{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O835351"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O835351/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O835351","accessionNumber":"D.1492-1907","objectType":"Drawing","titles":[{"title":"Kinmel Hall, drawing no. 258 and 261, chapel details and ballroom elevation","type":"alternative title"}],"summaryDescription":"Kinmel Hall is a country house located near Abergele in north Wales. It is a renovation of a Greek Revival house that previously occupied the same site on the Kinmel estate. The existing house was designed by William Eden Nesfield (1835-1888) for Hugh Robert Hughes (1827-1911) and built between 1871-1876. Hughes inherited Kinmel from his uncle in 1852 and sought to enhance the estate by commissioning numerous improvements to the house and grounds. These improvements included a new stable block designed by William Burn and culminated in the ambitious expansion of the earlier house into the Kinmel Hall that exists today. Nesfield’s remodelling is dramatic departure from the mundane house Hughes inherited.\n\r\nIt has been said that Kinmel Hall has 365 windows and 52 bedrooms, making it an example of a ‘Calendar House’, a term coined by the Elizabethans and employed by the Victorians to celebrate extravagance. With over 120 rooms (one dedicated exclusively to ironing newspapers), Kinmel’s exorbitance has earned it the nickname, the ‘Welsh Versailles’. And although the house’s mansard roofs evoke the flavour of a French chateau, a closer look reveals a variety of influences. The abundance of red brick, stone window surrounds, and stone quoins are reminiscent of Hampton Court Palace—which Nesfield and Hughes visited for inspiration in 1868. However, the more minute details, such as the asymmetrical chimneys and Nesfield’s generous application of his characteristic sunflower motifs, reveal the house’s underlying connection to the ‘Queen Anne’ movement. After being sold by the Hughes family in 1929, Kinmel Hall has served as a rheumatic spa, hospital, and school. A fire caused extensive damage to the chapel and upper floor in 1977, and the house has changed ownership numerous times since. In 2015, the Victorian Society placed the now-derelict Kinmel Hall on its list of the top ten at-risk Victorian and Edwardian buildings in the UK; its future remains uncertain.\n\nThis drawing contains full-size section details of moulding on the gable at the end of the chapel (side 1). These overlapping drawings lack dimensions or construction notes and are not highly finished. The reverse side (side 2) contains an elevation of the ballroom wall against the drawing room. It depicts a large fireplace with an elaborate surround encrusted with musical instruments. Above this is an elevation of an unlabelled wall, which also has ornate detailing. This pencil drawing, which includes an unlabelled fireplace surround, could be an alternative scheme for the walls of the ballroom.","physicalDescription":"Sheet contains multiple overlapping section details for the gable at the end of the chapel (side 2). Drawings appear to be drawn at full size and lack extensive detailing. The reverse side (side 2) contains an elevation and wall section of the side of the ballroom next to the drawing room drawn in pencil and watercolour. Above this is an unlabelled elevation of a room containing ornate wood panelling with decorative 'pies' set within. These drawings do not contain construction notes and are sparsely coloured.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Nesfield, William Eden","id":"A8691"},"association":{"text":"architect","id":"THES265157"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"pencil","id":"x30347"},{"text":"watercolour","id":"x33202"},{"text":"ink","id":"AAT15012"}],"techniques":[{"text":"drawing","id":"x32498"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Drawn in pencil, ink, and watercolour on paper","categories":[{"text":"Designs","id":"THES48968"},{"text":"Architectural drawings","id":"THES274432"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"PDP","id":"THES48595"},"images":[],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"LVLD","id":"THES49658"},"free":"","case":"DR","shelf":"61","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"drawing","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"London","id":"x28980"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"16/10/1872","earliest":"1872-10-16","latest":"1872-10-16"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"53.4","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"65.8","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"\"Kinmel No. 258 & 261 over, Details of End of Chapel, Tracing sent to Reid Dec. 11th, 1872\"","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Insribed on left side of sheet (side 1)."},{"content":"\"1/2\" Scale Elevation of Side of Ball Room next (to) Drawing Rm\"","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Inscribed in ink at bottom of sheet (side 2)."},{"content":"\"No. 261, Dec. 14: 1872\"","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Inscribed in ink at left side of sheet (side 2)."}],"objectHistory":"Donated to the V&A in 1907 as part of the Phené Spiers Collection of Architectural Drawings","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Architectural drawing by W. E. Nesfield for Kinmel Hall, drawing no. 258, detail of gable at end of chapel, and drawing no. 261, elevation of side of ballroom, Flintshire, for H. R. Hughes, 1872, pencil and watercolour on paper, London","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"Girouard, Mark. <u>Sweetness and Light: </u><u>The Queen Anne Movement, 1860-1900.</u> New Haven: Yale University Press, 1977","id":"AUTH352825"},"details":"","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"Girouard, Mark. <u>The Victorian Country House</u>. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979.","id":"AUTH352830"},"details":"","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"Hubbard, Edward. <u>The Buildings of Wales: Clwyd</u>. Harmondsworth: University of Wales Press, 1986.","id":"AUTH352836"},"details":"","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"Muthesius, Stefan. <u>The High Victorian Movement in Architecture: 1850-1870</u>. London: Routledge & Paul, 1972.","id":"AUTH352838"},"details":"","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"Oxford Dictionary of National Biography","id":"AUTH352820"},"details":"","free":""}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[{"text":"Conwy","id":"x31148"}],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[{"text":"Hughes, Hugh Robert","id":"AUTH352628"}],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["D.1492-1907"],"accessionNumberNum":"1492","accessionNumberPrefix":"D","accessionYear":1907,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-07","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-30","availableToBook":false}}