Description:In 1834 George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1758-1833), the second Duke of Sutherland, employed Charles Barry to remodel Trentham Hall and its gardens. Sir Charles Barry (1795-1860) had grown in popularity in the early nineteenth century owing to his Italianate architectural designs and his creation of terraced gardens for fashionable English clients. Barry redesigned the Hall and Gardens in this style, making Trentham the first country house in the ‘Italianate style’.
The West Elevation
The drawing shown above is taken from a presentation volume of drawings of Trentham Hall made by Barry in 1834. This image shows the West Elevation of the Hall. Barry’s Italianate influences are evident in the elaborate arches and entrance porch.
Click on the images on the left to learn more about Barry’s drawings of Trentham Hall.
Biographical Information on Sir Charles Barry from M. H. Port, ‘Barry, Sir Charles (1795–1860)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008 [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/1550]
Contextual information on the design of Trentham Hall from www.artfund.org/artwork/9367 and also James Yorke, Lancaster House: London’s Greatest Town House (Merrell, 2001)
The Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Archive Service gratefully acknowledges the support of the National Art Collections Fund in securing this portfolio of plans for Staffordshire and the Nation.