Decorative ironwork on cupboard, Castell Coch, Tongwynlais, North Cardiff,

Decorative ironwork on cupboard

William Burges

Late 1870s

Wrought iron

Tongwynlais, North Cardiff, Wales

Photograph, caption, and commentary below by Jacqueline Banerjee

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According to David McLees, "The furniture [in Lady Margaret's Bedroom], commissioned by Chapple, is original and comprises a mixture of simplified Burges designs and items from Viollet-le-Duc"; among these he includes the "unique" cream-painted bed in "thirteenth-century style" (50) and this cupboard. The cupboard's doors are reminiscent of the cream-painted, black-hinged doors on the Drawing Room settle at William Morris's Red House (see Marsh 67). Note that Morris's settle came from the Red Lion Square house, and was originally painted red; but Burges, who visited Red House in 1861, might well have seen it when it was repainted. Burges's metalwork design is typically more ornate.

References

Crook, J. Mordaunt. William Burges and the High Victorian Dream. London: Murray, 1981.

Marsh, Jan. William Morris & Red House: A Collaboration between Architect and Owner. London: Anova Books, 2005.

McLees, David. Castell Coch. Cardiff: Cadw (Crown Copyright), rev. ed. 2005.

Newman, John, et al. Glamorgan (Buildings of Wales, Vol. 3). New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.

Williams, Matthew. William Burges, 1827-81. Andover, Hants: Jarrold Publishing (Pitkin Guide), 2007.

Last modified 14 December 2009