Photographs and caption material by Michael Statham, and formatting by Jacqueline Banerjee. You may use these images without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer, and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one. Click on the images to enlarge them. —
Fox sneaking up on two rabbits in their burrow, a bas-relief on the façade of Insole Court by the stone-carvers of W. Clarke and Co. Like the reliefs on the westernmost bay, these can be dated from later than the 1870s and earlier than 1899. The panels are located between the ground and first floors on the westernmost two bay windows of the south elevation. This one is above the next bay of the house to the east. The following image gives a detail of the one above, while the next one is in the centre of this bay.
Closer view of the rabbits, and a primula growing on the upper right, as if out of a stone wall by the burrow.
In the long central panel, a dog has come across some pheasants, one of which spots the dog through some vegetation. Again there is an element of humour, but the confrontation is uneven and unless the birds quickly take flight, they are obviously vulnerable.
After this, the third panel shows three dogs attacking two large, fierce-looking wild boars with bared fangs. This battle looks as if it is the fiercest of all, and the outcome seems uncertain. The stone-carver has again shown remarkable skill in depicting a dynamic scene.
Closer view of two of the dogs attacking the boar on the left. Wild boar were extinct in the United Kingdom for a long time before they escaped in the Forest of Dean late last century. But, in general, the panels all vividly reflect the kind of natural life to be found in great European estates of this time, and nearly all show the element of violence in it through hunting scenes.
Links to Related Material
- The Firm of W. Clarke, Llandaff - Sculpture and Building Works: A very brief history
- Animal carvings by the firm (2)
- William Willingale Taylor, master stone-carver closely associated with the firm
Created December 2022