Newark Park

The summer is over and this year DIY projects have come to an end so now I can get back to my work. 

On Sunday I spent the day at Newark Park, a National Trust property in Gloucestershire, and Brunel Borderers venue for an exhibition in June 2016. 

Newark Part, National Trust

Newark Park was originally a Tudor hunting lodge built by Sir Nicholas Poyntz around 1538 at the top of Ozzleworth valley in the Cotswolds. The house is nestled away in quiet woodlands and architecturally developed through the Tudor, Georgian and Victorian period periods and families moved in and expanded according to their requirements. The house started to fall in to a state of disrepair after the Clutterbuck family gave the property to the National Trust in 1949 and was saved by a Texan architect in the 1970's.

The day was really enjoyable as I had plenty of time to walk around the house to get a feel of the property and its history. The contents are as eclectic as the architecture is intriguing, and at first I couldn't quite decide what to work with so I spent some time taking notes about the history from the National Trusts volunteers' guide book. 

One story that really intrigued me was that of Joan Berkeley who was married to Sir Nicholas Points, the first owner of Newark Park. According to the notes, he died in 1556 and bequeathed the hunting lodge to her. Joan then married Thomas Dyer and according to his son, he was very cruel and when she was ill he deprived her of her medicines. However, when researching this subject at home I found an article in 'Embroidery' (May/June 2014) that showed a site specific artwork by Caren Garfen on the same subject.

Caren Garfen, Newark Park, Select 2014

Caren Garfen, Newark Park, Select 2014

I really like Caren's work so feel a little unsure about how I might tackle the same subject - whilst I would love to make 3D bottles from thread, I do feel that this might just be too similar  and that I will have to research the subject in depth to find a new angle.

However, there was another room that I loved - the Tudor kitchen. The room is in the basement of the house, quite damp and only accessible on a guided tour as the steps are so worn and unsafe. The tiles on the kitchen floor are worn and the walls are made of mismatching stone that was retrieved from the dissolution of nearby Kingwsood Monastery.  The ovens remain in situ but the doors are broken and placed on show alongside. In its early days as a hunting lodge, Henry VIII came to stay for two days; when he traveled with his entourage, the Tudor kitchen pots for cooking would be part of their luggage and taken away again after the stay. Could I bring the kitchen back to life with thread drawings of the type of Tudor pots of the period or perhaps I could make replica doors to fit on the ovens? 

Example of Tudor Pot, Canterbury Archaeological Trust

Example of Tudor Pot, Exeter's Royal Albert Museum.

I plan to return to Newark Park tomorrow to take some photos of the kitchen and ovens.