Wardour – the Arundell Family Chapel

Categorised: British Catholic Material Culture 1538-1829

Tagged: British Catholic Material Culture 1538-1829

Please join us for this unique opportunity to study one of the jewels of British Catholic material culture with a panel of leading experts.

When James Paine built the Palladian mansion of Wardour Castle for the Arundell family in 1776, he included a chapel for Roman Catholic worship concealed in one of the wings. The chapel was lavishly decorated with gilded plasterwork and an exquisite marble altar designed by Giacomo Quarenghi in Rome. The Jesuit priest Fr John Thorpe helped supply paintings and sculpture from Rome. The sanctuary was extended in 1789-90 by Sir John Soane, and Soane’s work will be the subject of particular focus today as the Wardour Trustees launch a major restoration project. The chapel also contains an exceptional collection of historic vestments and liturgical silver, which we will be able to study at close quarters.

The full programme includes:

• Welcome, housekeeping and Introduction to Wardour Chapel, Richard Arundell, Trustee
• The architecture of Wardour’s chapel, Dr John Martin Robinson, architectural historian
• Introduction to the Silver and Vestments, Dr Tessa Murdoch, independent scholar and Research Group lead
• Viewing the vestments in the Sacristy, Richard Arundell and Kate Clark, conservator
• Viewing the silver in the chancel, Tessa Murdoch and Timothy Schroder, silver historian
• The Pietre Dure altar and Chancel Thomas Greenaway and Pietra Dura, mosaic artist
• Discussion Chaired by Research Leads
• Sir John Soane’s dome and the restoration project, Sophie Andreae and Neil Burton, architectural historians and Philip Hughes, conservation surveyor
• Summing up and next steps, Research Leads

For more information and to register interest, please email [email protected]

Image: John Soane’s dome at Wardour Castle Chapel, Wiltshire. ©Alex Ramsay Photography