Ickworth House 2014 -2017 [National Trust]
9 images Created 6 Nov 2014
Ickworth was home to the Hervey family for just over five centuries, 1432 - 1956. However, the Rotunda as we know it has only been around for the last 200 years or so.
Previously the family lived in a Tudor manor house beside Ickworth church which eventually fell into decay through lack of upkeep and had to be demolished.
The building of the Rotunda began in 1795 but it wasn't completed until 1841. Its design was the vision of the Earl-Bishop, who only lived long enough for the exterior to be completed.
The interior was an empty shell and the curving corridors and wings were just a few feet off the ground. It was left to the Earl-Bishopu2019s son, the future 1st Marquess of Bristol, to make what he could of his fatheru2019s extraordinary plan and to do start work on restoring the Earl-Bishop's collection which had been confiscated by Napoleonic troops in 1798.
The Rotunda basement, now restored to its 1910 appearance, offers a real insight into what it was like to live and work in this extraordinary place.
Previously the family lived in a Tudor manor house beside Ickworth church which eventually fell into decay through lack of upkeep and had to be demolished.
The building of the Rotunda began in 1795 but it wasn't completed until 1841. Its design was the vision of the Earl-Bishop, who only lived long enough for the exterior to be completed.
The interior was an empty shell and the curving corridors and wings were just a few feet off the ground. It was left to the Earl-Bishopu2019s son, the future 1st Marquess of Bristol, to make what he could of his fatheru2019s extraordinary plan and to do start work on restoring the Earl-Bishop's collection which had been confiscated by Napoleonic troops in 1798.
The Rotunda basement, now restored to its 1910 appearance, offers a real insight into what it was like to live and work in this extraordinary place.
