall, the seat of the Earl of Hardwicke."
The original engraving probably shows Wimpole
Hall in the 1850's, as a version of the above print appears in
the illustrated book "A Series of Picturesque Views of Seats of
the Noblemen & Gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland" by F.O.
Morris, said to be published around 1860 by William MacKenzie,
London.
The accompanying text in A Series of Picturesque
Views of Seats of the Noblemen & Gentlemen of Great Britain and
Ireland reads: "This [Wimpole Hall] has been described
as the most splendid seat in the county of Cambridge. It is a
brick mansion of spacious intent, with two wide-spreading wings,
the one on the eastern side being flanked by the outbuildings,
and that on the west by a large greenhouse.
"The entrance to the hall is by a double
flight of steps, and the principal feature of the interior is
a state drawing-room, obtained by throwing several rooms into
one.
"Like so many houses of the nobility and
gentry of England, the present one contains a magnificent collection
of paintings, many by the old and great masters. There is also
a very fine piece of mosaic in the dining-room, representing the
temple of the Sybil, and so elaborately executed that at a little
distance it could not be distinguished from a painting.
"The library is also a room of large size,
furnished with a valuable collection of books, and a series of
portraits of the most distinguished authors. There is a private
chapel within the house, the walls of which are embellished with
the figures of saints, etc.
"Nature has not done much for Cambridgeshire
in the way of scenery, but all that art can do to improve existing
materials has been done, and fine timber and sheets of water make
a pleasing landscape here as elsewhere. There is an avenue, also,
two miles and a half long, of majestic trees.
"The village church is situated close to
the east end of the house. It was rebuilt by Lord Chancellor Hardwicke,
in the year 1742, and contains some fine painted windows. In the
Chicheley Chapel, or monument room, adjoining this, are several
elegant monuments."
(The print is in the collection of Steve
Odell)
