C O N T E X T 1 4 1 : S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 5 47 Architecturally speaking The sad demise of Clandon Park The statesman and politician Speaker Onslow (1679–1740) would be turning in his grave. So would the world-famous architect Giacomo Leoni (1686–1746). These men were responsible for the singular architectural composition that was Clandon Park in Surrey, which was gutted by fire in April this year. Undoubtedly Clandon was one of the most important country mansions in England. Its loss is a huge blow to architecture, architectural history and the arts as a whole. Psychology has proved that this disaster will have prompted profound feelings of loss for those who loved it best, and who lived out their daily lives in and around the building. But as hard as the loss of Clandon is to come to terms with, we really do need to accept that these large-scale fires are an occasional part of our relationship with country houses. If we can accept the inevitability of such fires (and history proves that they are not as rare as we might think), this may change the way we use, enjoy and record these buildings while we still have them. The wider press has bemoaned the loss of Clandon but with little regard to what we might do. Our response to Clandon’s demise will demonstrate if we have truly taken on board the inevitability of occasional fire and whether we have learned much since the last devastating fires of Hampton Court,Windsor Castle and Uppark. Clandon Park is currently being hailed as Giacomo Leoni’s architectural masterpiece and the seminal work of his career. Admittedly these statements are being made now that the building has been ruined but it was indeed a superb country seat. It was particularly important for the stylistic bridge it formed between neoPalladianism and the baroque style. Built in the early 1720s, Clandon was designed to increase the dignity and gravitas of Speaker Onslow who had become very wealthy through his marriage in 1708 to the Jamaican heiress Elizabeth Knight. His family was elevated to the peerage in 1716. It may have been this that prompted him to build in such a grand style. Onslow decided to build Clandon with the help of Leoni. A Venetian, Leoni had come to England in 1714 aged 28, having worked in Dusseldorf. He was instrumental in bringing Palladian style to the English aristocracy through his publication of the first complete translation of Palladio’s I Quattro Libri D’ell Architettura. The translation was a huge success and led to multiple editions. On the frontispiece Leoni titled himself ‘Architect to his most serene Highness, the Elector Palatinate’. While this claim remains unsubstantiated, the freshness and The entrance front of Clandon: the house’s serious, quiet and refined Palladian exterior is tempered with an interior of baroque flair that makes the building come alive.
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