OBJECT OF THE MONTH
Each month we bring out an object or artefact from our stores, research its history and put it out on display in the Mansion House.
THE ART OF ANNE MARGARET
Two watercolour sketches painted by Anne Margaret (1779-1843), wife to Viscount Anson. They have never been on public display before.
Lady Anson, was daughter to Coke of Norfolk who became 1st Earl of Leicester. He ensured his daughters enjoyed a good education and Ann Margaret was taught to paint by Gainsborough’s nephew.
She appeared to be a quiet, nervous person. Married at the age of 15, she was always chaperoned by elderly ladies who taught her to play cards. It appears she passed this love of card games onto the eldest of her eight children, Thomas William Anson - later the 1st Earl. He later lost a large portion of the estate’s assets paying off gambling debts.
These two examples of her work depict views of the Shugborough Estate in 1817. The first, shows the lodge which still stands today part way along the main drive. The second, shows a view of the mansion house, with a glimpse of the medieval Essex Bridge on the right hand side. We believe she must have painted this from the Haywood Cliffs area of the Estate – which is the high ground that can be seen when looking directly ahead from the mansion house steps.
She was certainly a creditable artist in her own right and a particularly fine example of her work is displayed in the Red Drawing Room – a large canvas depicting her children. This was displayed in a Royal Academy exhibition in 1799.
Another lasting legacy of Ann Margaret’s years at Shugborough, are the chairs which now surround the dining room table. Lady Anson commissioned these small and elegant pieces specifically because of their uncomfortable nature. It appears she had some desire to discreetly encourage guests not to overstay their welcome after an evening of entertainment at the estate.
WEDGEWOOD DAIRY SERVICE
Two precious artefacts are to be brought out of storage for the first time ever and put on display in the Shugborough Mansion House.
The two large bowls from Shugborough’s 200-year-old dairy service will be on public display at the stately home, near Stafford, throughout the month of June.
The Redware pieces are part of an eight piece set which were especially commissioned by Shugborough’s Lady Anson and made by Josiah Wedgwood.
Despite being acclaimed as the most unusual pieces of Josiah Wedgwood’s Redware ever to be produced, the dairy service has remained under wraps since Staffordshire County Council took over the estate in 1966.
The bowls were originally made for the Tower of the Winds within the estate grounds. In 1807 Lady Anson used the lower floor of this garden folly as her personal dairy and the four octagonal and four ovals bowls were made specifically to use in this area as settling pans for milk. Each brown bowl measures over 22 inches in length and bears black Egyptian motifs around the rim.
The pieces will be on display daily in the Shugborough mansion house throughout the month.
PAPER CROSS
Shugborough is rumoured connections to the Holy Grail, has revealed an enigmatic artefact for the first time ever.
Shugborough Hall, near Stafford, attracted world wide publicity four years ago when Bletchley Park’s codebreakers made an attempt at cracking an indecipherable code on a garden monument at the estate.
Some believe the code on the Shepherd’s Monument points the way to the Holy Grail. Staff at the tourist attraction have now put an historic paper cross on display as the May Object of the Month.
This small paper cross was found tucked into the roof space of the mansion house in the early 1990s. It has been stored in the depths of Shugborough’s archives since and has never been on display before.
Most interestingly it appears to have been deliberately torn from newspaper into the shape of a Cross of Lorraine. The newspaper is the British Chronicle of May 20, 1794.
The Cross of Lorraine was used as a symbol by the Knights Templar after the Patriarchs of Jerusalem granted its use to them during the Crusades. Its image has been found scratched into the walls of cells where some Knights Templar were held before execution.
Joan of Arc also adopted the Cross of Lorraine as her standard. In the 15th century, Rene d’Anjou – who later became the Duc of Lorraine – kept a piece of wood in the shape of the Cross of Lorraine believing it was part of the True Cross of Christ.
Later in the 18th century, Shugborough’s Anson family supported the then Duc of Lorraine in the Austrian War of Succession. He went on to become the Holy Roman Emperor. Some people believe members of the House of Hapsburg-Lorraine are descendants of Christ.
Corinne Caddy, of Shugborough, said: “We have no idea why the paper cross was deposited in the mansion house’s roof space. However, there are many theories regarding the Anson family’s connections with secret societies and more particularly, surrounding the code on the Shugborough Shepherd’s Monument – which some say leads to the Holy Grail.
“Perhaps it was simply placed there as a good luck symbol. Perhaps it is purely accidental that a piece of newspaper should be ripped into a shape resembling the Cross of Lorraine. Or, perhaps, it is another clue in the mystery regarding the secret of the Shepherd’s Monument.”
The cross will remain on display in the mansion house until the end of the month when it will be replaced by another interesting object from the estate’s stores.
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