Broadlands

The Domed Hall and Sculpture Hall

Entering Broadlands by the front door we first pass between the impressive classical columns of a recessed portico which is the chief feature of the entrance front. Henry Holland designed the Domed Hall, Dining Room, Wedgwood Room and the Library in 1788. This and the Domed Hall now fill what was once an open court. The 16th and 17th century house of the St. Barbe family has been described as "half a Roman H" or "an open square" .

The Domed Hall is octagonal with two arched doorcases and with a coffered ceiling decorated with plasterwork, almost in the form of snowflakes.

Here and in the Sculpture Hall are displayed pieces from the Broadlands collection of ancient Greek and Roman marbles. Most were acquired in Rome in 1765 by the young Henry Temple, 2nd Viscount Palmerston. This was during the obligatory 'Grand Tour' of Europe to complete the education of a young English aristocrat. Still in his early twenties he returned to Broadlands, quite obviously with grand ideas for the Palladian mansion in which he was eventually able to provide an ideal setting for the many sculptures and works of art he had purchased while abroad.

The sculptures included important contemporary 18th century pieces made in the style of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The whole collection shows clearly that Viscount Palmerston developed a remarkable understanding for Greek art during his tour.

Interesting to the non-specialist are a bas- relief depicting a boar hunt, a mischievous satyr with pan-pipes, and a handsome bust of Hermes. The classical decoration of the Sculpture Hall, with its screen of doric columns, was almost certainly designed by Capability Brown in 1768-69. Funerary urns, vases by Piranesi and statuettes stand on plinths or in the concave niches designed to hold them.

The furniture of the Sculpture Hall includes original tables with Roman granite and other marble tops, which Lord Palmerston also imported from Italy.