Basildon Park
Basildon Park is a mansion in the English county of Berkshire . It is located between the towns of Upper Basildon and Lower Basildon, not far from Reading .
description
building
Basildon Park is an 18th century Palladian manor house surrounded by extensive parkland .
It is of interest because of its elegant staircase, the elaborate plastering work still preserved in the original, and an unusual, octagonal, dark red painted room. It also houses a beautiful collection of paintings and furniture as well as the Shell Room , a curious collection of various shells and snail shells. The Octagon Drawing Room on the first floor of the building contains works by the painter Giambattista Pittoni .
The British painter Graham Sutherland was in Basildon Park in the early 1960s doing preparatory work for his Christ in Glory tapestry , which he created for Coventry Cathedral in 1962 .
Gardens and parks
The garden from the early 19th century is partially surrounded by a wall and is currently being restored. From a parapet you can overlook the adjoining park up to the Thames . The extensive park landscape blends harmoniously into the hilly landscape.
history
Francis Sykes (1732-1804), an official of the East India Company , who had unscrupulously enriched himself at the court of the Nawab in Bengal and was temporarily governor of Kasimbazar, bought the grounds of Basildon Park and left the mansion on his return from India between 1776 and built in 1783 by the architect John Carr. Sykes, he was a Member of Parliament for many years and lived in Basildon Park. Francis Sykes and his son Francis William (1767-1804) are commemorated in an unusual memorial in Saint Bartholemews Church in Lower Basildon.
After the death of father and son in the same year, the grandson Francis Sykes (1799-1842), whom Charles Dickens immortalized in Oliver Twist as Bill Sikes' villain, inherited Basildon Park. In 1838 Sykes sold the property to the businessman and MP James Morrison (1789-1857).
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Basildon Park has been vacant or repurposed during the wars, and its furnishings have been destroyed, lost or sold. It was on the verge of demolition in the early 1950s before Lord and Lady Iliffe saved it. They restored the house and furnished it again with furniture and paintings. They later turned the property over to the National Trust , which has owned it ever since.
Basildon Park is now a listed building .
film records
- Pride and Prejudice : In the 2005 film adaptationof Jane Austen 's novel ofthe same name , Basildon Park served as Netherfield , the temporarily rented castle of Mr. Bingley.
- Marie Antoinette : Some scenesfrom the 2006film adaptation of Sofia Coppola were filmed in Basildon Park.
literature
- Simon Jenkins: England's Thousand best houses . Penguin Books, London 2004, pp. 10-12, ISBN 0-14-100625-0 .
- Hudson's Historic Houses & Gardens . Norman Hudson & Company, Banbury 2006, p. 104, ISBN 1-904387-03-9 .
Footnotes
- ^ Subhas Chandra Mukhopadhyay: The agrarian policy of the British in Bengal. The formative period, 1698-1772 . Chugh Publications, Allahabad 1987. Therein the chapter Land revenue administration under Francis Sykes .
- ^ Clive Williams: A brief history of Basildon, Berkshire , accessed November 30, 2013.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 29 ′ 57 " N , 1 ° 7 ′ 17" W.