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The
Gloriette (1964-65, listed grade II, 1971) was designed in 1963 as part of the
Piazza development but of this only the fountain and portico were kept. The
portico was revised in 1964 and renamed the Gloriette, after the purely
spectacular classical confection that closes the great vista at the Schonbrunn
Palace near Vienna.
His
purpose here was not to match up with earlier structures but rather of providing
a piquant contrast whereby both old and new would gain in interest, as Clough
explains: "the Palladian Gloriette vivaciously contradicts the more sober,
old, converted stable block across the way." It derives from his rescue in
the 1930's of the Colonnade by Samuel Wyatt (1737-1807) at Hooton Hall in
Cheshire at the instigation of Sir Charles Reiley, including eight massive ionic
columns.
"For nearly thirty years I forgot all about this rather rash and extravagant
purchase until I had my Gloriette idea by which time these bits and pieces could
nowhere be found. Ultimately they were tracked down and actually dug up from
under a garden that had been made on top of them."
Architectural historian Richard Haslam writes of the Gloriette: "This complex
little work needs explaining , lest it be dismissed as the last word in facade
building. Its diminutive depth and disparity of its elevations result from
Clough contriving a surprise for visitors. The main street winds round the
Piazza, from which it is screened by a wall; the narrow north doorway of the
Gloriette invites exploration, and the participant finds himself on a balcony
overlooking the village."
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