Pevsner and Trentham Park

Behind rose the house, with a facade symmetrical to the forecourt within the semicircle. But the symmetry was not continued, and here no doubt was a flaw in the planning, disappointing in an architect who, in the Houses of Parliament, proved himself a master in planning. The reason was that Barry had to use the C18 house.

Its s front towards the lake became his s front; its fifteen bays, divided by giant pilasters into five units of three, were entirely kept and only lightly remodelled in the interest of greater evenness. Behind this S front were Barry's three state rooms, and behind them was irregularity, the grand staircase, some small rooms, and the splendid tower whose top is now in the grounds of Sandon Park.

principal facade of Trentham Hall
c.1834-1849

The tower is purposely asymmetrical from the s but symmetrical from the w. It was built in the 18405. Its open three-bay arcading at the top is inspired by Wyatville's tower added to Chatsworth in the 18205. s of the tower and e of the s front a wing projected to the s to match Tatham's orangery, and then, further e, followed yet another range, nine bays long, with two tiers of superimposed columns a la Inigo Jones's Banqueting House.

Yet further e and N is the stable yard with riding school, a sculpture gallery on the upper floor, and a clock tower. This group was designed only in 1840 and built from 1841 to c.1850. It represents a different style, less faithfully Italianate, freer indeed, but also more severe with its long band of windows separated by low Doric pillars. Only the tower is the typical villa piece.

By the end of 1841 the Duke had spent £123,000 on Trentham Park.

Of minor buildings the following need a reference.

On the w side of the parterre is a large three-bay loggia.

The main entrance has two lodges by Tatham and gate-piers large enough to have a small room inside.

gate-piers at the old entrance to Trentham Hall Gardens
Picture taken from by the Mausoleum, Stone Road, Trentham - hence the grave stones in the foreground

photo: Steve Birks Feb 2007

1¼ m. s of the house is the monument to the first Duke, erected in 1836. It is a plain column on a drum pediment and carries a colossal bronze statue. Designer Winks, sculptor Chantrey (vch).

Monument to the First Duke of Sutherland (d.1833)

NOTE: Despite what Pevsner says, the figure is STONE, not bronze, and does not appear to have been replaced. It looks original. The confusion might have arisen because it is quite difficult to access and may have been observed from a distance. It can be accessed from Trentham Gardens along paths about 1.5 miles from the main gardens.

St Mary and All Saints. By Barry, 1844. Large and uniform outside, with nave and chancel in one. E.E. porch, but Perp window, and inside Late Norman arcades of four bays. They are a puzzle. The round shafts are medieval and most probably come from the priory church. The capitals with their flat leaves and crockets also are too authentic not to be copies of something existing on the spot. They indicate c. 1180-90.

reredos. The painting of the Entombment is by William Hilton, c.1810-20. L. and r. Commandment Boards. -screens. Jacobean with balusters (1633) and imitation-Jacobean.
west gallery. Georgian.
stained glass. s chapel s by Willement.
plate. Silver-gilt Chalice, Jacobean; Chalice and Paten by R.W., 1637; Flagon by R.F., 1670; Paten by F.B., 1834.

monuments. In the n aisle fragment of the effigy of a Knight dated by Jeavons c. 1215. - Most of the monuments are in the s chapel: Large alabaster tablet to Sir Richard and Lady Leveson-Gower f 1559 and 1591. Against the back wall, brasses, kneeling. - Statue of the first Duke of Sutherland, 1838 by Chantrey. - Recumbent effigy of the Duchess f 1868. By Noble. - A. S. Leveson-Gower f 1874. By Noble. Bust in an alabaster surround. - Florence Chaplin t 188 r. Medallion of a young woman, rather French. - Eldest son of the third Duke f 1888. Bust of a boy by Noble - In the s aisle fourth Duke of Sutherland, by Tinworth, 1917. Small terracotta relief of Christ in the house of Simon the Leper.

North West View of the New Church at Trentham,

Showing the new church built in 1844. The site of the old nave is occupied by the new north aisle. The porch is rebuilt in a similar style to the old church.

Church interior taken at St. Mary's Church, Trentham

Mausoleum, across the A road, opposite the main gates.

The isolation is a shame; for the building is so overpowering that it needs a good deal of elbow room. It has one door and, at the back, one window. There are also four small top windows. The material is all ashlar. The walls have a strong batter, and indeed (just as the architects do it today) canting is done everywhere. The middle part rises above the rest. Inside that is not marked. The plan there is a Greek cross with tunnel-vaulted arms. The origin of a design so cyclopean, and so ruthless, is the most radical French architecture of the Boullee-Ledoux period. The architect was indeed Charles Heathcote Tatham, who had spent three years in Rome in the 1790s, at a time when the pensionnaires of the Academic de France in Rome were intoxicated with the ideas of Piranesi and Boullee.
The mausoleum was built in 1807-8.

Mausoleum at Trentham, (the Seat of the Marquis of Stafford).

Showing a solid building in the Egyptian style, with landscaped gardens around it.