1. Ickworth, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk - Tuesday, 14 April 2015
Did you see the Dragon?
The sun was shining as we set off on the coach to Ickworth. We arrived just
before 12 noon and were greeted by the curator, who gave us a brief overview
of the estate and facilities. The curator explained that the house opened at 12
noon and, on this occasion, entrance would be via the recently refurbished
Servants’ Hall; as the main doors were being re-hung following a period of
restoration.
On making our way up the main drive we had our first sight of the majestic
Rotunda, with its ornate frieze around the top, depicting scenes from the ancient
Olympic Games. The dome is 31.4 metres (103 feet) high.
Building of the new Ickworth House was started by Frederick Augustus 4th
Earl of
Bristol and Bishop of Derry, known as the Earl-Bishop, to house his estranged
family and provide galleries for his art collection. The imposing Fury of Athamas
holds the focal point in the Entrance Hall. This large sculpture was
commissioned by the Earl-Bishop for £600 when he met the artist John Flaxman
in Rome in 1790.
I took an early opportunity to tour the House because I wanted to join the 45
minute walk through the wonderful Italianate Gardens which commenced at
1.30pm. Our informative guide, one of Ickworth’s many volunteer gardeners,
called Louise set the scene, outside the Rotunda, before we entered the
Italianate Gardens. The grounds to the front of the house, called the North
Pleasure Gardens, were given over to the local people to use; while the South
Pleasure Gardens were specifically for the family and their guests only.
Unfortunately, Box Blight has been discovered on the estate and is causing
serious problems for the gardening team. Louise advised us that some of the
blighted bushes had already been removed but there was a vast amount of work
to do removing the majority of the Box and replanting with Yew hedging.
Part of the immaculate Italianate Garden includes two Stumperies; with the
smaller of the two containing an area given over to the gardeners to decorate as
they wished. This is where my question comes in: “Did you see the Dragon?”
The gardeners had designed a dragon from tree stumps, complete with
menacing eyes, together with the skulls of small animals and dreamcatchers
hanging from the trees.
The whole day was a magical event for me and I plan to visit again soon.
Thanks to Mick and his team for organising the visit.
Sandra Gibney