{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O835352"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O835352/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O835352","accessionNumber":"D.1491-1907","objectType":"Drawing","titles":[{"title":"Kinmel Hall, drawing no. 232 and 341, ballroom section and details","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 sheet contains a large section drawing of the ballroom (side 1) with a corresponding elevation drawn facing the exterior windows and side without the mezzanine (as seen in D.1490-1907). The upper windows are arch-topped with decorative scrolls; the windows on the below are large with a decorative frieze above containing repeating flower motifs. The reverse side (side 2) has multiple details of ornamental scrolls, interlocking decorative 'pies', and various moulding details.","physicalDescription":"Sheet illustrates a section of the ballroom, detailing its walls and barrel vault construction, as well as elevations of various windows and a door (side 1). The drawings are highly finished and contain dimensions noting the height of floors and joist sizes. Side 1 uses watercolours to denote different materials and components. The reverse side (side 2) contains ornamental detail drawings for the ballroom, including moulding for the ceiling, window architrave, and various decorative scrolls (with many drawn in both plan and section). This side is drawn entirely in pencil.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Nesfield, William Eden","id":"A8691"},"association":{"text":"architect","id":"THES265157"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"pencil","id":"x30347"},{"text":"ink","id":"AAT15012"},{"text":"watercolour","id":"x33202"}],"techniques":[{"text":"drawing","id":"x32498"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"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":"01/10/1872","earliest":"1872-10-01","latest":"1872-10-01"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""},{"date":{"text":"20/02/1874","earliest":"1874-02-20","latest":"1874-02-20"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"66","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"53.2","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"\"Kinmel No. 232 Ball Room Roof &c 1/2\" scale\"","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 top-left of sheet (side 1)."},{"content":"\"Tracing sent to Reid [?]\"","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 pencil at top-right of sheet (side 1)."},{"content":"\"337. Finished elevation of [?] North End\"","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 top-left corner of sheet (side 1)."},{"content":"\"W. Eden Nesfield, Architect, 30 Argyll St, Regent St W, Oct 1st, 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 bottom-right corner of sheet (side 1)."},{"content":"\"No. 341, Ball Room - Details, Full Size\"","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 pencil at top-left corner of sheet (side 2)."},{"content":"\"Feb. 20th 1874\"","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 pencil at bottom-right corner of sheet (side 2)."}],"objectHistory":"Donated to the V&A in 1907 as part of the Phené Spiers Collection of Architectural Drawings.","historicalContext":"Sheet to be used in conjunction with D.1490-1907 (no. 237 and 338), which details the opposite elevation of the ballroom, and D.1476-1907 (no. 236), where more ballroom elevations can be found.","briefDescription":"Architectural drawing by W. E. Nesfield for Kinmel Hall, drawing no. 232, ballroom section and associated details, and drawing no. 341, ballroom details, Flintshire, for H. R. Hughes, 1872, ink, 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.1491-1907"],"accessionNumberNum":"1491","accessionNumberPrefix":"D","accessionYear":1907,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-29","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-30","availableToBook":false}}