Katharine Maltwood's Grail Frieze in the garden at Chilton Priory, Chilton Polden, Somerset

Summary

An inscribed bas-relief with abstract linear patterns made by the sculptor Katharine Maltwood in the 1920s, set against the south garden wall at Chilton Priory.

Description

An inscribed bas-relief with abstract linear patterns made by the sculptor Katharine Maltwood in the 1920s, set against the south garden wall at Chilton Priory.

The Grail Frieze is approximately 4m long, and constructed of large stone ashlar blocks. It has an irregular, stepped top, and is inscribed with the following quote from Sir William Dugdale’s Monasticum Anglicanum (1655):

"About sixty three years
After the incarnation
Of our Lord St Joseph
Of Arimethea

Accompanied by Eleven
Other disciples of
St Philip was despatched
By that apostle into

Britain to introduce
The Meek and Gentle
System of Christianity
They settled in the
Isle of Avalon
Dugdale’s Monasticum"

History

Chilton Priory was built in the 1830s, probably to designs by William Halliday, for the collector and antiquarian William Stradling, a descendant from the Stradling family who date back to the C14 . It comprised a castellated folly tower with observatory, standing in a small wooded pleasure ground, including a grotto and a 'dark' garden tunnel. The tower and the grounds were used to display Stradling’s collection of art and antiquities. The tower was constructed using a number of salvaged architectural and decorative features from nearby churches and archaeological sites, which he also displayed in the grounds. In 1839 Stradling published his 'Description of the Priory at Chilton-upon-Polden'. He describes the tower, mentions his grotto, and the extensive views of the landscape around Glastonbury seen from the observatory, including Hallswell Park with Robin Hood's Hut. The first edition OS published in 1886 shows the tower with its wooded pleasure ground, marked as 'Chilton Priory (Museum)'. Stradling lived nearby in the village at Tower House (qv) which was surrounded by a small park with a grotto and bridge (qv) and the Temple (qv). He was a Freemason, and in his book he states that the Refectory at the base of the Tower at Chilton Priory contains 'a black and white stone floor, bordered with blue similar to those at Freemasons' Lodges'. It is not known whether the room, which has a large fire place at one end, was ever used for Masonic rituals.

From 1909 until 1918 Chilton Priory was owned by Major Francis Kennedy, who in 1909-10 commissioned the architect, author and psychical researcher Frederick Bligh Bond (1864-1945) to build a large Tudor-Gothic-revival house attached to the north-east of the existing folly tower, matching its castellated design. The pleasure grounds were extended with a terrace and lawns to the north of the new house. Bligh Bond is best known for his ecclesiastical and domestic architecture and a number of his buildings are listed.
Shortly after the First World War, Chilton Priory was bought by John and Katharine Maltwood. In 1918 they commissioned Bligh Bond to extend the house further, and the pleasure grounds were further improved introducing a pond and a bridge, possibly replacing an earlier one. John Maltwood was former Managing Director of Oxo Ltd and had made a fortune during the First World War when the Oxo stock cubes became part of British soldiers' rations. His wife was the artist, collector and scholar Katharine Emma Maltwood (1878-1961). Her early work is mainly influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement and the Continental Symbolist Movement. The Maltwood's travelled extensively and were particularly fascinated by the art and culture of ancient civilisations, including those of India, Japan, Egypt, North Africa, Palestine, Arabia, Indonesia, China, Vietnam and Korea. In the 1920s, whilst living at Chilton Priory, Katharine became increasingly interested in ancient mythology, religious mysticism, spirituality, theosophy and Eastern philosophy. This was mainly expressed in the study of medieval Arthurian legends, in particular that of the Holy Grail and its connection with the visit of Joseph of Arimethea to Glastonbury. Maltwood believed that Stradling's positioning of Chilton Priory on the early British pilgrimage route to Glastonbury was deliberate. In c1920 Katharine made the Grail Frieze which she placed in the garden at Chilton Priory.
The Maltwood's moved from Chilton Priory in 1935, and sold it in 1938. It subsequently had a number of different owners. In the summer of 2015, after the house had stood empty for some years, the estate was sold at auction and it is now in private ownership. There are currently plans to use the house and garden as a spiritual healing centre.

The Grail Frieze dates from the 1920s and stands in the pleasure ground below the folly tower at Chilton Priory, along the retaining wall lining the gardens to the south. Maltwood inscribed it with a quote from Sir William Dugdale's Monasticum Anglicanum first published in 1655. It is not known whether the Grail Frieze at Chilton Priory was originally intended to have an architectural function. The possibility is raised as it is believed that her Holy Grail sculpture of 1922 (also known as Archangel), which resembles a caryatid, was designed to be reproduced for use as a roof support (Bond, 33 & 34).

Reasons for Listing

The Grail Frieze of c1920 made by the sculptor Katharine Maltwood for her garden at Chilton Priory is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

* Artistic interest: it is a good and early example of the work of the early C20 Arts and Crafts sculptor Katharine Maltwood (1878-1961) expressing her particular interest in the Arthurian legends;

* Group value: it forms an interesting group with the Grade II listed Chilton Priory, where Maltwood lived from c1918 to 1935.

External Links

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