Pulhamite and Terracotta Fountain, Dunorlan Park, Park, Kent

Description

872/1/10049 PEMBURY ROAD
05-MAR-09 Pulhamite and terracotta fountain, Dun
orlan Park

GV II
Fountain. Circa 1862 by James Pulham, restoration completed in 2005. This fountain was first exhibited at the International Exhibition of 1862 at South Kensington and subsequently bought by Henry Reed, owner of the Dunorlan estate.

MATERIALS: The fountain bowl is of Pulhamite artifical rock and the figures of moulded terracotta.

DESCRIPTION: The fountain is situated at the south east end of Dunorlan Park, forming the focal point at the southern end of a cedar avenue, and the Grecian temple forming the focal point at the north east end. The large Pulhamite pond basin is of quatrefoil shape incorportating four small plinths, but no longer bearing Triton figures, with water jets. The central tapering fountain shaft has a lower gadrooned section surmounted by terracotta figures of four mermaids seated on dolphins which are spouting water. Above is a large shallow bowl and above this the shaft is decorated with four male terracotta figures, figures of Venus and male masks; below, there is a smaller shallow bowl of Pulhamite with moulded terracotta swags and dolphins from which eight jets are directed into the lower bowl. It is surmounted by a statue of Hebe.

HISTORY: In 1823, John Ward, who was a partner of Decimus Burton in the development of the villas in Calverley Park, bought Calverley Farm, which included the site of a chalybeate spring. He constructed a lake on the farm for recreational purposes. In 1854 the farm was sold to Henry Reed who had made his fortune in Tasmania. He demolished the farmhouse and built a new house, Dunorlan, in Italianate style. The grounds were laid out by the Scottish landscape gardener Robert Martock (1811-1890) and James Pulham, a leading Victorian garden designer and manufacturer of garden ornaments, was commissioned to provide Pulhamite rockwork, a Pulhamite cascade, and he probably extended and re-shaped the lake. Unusually these structures also included a Pulhamite Grecian temple. The upper part of the Pulhamite and terracotta fountain was displayed at the International Exhibition of 1862 at South Kensington where it was called the "Hebe" fountain after its crowning statue based on statues of Hebe by Canova. When it was installed at Dunorlan Park a lower section with bowl and terracotta figures and a pond basin were added. The firm completed the scheme in 1864 and the fountain is shown on the 1867 Ordnance Survey map. It is illustrated in a lithograph of 1872.

In 1874 Henry Reed sold Dunorlan to the Collins family, in whose ownership it remained until 1945 when Tunbridge Wells Borough council purchased the site. The main house, Dunorlan was badly damaged by a fire in 1946 and demolished in 1958. In 2003-4 a major restoration of Dunorlan Park took place, following a Heritage Lottery Fund award of £2.1m. The fountain was restored but many terracotta parts, including the statue of Hebe, needed recasting and the four Triton figures were not replaced because of concerns about vandalism.

Pulhamite rockwork was developed by James Pulham (c.1820-98), the son of one of the pioneers of Portland cement manufacture. In the 1840s be began to use this cement as an ingredient in the construction of ornamental artificial rockwork. Masses of clinker and scrap brickwork were assembled, cement was poured over them, and they were moulded into boulder-like formations. Various surface finishes produced highly convincing and varied artificial rock types. As well as naturalistic rockeries, ornaments such as classically styled fountain basins were also produced by the firm of Pulham in moulded terracotta. Pulham¿s creations became a major feature of many mid and late Victorian garden designs.

SOURCES:
Illustration of "Hebe" fountain in Art Journal Catalogue produced for 1862 International Exhibition.
1872 Lithograph in Tunbridge Wells Library.
"Durability Guaranteed. Pulhamite Rockwork - Its conservation and repair." English Heritage 2008. p24.
Claude Hitching "In Search of Pulham's Fountains" in Garden History Society Magazine Issue 67, Spring 2003.
Claude Hitching "Some rediscovered Pulham Fountains" for Garden Fountains Website.
Marian williams "Pulhamite and Terracotta Fountain at Dunorlan Park" in 'Glazed Expressions' Issue 53, Summer 2005.

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION:
* It is a good quality Pulhamite and Terracotta fountain constructed and displayed by James Fulham at the 1862 International Exhibition and then increased in size and installed for Henry Reed at Dunorlan Park.
* The Pulhamite parts survive intact and much of the moulded terracotta was restored in 2005.
* The fountain forms part of a series of garden structures at Dunorlan, all constructed by James Pulham between 1854 and 1864 and Dunorlan Park is a Grade II site on the Register of Parks and Gardens.

Reasons for Listing

The Pulhamite and terracotta fountain, Dunorlan Park is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* It is a good quality Pulhamite and terracotta fountain constructed and displayed by James Fulham at the 1862 International Exhibition at South Kensington and then increased in size and installed for Henry Reed at Dunorlan Park.
* The Pulhamite parts are intact and the moulded terracotta figures were restored in 2005.
* The fountain forms part of a series of garden structures at Dunorlan, all constructed by James Pulham between 1854 and 1864 and Dunorlan Park is a Grade II site on the Register of Parks and Gardens.

External Links

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