Ickworth House
Encyclopedia
Bury St. Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds is a market town in the county of Suffolk, England, and formerly the county town of West Suffolk. It is the main town in the borough of St Edmundsbury and known for the ruined abbey near the town centre...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is a neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
structure topped by a giant rotunda
Rotunda (architecture)
A rotunda is any building with a circular ground plan, sometimes covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building . The Pantheon in Rome is a famous rotunda. A Band Rotunda is a circular bandstand, usually with a dome...
in a park extending to 1800 acres. It is in the care of the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
, and, as part of the Ickworth House, Park & Garden property, is open to the public.
Ickworth had been in the ownership of the Hervey family from the 15th century. The house, park, and a large endowment were given to the National Trust in 1956 in lieu of death duties. As part of the handover agreement, a 99-year lease on the 60-room East Wing was given to the Marquess of Bristol
Marquess of Bristol
Marquess of Bristol is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom held by the Hervey family since 1826. The Marquess's subsidiary titles are: Earl of Bristol , Earl Jermyn, of Horningsheath in the County of Suffolk , and Baron Hervey, of Ickworth in the County of Suffolk...
. The Letter of Wishes of the 4th Marquess of Bristol stated that accommodation should always be available for the head of the Hervey family (the Marques of Bristol) at Ickworth. However, in 1998 the 7th Marquess of Bristol
John Hervey, 7th Marquess of Bristol
Frederick William John Augustus Hervey, 7th Marquess of Bristol , also known as John Jermyn and John Hervey, was a British aristocrat and businessman, notable for his wealth, drug addiction, imprisonment on drugs charges, homosexuality and flamboyant lifestyle.-Family:John was born five years into...
, partly for financial reasons, and partly in response to an eviction suit stemming from his behaviour on the property, sold the remaining lease on the East Wing to the National Trust. The Trust subsequently refused to re-sell the leasehold to the 8th Marquess of Bristol
Frederick Hervey, 8th Marquess of Bristol
Frederick William Augustus Hervey, 8th Marquess of Bristol , succeeded his elder half-brother the 7th Marquess in January 1999 as Marquess of Bristol...
on his succeeding to the title in 1999. There is now a 27-bedroom hotel in the East Wing.
Building
The front of Ickworth House is over 600 feet long, and the rotunda is over 100 feet high. The rotunda was based on the designs of Mario Asprucci, an Italian architect; the architects who adapted the design and oversaw construction were Francis Sandys and his brother Joseph Sandys. Begun for the eccentric 4th Earl of BristolFrederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol
Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol, PC , known as The Earl-Bishop, was Bishop of Cloyne from 1767 to 1768 and Bishop of Derry from 1768 to 1803.- Life :...
in 1795, the house was still unfinished when he died in 1803 and was completed by the 5th Earl of Bristol
Frederick Hervey, 1st Marquess of Bristol
Frederick William Hervey, 1st Marquess of Bristol , styled Lord Hervey between 1796 and 1803 and known as The Earl of Bristol between 1803 and 1826, was a British peer....
(later 1st Marquess of Bristol).
It contains paintings by Velázquez
Diego Velázquez
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. He was an individualistic artist of the contemporary Baroque period, important as a portrait artist...
, Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
, Poussin
Poussin
Poussin refers to:*Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin Belgian mathematician*Charles-Louis-Joseph-Xavier de la Vallée-Poussin Belgian geologist and mineralogist, father of Charles Jean*Nicolas Poussin , French painter...
, and Claude Lorraine, as well as an unrivalled series of 18th-century family portraits by artists such as Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough
Thomas Gainsborough was an English portrait and landscape painter.-Suffolk:Thomas Gainsborough was born in Sudbury, Suffolk. He was the youngest son of John Gainsborough, a weaver and maker of woolen goods. At the age of thirteen he impressed his father with his penciling skills so that he let...
, Reynolds
Joshua Reynolds
Sir Joshua Reynolds RA FRS FRSA was an influential 18th-century English painter, specialising in portraits and promoting the "Grand Style" in painting which depended on idealization of the imperfect. He was one of the founders and first President of the Royal Academy...
, Vigee-Lebrun, Batoni
Pompeo Batoni
Pompeo Girolamo Batoni was an Italian painter whose style incorporated elements of the French Rococo, Bolognese classicism, and nascent Neoclassicism.-Biography:He was born in Lucca, the son of a goldsmith, Paolino Batoni...
, Angelica Kauffmann
Angelica Kauffmann
Maria Anna Angelika/Angelica Katharina Kauffman was a Swiss-Austrian Neoclassical painter. Kauffman is the preferred spelling of her name; it is the form she herself used most in signing her correspondence, documents and paintings.- Early years :She was born at Chur in Graubünden, Switzerland,...
, Ramsay
Ramsay
Ramsay may refer to:*Ramsay , for people named Ramsay*Ramsay , an impact crater on the Moon*Ramsay, Calgary, Alberta, Canada*Ramsay, Michigan, U.S.*Ramsay *Electoral district of Ramsay, in South Australia...
, Van Loo
Van Loo
The French Van Loo family included a number of notable painters:*Jacob van Loo *Jean-Baptiste van Loo .*Charles-André van Loo , brother of Jean-Baptiste....
, and Hogarth
William Hogarth
William Hogarth was an English painter, printmaker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist who has been credited with pioneering western sequential art. His work ranged from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like series of pictures called "modern moral subjects"...
. In addition, Ickworth has arguably the best collections in Britain of fine Georgian
Georgian era
The Georgian era is a period of British history which takes its name from, and is normally defined as spanning the reigns of, the first four Hanoverian kings of Great Britain : George I, George II, George III and George IV...
silver
Silver (household)
Household silver or silverware includes dishware, cutlery and other household items made of sterling, Britannia or Sheffield plate silver. The term is often extended to items made of stainless steel...
. The house also contains very good examples of Regency
English Regency
The Regency era in the United Kingdom is the period between 1811—when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent—and 1820, when the Prince Regent became George IV on the death of his father....
furniture and porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
.
The West Wing at Ickworth House went uncompleted until 2006, when a joint partnership between the National Trust and Sodexo Prestige led to its renovation and opening as a centre for conferences and events. The first wedding in the property's history took place in 2006.
The East Wing is run as The Ickworth Hotel and apartments.
The apartments are in Dower House which is in the grounds.
View from the hotel photo
All the Hervey family, from Thomas Hervey (d. 1467) up to the 7th Marquess of Bristol, have been buried at Ickworth Church
St Mary's Church, Ickworth
Ickworth Church , is a former parish church located within Ickworth Park near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, England.-History:...
, which is located in the Park, a short walk from the house. The church is Norman
Norman architecture
About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...
with some later additions, and possesses a 15th-century wall painting of the Angel of the Annunciation
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
, a 15th-century font
Baptismal font
A baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:...
, and roundels of Flemish
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
glass from as early as 14th century, as well as numerous marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
achievements to different members of the Hervey family over the centuries. It remains in the hands of the Hervey family and has recently undergone repairs to make it safe with the help of a grant from English Heritage.
Ickworth House, Park and Gardens also hold many children's events throughout the year. Visit the National Trust website for details and information.