Studley Royal Park: Difference between revisions
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[[John Aislabie]] inherited the Studley estate in 1699. A socially and politically ambitious man, he first became the [[Tory]] [[Ripon (UK Parliament constituency)|Member of Parliament for Ripon]] in 1695 and in 1718 became [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]. In 1720 disaster struck. Aislabie was a principal sponsor of the [[South Sea Company]] scheme, the bill for which was promoted by him personally. After this vast financial operation collapsed (the [[South Sea Bubble]]), he was expelled from Parliament and disqualified for life from public office. |
[[John Aislabie]] inherited the Studley estate in 1699. A socially and politically ambitious man, he first became the [[Tory]] [[Ripon (UK Parliament constituency)|Member of Parliament for Ripon]] in 1695 and in 1718 became [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]. In 1720 disaster struck. Aislabie was a principal sponsor of the [[South Sea Company]] scheme, the bill for which was promoted by him personally. After this vast financial operation collapsed (the [[South Sea Bubble]]), he was expelled from Parliament and disqualified for life from public office. |
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Aislabie returned to [[Yorkshire]] and devoted himself to the creation of the garden he had begun in 1718. After his death in 1742, his son William extended his scheme by purchasing the remains of the Abbey and Fountains Hall. He also extended the landscaped area in the picturesque romantic style, contrasting with the formality of his father's work. Between them, the two created what is arguably England's most important 18th century Water Garden. |
Aislabie returned to [[Yorkshire]] and devoted himself to the creation of the garden he had begun in 1718. After his death in 1742, his son William extended his scheme by purchasing the remains of the Abbey and [[Fountains Hall]]. He also extended the landscaped area in the picturesque romantic style, contrasting with the formality of his father's work. Between them, the two created what is arguably England's most important 18th century Water Garden. |
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[[Image:Studley Royal from Morriss County Seats (1880).jpg|thumb|right|The 16th-century house at Studley Royal, rebuilt in [[Palladian]] style, as it appeared in 1880; it burned to the ground in 1946.]] |
[[Image:Studley Royal from Morriss County Seats (1880).jpg|thumb|right|The 16th-century house at Studley Royal, rebuilt in [[Palladian]] style, as it appeared in 1880; it burned to the ground in 1946.]] |
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After William's death, the estate passed to his daughter, then her niece. It escaped major reshaping and the garden and park passed to the Vyner family, descendants of the Aislabies. |
After William's death, the estate passed to his daughter, then her niece. It escaped major reshaping and the garden and park passed to the Vyner family, descendants of the Aislabies. |
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Revision as of 23:40, 12 April 2011
54°6′58″N 1°34′23″W / 54.11611°N 1.57306°W
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Criteria | Cultural: i, iv |
| Reference | 372 |
| Inscription | 1986 (10th Session) |
Studley Royal Park is a park containing, and developed around, the ruins of the Cistercian Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire, England. It is a World Heritage Site. The site also contains features dating from the eighteenth century such as Studley Royal Water Garden.
History
Origins
The Fountains Abbey was founded in 1132 by thirteen Benedictine monks. They later became Cistercian monks. Following the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539 by Henry VIII, the Abbey buildings and over 500 acres (2.0 km2) of land were sold by the Crown to Sir Richard Gresham, a merchant. The property was passed down through several generations of Sir Richard's family, finally being sold to Stephen Proctor who built Fountains Hall probably between 1598 and 1604. A remarkable Elizabethan mansion, Fountains Hall was built partly with stone from the Abbey ruins. Today there are three rooms open to the public.
The development of the estate
John Aislabie inherited the Studley estate in 1699. A socially and politically ambitious man, he first became the Tory Member of Parliament for Ripon in 1695 and in 1718 became Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 1720 disaster struck. Aislabie was a principal sponsor of the South Sea Company scheme, the bill for which was promoted by him personally. After this vast financial operation collapsed (the South Sea Bubble), he was expelled from Parliament and disqualified for life from public office.
Aislabie returned to Yorkshire and devoted himself to the creation of the garden he had begun in 1718. After his death in 1742, his son William extended his scheme by purchasing the remains of the Abbey and Fountains Hall. He also extended the landscaped area in the picturesque romantic style, contrasting with the formality of his father's work. Between them, the two created what is arguably England's most important 18th century Water Garden.
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After William's death, the estate passed to his daughter, then her niece. It escaped major reshaping and the garden and park passed to the Vyner family, descendants of the Aislabies.
Recent history
In 1966 the estate was purchased by West Riding County Council and was acquired by the National Trust in 1983. The Abbey part of the estate is currently managed by English Heritage on behalf of the National Trust.
In 1986 the entire Park was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Major features
Along with the Abbey itself and Fountains Hall, the Park contains a number of other notable historic features.
Studley Royal Water Garden
The water garden at Studley Royal is one of the best surviving examples of a Georgian water garden in England.
The garden was created by John Aislabie in 1718. It was expanded by his son, William, after Aislabie's death. William expanded the property, purchasing the adjacent Fountains Estate. The garden's elegant ornamental lakes, canals, temples and cascades provide a succession of dramatic eye-catching vistas. The garden is also studded with a number of follies including a neo-Gothic castle and a palladian style banqueting house.
St Mary's Church and the deer park
St Mary's Church was one of two, late Victorian, memorial churches in Yorkshire, built by the family of the First Marquess of Ripon in memory of Frederick Grantham Vyner. The other is the Church of Christ the Consoler at Skelton-on-Ure, and the architect of both was William Burges. Vyner was murdered by Greek bandits in 1870 and his mother, Lady Mary Vyner, and his sister, Lady Ripon, determined to use the unspent ransom, gathered to obtain his release, to build two churches in Vyner's memory on their respective Yorkshire estates. Burges' appointment as architect was most likely due to the connection between his greatest patron, John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute and Vyner, who had been friends at Oxford. St Mary's, on Lady Ripon's estate at Studley Royal, was commissioned in 1870 and work began in 1871. The church was consecrated in 1878. As at Skelton, Burges' design demonstrates a move from his favoured Early-French, to an English style. Pevsner writes of "a Victorian shrine, a dream of Early English glory." The interior is spectacular, exceeding Skelton in richness and majesty. The stained glass is of particularly high quality. St Mary's is Burges' "ecclesiastical masterpiece."
The church stands in a medieval deer park, home to 500 deer and a wealth of flora and fauna. The Deer Park once enclosed Studley Royal House, but this was largely destroyed by fire in December 1716 and had to be almost entirely rebuilt. The replacement building, was, in turn, extensively damaged by fire in 1946 and was demolished soon afterwards. Only the large stable block, built between 1728 and 1732, has survived. This is now a private house. Until about 2000 it belonged to Paul Sykes, but has since been purchased by the author Susie Bulmer.[1]
Fountains Abbey mill
The mill is the only 12th-century Cistercian cornmill left in the UK and the oldest 'intact' building on the estate.
Image gallery
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Palladian style mini banqueting house -
View of the water garden showing the Gothic folly of the Octagonal Tower -
The Chorister's House (located adjacent to St Mary's Church) -
St. Mary's Church -
The Obelisk Above St. Mary's Church -
Temple of Piety and water gardens -
Cascade
Notes
References
- "My turbulent life as an aristocrat" (Web and Print). The Northern Echo. Newsquest Media Group. 28 February 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-04.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - Crook, J. Mordaunt (1981). William Burges and the High Victorian Dream. London: John Murray. p. 454.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help)
External links
- Fountains Abbey
- UNESCO entry for Studley Royal Park
- National Trust online handbook entry
- Studley Royal and Fountains Abbey — Gardens Guide
