{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O835363"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O835363/"}},"images":null,"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O835363","accessionNumber":"D.1480-1907","objectType":"Drawing","titles":[{"title":"Kinmel Hall, drawing no. 180, detail of vestibule and corrdior","type":"assigned by artist"}],"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 details the entrance vestibule and corridor; it contains two detailed interior elevations, one corresponding wall section, and one rough perspective sketch of the corridor. The elevations depict ornamental foliage within the paneling and in the spandrels near the large archways. Flower motifs are especially dominant, a defining characteristic of Kinmel set into circulation by William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones, but used extensively by W. E. Nesfield and Norman Shaw. The section reveals the floor joists, girders, and placement of heating pipes. An additional unfinished drawing labeled, 'Elevation of opening from vestibule corridor', also depicts an unnamed full-length portrait hung on the plaster above the wood paneling. This is one of only a few instances at Kinmel of specific works of art being drawn into the construction documents.","physicalDescription":"Sheet contains two detailed interior elevations and one corresponding wall section. The elevations depict extensive ornamental detailing on the walls; the sections note the location of the plumbing for heating in the subfloor, as well as the placement of the girders and wooden joists. On the top-right corner of the sheet there is a rough perspective sketch of the entire corridor. There is a large ink stain on the upper-left side of the sheet; no dimensions are provided.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Nesfield, William Eden","id":"A8691"},"association":{"text":"architect","id":"THES265157"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"pencil","id":"x30347"}],"techniques":[{"text":"drawing","id":"x32498"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"","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":"01/07/1872","earliest":"1872-07-01","latest":"1872-07-01"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"53.3","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"63.3","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"\"Kinmel No. 180, Detail of vestibule & corridor, 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 of sheet."},{"content":"\"Tracing to Reid June 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 top of sheet."}],"objectHistory":"Donated to the V&A in 1907 as part of the Phené Spiers Collection of Architectural Drawings.","historicalContext":"Sheet could be used in conjunction with D.1479-1907 (drawing no. 358 and 359), which also details the entrance hall.","briefDescription":"Architectural drawing by W. E. Nesfield for Kinmel Hall, drawing no. 180, Detail of vestibule and corrdior, Flintshire, for H. R. Hughes, 1872, pencil 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.1480-1907"],"accessionNumberNum":"1480","accessionNumberPrefix":"D","accessionYear":1907,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-29","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-30","availableToBook":false}}