The D’Israeli Column

I hadn’t heard of Edward Buckton Lamb (1806 – 1869), a Victorian architect called “a Rogue Gothic Revivalist” criticised by his contemporaries but in the 20th century Pevsner called him “the most original though certainly not the most accomplished architect of his day”. I have now seen two of his works.

He was commissioned by Mary Anne Disraeli (the Prime Minister’s wife) to design a monument in memory of her father-in-law, Isaac D’Israeli; an author, essayist, poet, and scholar. In the light of yesterday’s post it is interesting that he condemned the way Jews were treated in England in a 1797 novel.

There are two inscriptions on the monument. On the east face –

In Memory of Isaac Disraeli, of Bradenham, in this County, Esq., and Hon D.C.L. of the University of Oxford, Who, by his happy genius, diffused among the multitude that elevating taste for literature, which, before his time, was the privilege only of the learned. This monument was raised in affectionate Remembrance by Mary-Ann, the wife of his eldest son, the Right. Hon Benjamin Disraeli, Lord of this Manor, Chancellor of the Exchequer 1852-8 and 9 and now for the sixth time Knight of this shire. June, 1862.

And on the north face –

Mary Anne Disraeli Viscountess Beaconfield d. Dec. 19. 1872. Dulcis conjux.

The monument stands on top of a hill on the Hughenden Estate. It is fifty feet high, made of Bath stone. Disraeli was pleased with Lamb’s design but maybe was influenced because it was his wife’s concept. He described the new monument as “both for design, execution & even material is one of the most beautiful things not only in the County of Buckingham, but in England!”. In any event he then employed Lamb to remodel the house. Disraeli was delighted with the result but to a modern eye it is a pity the Georgian features were sacrificed.

“Architecturally, he had a strong interest in the eclectic; this interest is very apparent in his work at Hughenden. Under Lamb’s hand, classical Georgian features were swept away as he “dramatised” the house. Lamb worked in a hybrid baronial form of Gothic architecture, with exposed and angular juxtaposing brickwork surmounted by stepped battlements with diagonal pinnacles. The uppermost windows of the thirteen-bayed garden facade were given unusual pediments – appearing almost as machicolations. The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner, in his highly critical appraisal of Lamb’s work at Hughenden, labels these “window-heads” as “indescribable” and Lamb’s overall Hughenden work as “excruciating”.” (Wikipedia)

The hills, valleys, pastures and beech woods dusted with frost make for a satisfying circular walk. Towards the end we went a little out of our way for lunch at the Le De Spencers Arms, a flint-knapped pub tucked away in the woods near Downley Common.

The history of the le Despencer barony, after which the pub is named, is complex. Suffice to say there were five Creations, the first in 1295 and once the title was revived with the holder’s precedence going back to the original creation in 1295. It was this line that lasted until the 14th Baron, who preferred to be known as Viscount Falmouth, died in 1918.

Should you happen upon this pub you’d be remiss if you didn’t have bread and butter pudding. I’m not the sort of person who takes photographs of food but it is high end b & b pud. The bread is Barra Brith, this means speckled bread in Welsh and it comes in a sea of custard. It is similar to barmbrack. (“As its Irish language name bairín breac (speckled bread) suggests, barmbrack has much in common with the Welsh bara brith: a plain, yet richly fruited bread that’s well suited to a generous topping of butter, and an excellent accompaniment to a pot of tea”.) To work up an appetite we took The Views of Hughenden Manor Estate Walk.