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CASTLE
NAME:
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Archer's
Pavilion |
ITEM
NUMBER:
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ARCH |
SIZE:
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6.5"
H x 6.0" W |
PRICE:
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$258.00 with base |
LIMITED
EDITION:
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NA |
SERIES:
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Gates
& Manorhouses |
STATUS:
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Current |
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Henry
Grey, the 12th Earl of Kent, was the leading member of the
most prominent family in Bedfordshire. In 1710, the Earl had
commissioned Thomas Archer to build for him a magnificent
pavilion on the grounds of Wrest Park. It was an early work
by Archer, who trained under Sir John Vanbrugh (Castle Howard
and Blenhiem Palace). Archer's Pavilion is such an arresting
building that it has been accepted by the architectural establishment
in its own right, conveniently ignoring its prominent claim
of being a huge, useless, ostentatious, and wildly expensive
folly. It is undeniably magnificent, the finest individual
building in Bedfordshire. The Pavilion was built to a complicated
plan based on Borrowmini's church of St. Ivo della Sapienza
in Rome built in 1643. Wrest Park is a rarity among English
gardens in that it has remained formal in design, despite
the attentions of 'Capability' Brown who worked there for
three years. Archer's Pavilion stands at the end of a formal
canal called Long Water, half a mile from the main house. |
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