Eight monuments of national historic importance from the enormous neo-classical arch crowning the hilly Shugborough skyline to the delightful Chinese House marking a dramatic entrance to the island garden pepper the grounds .
Among the eight is the notorious Shepherd's Monument (c1748), rumoured to have links to the Holy Grail story. You've seen it on TV, or read about it in the news. Now's your chance to see for yourself the enigmatic folly containing the mysterious code.
Does it hold the key to the location of the Holy Grail? Is it a love poem? You decide and have a go yourself at breaking The Shugborough Code. READ MORE
The Shepherd’s Monument
The most puzzling monument at Shugborough is the Shepherd's Monument. It was constructed in around 1748, and originally conceived in wood. The unusual swirling carving on the curved arch reflects this intention.
It takes its name from the marble relief depicting two lovers listening to an ancient shepherd, and is based on a painting by Nicholas Poussin.
Experts from the top secret World War II code breaking base of Bletchley Park have been called in to the historic estate of Shugborough, ancestral home of photographer Patrick Lichfield, in an attempt to solve a 250 year old mystery. The inscription is rumoured to indicate the location of the Holy Grail and must rank as one of the world’s great mysteries.
The Cat’s Monument
Date: 1750 - 1775 (c.) The Cat's monument is situated on an island accessed by the bridge beside the Chinese House. It was probably designed by Thomas Wright of Derby, who also worked on the Ruin.
There are two theories behind the purpose of the monument; one is that it commemorates a cat which travelled around the world with Admiral Anson on the 'Centurion'. The second is that it was built as a memorial to Kouli-Khan, a Persian cat kept by Thomas Anson. Anson also kept a herd of Corsican goats, a favourite breed of the family, which feature around the base of the monument.
The monument was possibly built against another structure, as the rear of the monument is of rough stonework. The tablet on the front was added c.1770 and is of Codestone.
The Doric Temple
Built c.1760 this is one of two copies of the Temple of Hephaistos in Athens by James 'Athenian' Stuart. The first version was commissioned by Hagley Hall In Worcestershire in 1758, and is believed to be the first accurate revived Greek Doric Temple in Europe. he Doric Temple was originally the entrance to the kitchen garden but the demolition of the garden in 1805 left it isolated. Its design is based on the temple of Hephaistos which crowns a hill in Athens and was surrounded by a garden.
The temple was built as the portico leading to the walled garden, since demolished. The sculptures it contained were sold in 1842. In the 1960s repairs were made to the roof, and the lower portions of the columns replaced with White Hollington stone.
The Triumphal Arch
The Triumphal Arch, modelled on the Arch of Hadrian in Athens, dominates the skyline at Shugborough and is set on the highest point of the parkland. It serves as a memorial to George and Elizabeth Anson who both died shortly after its construction.
Busts of George and Elizabeth are featured on either side of the central aplustra which represents the bow of a ship and some spoils of war.
The Tower of Winds
The replica horlogium (water clock) was completed in 1765 by Trubshaw of Great Haywood. It was once used as a dairy (downstairs) and as a gambling den (upstairs). It was reached by bridges to the porches over a surrounding lake (now drained). It may have originally featured a frieze of sculptured reliefs depicting the different winds.
The Ruin
Situated on the banks of the River Sow; this monument was built c.1750 using stone from sections of Shugborough Hall pulled down during alterations. The architect was Thomas Wright of Durham, who may have also worked on the Cat's Monument.
Originally the Ruin was more extensive and included a Gothic pigeon house. On the opposite bank of the river was a Classical Colonnade, which was washed away in the floods of the late eighteenth century.
A Druid, worked in Codestone, sits upon the monument. A duplicate of the Druid can be found in Croombe Park, Worcestershire.
The Chinese House
The North Walk path forms part of Thomas Anson's layout, and its original state was serpentine and gravelled with wide grass verges and flanking beds of shrubs and rare trees interspersed with antique sculpture. It leads to the Chinese House, completed in 1747 and probably the first of Thomas Anson's garden buildings.
The design for the Chinese House was taken from the pencil sketches of Sir Piercy Brett, Admiral Anson's second-in-command on the Centurion. It must have been constructed shortly after the Admiral's return, making it one of the earliest buildings of Chinese influence in the country, a precursor of the Chinese 'Pavilion' at Kew. The watercolour by Moses Griffith, 1780, shows the outside of the Chinese House looking very similar to its present appearance but coloured pale blue and white. The colour scheme within survives, with its pale green canopy, gilt monkeys and alcoves with red lacquer fretwork and gilded details.
The Chinese House was built on an island in an artificial canal, with a boathouse attached. It was reached by a pair of bridges of Chinese design. This arrangement was altered during the rerouting of the Sow after the flooding of 1795 which left the Chinese House standing on a little promontory with only one bridge, rebuilt in iron, leading to the newly made island. The bridge, painted a bright Chinese red, was erected in 1813 by Charles Heywood.
In 1885 the contents of the Chinese House, the plaster ceiling, four painted mirror pictures, fret tables, rushbottom chairs and porcelain were removed to the house for safekeeping. The planting hereabouts in Thomas Anson's day included clumps oflarches, known as 'Indian Trees', but these have all disappeared. Nevertheless, the planting round the Chinese House is still deliberately oriental in feel, with tree peonies, bamboo, azaleas, Viburnum davidi, Osmanthus delavayi, Rodgersia aesculifolia, Ligustrum quihoui and Ligustrum lucidum.
The Lanthorn of Demosthenes
Date: 1870 - 1871 (c.). Also known as the Dark Lantern, the Lanthorn was the last Neo-classical monument to be designed by James 'Athenian' Stuart for Shugborough. It was completed in 1771. The original, the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, stands near the Acropolis in Athens.
The bowl, which rested upon a tripod, was made by Wedgwood. In a state of disrepair the structure was restored in the 1960s; the missing bowl and tripod were replaced with fibreglass copies made to Stuart's original design.
