A Parable for Our Time

'The uninvited guest from an unremembered past'

 

This is part of a large installation made from dead organic materials meandering through the house.  To me it looks nothing more nor less than a gargantuan bowel movement, but I'm glad to be corrected. “These materials hold traces of memory, exploring ways of listening to past, present and future, inviting us to reflect on Tyntesfield’s history.” I’m trying to get my head around ‘listening’ to this. Is it accompanied by bowel movement sounds?

For all the ‘word salad’ interpretations, let’s not beat about the bush. This is poo oozing its way through the house. And why? The hapless Gibbs family—all four generations—owned no slaves so they can’t be ‘got’ at on that score. Their vast wealth was based upon imported guano (sea-bird poo) from South America. As they say, ‘there’s money in sh-t,’ but in fairness they invested in beauty. Judge for yourself.

House and chapel

Drive and entrance

Hall with hearth in distance

Hearth close up, its statues representing the four virtues. 

The rooms lend themselves to film and TV work and if you ever see Trollope’s Dr Thorne, Agatha Christie’s Crooked House, Dracula, The Famous Five, Sherlock (The Abominable Bride) and even Dr Who (Hide) you may recognise some of the rooms shown above and below.

A library to die for – well at least experience a slight cold.

The Games Room

The oratory, ie a room once dedicated to family and staff prayer. Now superseded by a grand victorian gothic chapel.

Hall, stairs and landing from different angles

The gothic corridor to the chapel

The family chapel. A modest affair

                                And an evocative exit from the chapel to the gardens outside.

 Tyntesfield reflects late Victorian gothic at its finest—an idyllic country retreat for a country gentleman with taste and a fortune from guano. Earlier representatives of the National Trust recognised its beauty and significance. It was saved for the nation in 2002 and a public appeal resulted in 77,000 people donating over £8 million in a 100 days. It also benefited from a grant of £17.4 million from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. The National Trust today sees guano. A parable for our times perhaps.