Corsham Court
Encyclopedia
Corsham Court is an English country house
in a park
designed by Capability Brown
. It is in the town of Corsham
, 3 miles (5 km) west of Chippenham, Wiltshire
and is notable for its fine art collection, based on the nucleus of paintings inherited in 1757 by Paul Methuen from his uncle, Sir Paul Methuen
, the diplomat. It is currently the home of James Methuen-Campbell, the eighth generation of the Methuens to live there, and the Heir Presumptive
to the title Baron Methuen
.
Corsham was a royal manor
in the days of the Saxon
kings, reputed to have been a seat of Ethelred the Unready
. After William the Conqueror, the manor continued to be passed down through the generations in the royal family. It often formed part of the dower of the Queens of England during the late 14th and early 15th centuries, becoming known as Corsham Reginae. During the 16th century, the manor went to two of Henry VIII
's wives, namely Catherine of Aragon
until 1536, and Katherine Parr until 1548.
During the reign of Elizabeth I
the estate passed out of the royal family; the present house was built in 1582 by Thomas Smythe. The owner of Corsham Court in the mid-seventeenth century was the commander of the Parliamentarian New Model Army
in Wiltshire; his wife, Lady Margaret Hungerford, built what came to be known as the Hungerford Almshouses
in the centre of town. In 1745, Paul Methuen bought the house, which has since remained in the Methuen family
.
In 1761-64, Lancelot 'Capability' Brown
was commissioned to redesign and enlarge the house and landscape the park. Brown set the style of the present day building by retaining the Elizabethan stables, the Riding School, and the great gabled front to the house, which he doubled in depth and provided gabled wings at either end of the house, creating the Picture Gallery and State Rooms in the east wing and a library and new kitchens in the west wing. The Picture Gallery was designed as a triple cube and boasts a coffered plasterwork ceiling over a high cove stuccoed in scrolls, designed by Brown and carried out by Thomas Stocking of Bristol (1763–66). The Long Gallery contains Italian Old Masters, with a famous marquetry commode and matching pair of candlestands by John Cobb
(1772) and four pier glasses designed by Robert Adam
(1770).
In 1795 Paul Cobb Methuen
commissioned Humphry Repton
to complete the landscape, left unfinished at Brown's death with the lake still to be completed, and in 1796 commissioning John Nash
to completely remodel the north façade in the Strawberry Hill Gothic style, beating out the experienced James Wyatt
for the commission: Wyatt was furious. Nash further embellished other areas of Brown's external building works, including Brown's Gothic Bath House in the North Avenue, as well as reorganising the internal layout to form a grand hall and a library, at the centre of which is the large library table associated with a payment to Thomas Chippendale
's partner Haig, in 1779. By 1808 much of Nash's work was replaced with a more solid structure, when it was discovered that he had used unseasoned timber in beams and joists; all of Nash's work at Corsham save the Library was destroyed in remodelling by T. Bellamy (1844–49), During the ownership by Paul Methuen
the first Baron Methuen
who was Member of Parliament
for Wiltshire
and Wiltshire North.
The layout of grounds and gardens by "Capability" Brown represent his most important commission after Blenheim Palace
. Brown planned to include a 50,000 m² lake. This lake, however, was not completed until some forty years later, by Humphry Repton
, who formed his long working relationship with Nash at Corsham Court. They laid out avenues and planted the specimen trees, including American oaks, Quercus coccineus and Q. phellos, and the magnificent Oriental Plane
. Some of the scenes from Stanley Kubrick
's Barry Lyndon
were filmed at Corsham Court. The grounds also incorporate a folly
ruin, built by Nash c. 1797, incorporating some medieval stonework and some material from the eighteenth-century Bath House built by Brown.
In 1946 following damage to their building during World War II
, Bath Academy of Art (now Bath School of Art and Design
and part of Bath Spa University
) moved to Corsham Court, The academy stayed until 1986 during which time the teachers included many of the key figures in British fine art
included Kenneth Armitage
, Terry Frost
, Peter Lanyon
, Adrian Heath
, Bernard Meadows
, William Scott
and Sir Howard Hodgkin
. Walter Sickert
was one of the staff and became a mentor to Lord Methuen RA, who was the owner of the Court during that period. The Court also acts as an administrative centre for The National Society for Education in Art and Design and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme.
In 2008 the university announced plans to establish a new university centre in the Court for research projects, postgraduate and research studios and study areas for artists and designers undertaking Masters level study and Doctorates.
English country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
in a park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
designed by Capability Brown
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
. It is in the town of Corsham
Corsham
Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in north west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south western extreme of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 which was formerly the main turnpike road from London to Bristol, between Bath and Chippenham ....
, 3 miles (5 km) west of Chippenham, Wiltshire
Chippenham, Wiltshire
Chippenham is a market town in Wiltshire, England, located east of Bath and west of London. In the 2001 census the population of the town was recorded as 28,065....
and is notable for its fine art collection, based on the nucleus of paintings inherited in 1757 by Paul Methuen from his uncle, Sir Paul Methuen
Paul Methuen (diplomat)
Sir Paul Methuen PC, KB was an English diplomat and politician.He was the son of John Methuen and was educated privately then at a Jesuit school in Paris. He went to Lisbon in 1691, when his father was appointed minister there. He gained valuable experience and the esteem of King Pedro...
, the diplomat. It is currently the home of James Methuen-Campbell, the eighth generation of the Methuens to live there, and the Heir Presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
to the title Baron Methuen
Baron Methuen
Baron Methuen, of Corsham in the County of Wiltshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1838 for the former Member of Parliament for Wiltshire and Wiltshire North, Paul Methuen. His grandson, the third Baron , was a distinguished soldier. His son, the fourth Baron,...
.
Corsham was a royal manor
Manorialism
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market...
in the days of the Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
kings, reputed to have been a seat of Ethelred the Unready
Ethelred the Unready
Æthelred the Unready, or Æthelred II , was king of England . He was son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. Æthelred was only about 10 when his half-brother Edward was murdered...
. After William the Conqueror, the manor continued to be passed down through the generations in the royal family. It often formed part of the dower of the Queens of England during the late 14th and early 15th centuries, becoming known as Corsham Reginae. During the 16th century, the manor went to two of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
's wives, namely Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon
Catherine of Aragon , also known as Katherine or Katharine, was Queen consort of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and Princess of Wales as the wife to Arthur, Prince of Wales...
until 1536, and Katherine Parr until 1548.
During the reign of Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
the estate passed out of the royal family; the present house was built in 1582 by Thomas Smythe. The owner of Corsham Court in the mid-seventeenth century was the commander of the Parliamentarian New Model Army
New Model Army
The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...
in Wiltshire; his wife, Lady Margaret Hungerford, built what came to be known as the Hungerford Almshouses
Hungerford Almshouses
The Hungerford Almshouses in Corsham, Wiltshire, England were built in 1668 for Lady Margaret Hungerford of Corsham Court. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building....
in the centre of town. In 1745, Paul Methuen bought the house, which has since remained in the Methuen family
Baron Methuen
Baron Methuen, of Corsham in the County of Wiltshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1838 for the former Member of Parliament for Wiltshire and Wiltshire North, Paul Methuen. His grandson, the third Baron , was a distinguished soldier. His son, the fourth Baron,...
.
In 1761-64, Lancelot 'Capability' Brown
Capability Brown
Lancelot Brown , more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English landscape architect. He is remembered as "the last of the great English eighteenth-century artists to be accorded his due", and "England's greatest gardener". He designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure...
was commissioned to redesign and enlarge the house and landscape the park. Brown set the style of the present day building by retaining the Elizabethan stables, the Riding School, and the great gabled front to the house, which he doubled in depth and provided gabled wings at either end of the house, creating the Picture Gallery and State Rooms in the east wing and a library and new kitchens in the west wing. The Picture Gallery was designed as a triple cube and boasts a coffered plasterwork ceiling over a high cove stuccoed in scrolls, designed by Brown and carried out by Thomas Stocking of Bristol (1763–66). The Long Gallery contains Italian Old Masters, with a famous marquetry commode and matching pair of candlestands by John Cobb
John Cobb (cabinetmaker)
-Biography:It is believed that John Cobb was apprenticed in 1729 to Timothy Money , a Norwich upholsterer. In 1755 he married Sukey, a daughter of the cabinetmaker Giles Grendey, and is said to have acquired a ‘singularly haughty character’, strutting ‘in full dress of the most superb and costly...
(1772) and four pier glasses designed by Robert Adam
Robert Adam
Robert Adam was a Scottish neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam , Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and trained under him...
(1770).
In 1795 Paul Cobb Methuen
Paul Cobb Methuen
Paul Cobb Methuen was an English politician.He was Member of Parliament for Great Bedwyn from 1781 to 1784.- References:...
commissioned Humphry Repton
Humphry Repton
Humphry Repton was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the 19th century...
to complete the landscape, left unfinished at Brown's death with the lake still to be completed, and in 1796 commissioning John Nash
John Nash (architect)
John Nash was a British architect responsible for much of the layout of Regency London.-Biography:Born in Lambeth, London, the son of a Welsh millwright, Nash trained with the architect Sir Robert Taylor. He established his own practice in 1777, but his career was initially unsuccessful and...
to completely remodel the north façade in the Strawberry Hill Gothic style, beating out the experienced James Wyatt
James Wyatt
James Wyatt RA , was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical style, who far outdid Adam in his work in the neo-Gothic style.-Early classical career:...
for the commission: Wyatt was furious. Nash further embellished other areas of Brown's external building works, including Brown's Gothic Bath House in the North Avenue, as well as reorganising the internal layout to form a grand hall and a library, at the centre of which is the large library table associated with a payment to Thomas Chippendale
Thomas Chippendale
Thomas Chippendale was a London cabinet-maker and furniture designer in the mid-Georgian, English Rococo, and Neoclassical styles. In 1754 he published a book of his designs, titled The Gentleman and Cabinet Maker's Director...
's partner Haig, in 1779. By 1808 much of Nash's work was replaced with a more solid structure, when it was discovered that he had used unseasoned timber in beams and joists; all of Nash's work at Corsham save the Library was destroyed in remodelling by T. Bellamy (1844–49), During the ownership by Paul Methuen
Paul Methuen, 1st Baron Methuen
Paul Methuen, 1st Baron Methuen , was a British Whig politician.Methuen was the son of Paul Cobb Methuen of Corsham, Wiltshire, and his wife Matilda . He sat as Member of Parliament for Wiltshire from 1812 to 1819 and for Wiltshire North from 1833 to 1837...
the first Baron Methuen
Baron Methuen
Baron Methuen, of Corsham in the County of Wiltshire, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1838 for the former Member of Parliament for Wiltshire and Wiltshire North, Paul Methuen. His grandson, the third Baron , was a distinguished soldier. His son, the fourth Baron,...
who was Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Wiltshire
Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Wiltshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of England from 1290 to 1707, of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote...
and Wiltshire North.
Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace is a monumental country house situated in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England, residence of the dukes of Marlborough. It is the only non-royal non-episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, one of England's largest houses, was built between...
. Brown planned to include a 50,000 m² lake. This lake, however, was not completed until some forty years later, by Humphry Repton
Humphry Repton
Humphry Repton was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of the 19th century...
, who formed his long working relationship with Nash at Corsham Court. They laid out avenues and planted the specimen trees, including American oaks, Quercus coccineus and Q. phellos, and the magnificent Oriental Plane
Oriental Plane
Platanus orientalis, or the Oriental plane, is a large, deciduous tree of the Platanaceae family, known for its longevity and spreading crown. The species name derives from its historical distribution eastward from the Balkans, where it was recognized in ancient Greek history and literature....
. Some of the scenes from Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's Barry Lyndon
Barry Lyndon
Barry Lyndon is a 1975 British-American period romantic war film produced, written, and directed by Stanley Kubrick based on the 1844 novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackeray which recounts the exploits of an 18th century Irish adventurer...
were filmed at Corsham Court. The grounds also incorporate a folly
Folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but either suggesting by its appearance some other purpose, or merely so extravagant that it transcends the normal range of garden ornaments or other class of building to which it belongs...
ruin, built by Nash c. 1797, incorporating some medieval stonework and some material from the eighteenth-century Bath House built by Brown.
In 1946 following damage to their building during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Bath Academy of Art (now Bath School of Art and Design
Bath School of Art and Design
Bath School of Art and Design is an art college in Bath, England. It forms part of the Bath Spa University whose main campus is located a few miles from the City at Newton Park, near Corston, Somerset.-History:...
and part of Bath Spa University
Bath Spa University
Bath Spa University is a university based in, and around, Bath, England. The institution was previously known as Bath College of Higher Education, and later Bath Spa University College...
) moved to Corsham Court, The academy stayed until 1986 during which time the teachers included many of the key figures in British fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
included Kenneth Armitage
Kenneth Armitage
William Kenneth Armitage CBE was a British sculptor known for his semiabstract bronzes.-Biography:...
, Terry Frost
Terry Frost
Sir Terry Frost RA was an English artist noted for his abstracts....
, Peter Lanyon
Peter Lanyon
Peter Lanyon was a Cornish painter of landscapes leaning heavily towards abstraction. He also made constructions, pottery and collage....
, Adrian Heath
Adrian Heath (painter)
Adrian Heath was a 20th century British painter.Heath was born in Burma and attended Bryanston School in Dorset, southern England. In 1938, he studied art under Stanhope Forbes at Newlyn. In 1939 and 1945–47, he attended the Slade School of Art...
, Bernard Meadows
Bernard Meadows
Bernard Meadows was a British modernist sculptor. He was part of the 'Geometry of fear school', a loose-knit group of British sculptors whose prominence was established at the 1952 Venice Biennale.- Early life :...
, William Scott
William Scott (artist)
William Scott was a British artist known for still life and abstract painting. He is the most internationally celebrated of 20th century Ulster painters.-Early life and education:...
and Sir Howard Hodgkin
Howard Hodgkin
Sir Gordon Howard Eliot Hodgkin CH, CBE is a British painter and printmaker. His work is most often associated with abstraction.-Early life:...
. Walter Sickert
Walter Sickert
Walter Richard Sickert , born in Munich, Germany, was a painter who was a member of the Camden Town Group in London. He was an important influence on distinctively British styles of avant-garde art in the 20th century....
was one of the staff and became a mentor to Lord Methuen RA, who was the owner of the Court during that period. The Court also acts as an administrative centre for The National Society for Education in Art and Design and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme.
In 2008 the university announced plans to establish a new university centre in the Court for research projects, postgraduate and research studios and study areas for artists and designers undertaking Masters level study and Doctorates.