Category Archives: Restoration and Conservation

New Traditional Architecture 1: A Frankfurt Reconstruction

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Montacute Pavilion

The New Traditional Architecture Facebook site is interesting, not least because of its European (often Central European) focus. While Putin seems to be revisiting WW2, as Hitler needing Lebensraum rather than Stalin resisting an invader, this site often engages with … Continue reading →

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Montsalvat Part 1: Less an Artist’s Colony than an Ideal Burgundian Village, an Australian Portmeirion

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Montacute Pavilion

While Montsalvat was an artist’s colony, it was also a Portmeirion: one man’s dream of building a village that romantically alluded to old Europe. Continue reading →

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Jemima Grey’s Chinoiserie Fabrique at Wrest Park. Part 4. The Chinese Bridges

Posted on July 19, 2019 by Montacute Pavilion

There was also, it seems, a Chinese bridge that went with the ‘house’ or temple. I can’t seem to find any primary sources for this. This is long gone. There is today a Chinese bridge nearby made of brick and … Continue reading →

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Jemima Grey’s Chinoiserie Fabrique at Wrest Park. Part 3. Chinese Elements, Function, Typology and Sources

Posted on July 18, 2019 by Montacute Pavilion

Chinese Elements There is not much Chinese about the fabrique. It has a dragon on the pinnacle, which was easy to miss in 2013 (Fig. 4), but must be much more conspicuous now that it has been gilded (Fig. 13). … Continue reading →

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Jemima Grey’s Chinoiserie Fabrique at Wrest Park, Part 2. Form and Style

Posted on July 18, 2019 by Montacute Pavilion

The Status of the Current Version The relationship between the Chinese fabrique she built and Wrest Park and the 20th century structures is not completely clear to me. Apparently the stone base is original,[1] but Conner writes that ‘the pavilion … Continue reading →

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On Recent Proposals for Rebuilding the Roof and Spire of Notre Dame

Posted on May 12, 2019 by Montacute Pavilion

Within a month of the destruction by fire of the roof and flèche (crossing spire) of Notre Dame in Paris, proposals by architects for their replacement abound. Why are these designs so awful? The answer is simple: they lack respect. … Continue reading →

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Onion Domes and the Spire of the Dresden Hofkirche (1738-51), with asides on the Frauenkirche

Posted on April 27, 2018 by Montacute Pavilion

Onion domes are seen here as being extravagantly exotic. They are certainly un-English and un-Australian. While ogee curves are common enough here in neo-Elizabethan buildings and Victorian bandstands, I cannot think of an example of an ‘onion’ dome. But first … Continue reading →

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The Bridge on the River Kwai

Posted on March 27, 2016 by Montacute Pavilion

I was reading an article about the 1974 V&A exhibition about the Destruction of the Country House. It cited a Guardian review of the time, to the effect that why should we care that the houses of wealthy (or once … Continue reading →

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The Restoration of Chartres Cathedral

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Montacute Pavilion

Looking back at the controversy over the restoration of Chartres cathedral, and a look at some commentary available on-line: an article in the Spectator in 2012 by Alasdair Palmer (http://www.spectator.co.uk/arts/arts-feature/7836868/restoration-tragedy/), a blog by Martin Filler in the New York Review … Continue reading →

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