Bilton Grange on Radio 4

Did you hear Bilton Grange mentioned on Radio 4 last week?  Radio 4’s “Book of the Week” was God’s Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain.  We heard Haydn Gwynne reading each morning.  The following are extracts from the book:

 “Bilton Grange in Warwickshire [is] the home of Captain Hibbert, a relative by marriage of the Shrewsburys.”

There were “problems with the newly completed wing at Bilton Grange.”

“Captain Hibbert continued to terrorize Pugin with complaints about his house at Bilton Grange and was now threatening to go to law…Pugin…said that he was too frightened to come to Bilton…the Captain, who promised that he would not be cross, …Pugin agreed to go in the spring…what was wrong with the house is impossible to discover though one problem was damp.”

Pugin extended Bilton Grange for Captain Hibbert between 1844 and 1851.  Pugin is best known for his work on the Palace of Westminster  in which there are architectural details and decorative features similar to those in Bilton Grange such as the wallpapers we have in the Pugin Library and on the walls of the main staircase.

On Monday, TimeTeam on Channel 4 featured an overview of Pugin’s work (though sadly BG didn’t get a mention!)


Tags: History, Prep