Comments on: The Regency library at Ickworth

By: Emile de Bruijn

Emile de Bruijn — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 08:12:18 +0000

Thanks very much Anna, how interesting (Anna, by the way, is the National Trust curator advising on Ickworth, among other places). The house built by Plaw on Belle Isle in 1774 can be seen here (http://bit.ly/pzjRRz) and here (http://bit.ly/nllGmP).

By: Anna Forrest

Anna Forrest — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 20:15:57 +0000

The design for Ickworth evolved straight out of the Earl Bishop’s abandoned project for a circular building at Ballyscullion (Co. Londonderry). Ballyscullion had itself been inspired by John Plaw’s circular “Belle Isle” on Lake Windermere, which was derived from the Pantheon.

By: Emile de Bruijn

Emile de Bruijn — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 07:49:53 +0000

James, how interesting. In the case of Ickworth, the shape of the Rotunda seems to have been inspired purely by the ancient monuments of Rome. Moreover, although the 4th Earl was a Bishop, and eccentric, he was also a rather worldly man and more likely to be swayed by the visual impact of things rather than concerns about the Devil

By: James

James — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 11:03:14 +0000

Often religious people liked to have round shaped rooms because they believed that it would stop the devil from hiding in dark corners. The church in George Street in Edinburgh is an example of a round church built for this reason.

By: Emile de Bruijn

Emile de Bruijn — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:16:48 +0000

Yes and you can see how Field has tried to mitigate the odd shape of the room with the screens of scagliola columns. I didn’t know about Orson Fowler’s 1848 book, how interesting. With the Earl-Bishop the liking for circular buildings seems to have sprung from his interest-bordering-on-obsession with classical antiquity.

By: Parnassus

Parnassus — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 14:41:02 +0000

A grand treatment for an odd-shaped room, which really seems more like an additional parlor than a dedicated library. In America, Orson Fowler’s book on octagonal houses set off a building craze. Round and octagonal houses create a series of non-rectangular rooms that are hard to deal with, although obviously sheer size can be an advantage, as you demonstrate here with Ickworth.