The afternoon seminar began with a presentation by Mark Finch – a Director of Rushbond plc – who reported on the progress of the conversion of Bretton Hall into a luxury hotel. He outlined the proposed structure of buildings for the new project and spoke about the demolition of most of the 1960s buildings. He informed his audience of the expected date of completion and the anticipated date of the opening of the new hotel at some time towards the end of 2018.
Photographs of the seminar by Tony Rigby.
The two photographs of the Bretton marbles were obtained from Wikipedia.
Click on images for enlargements
Anna Bowman – Senior Administrator of the National Arts Education Archive (NAEA) – announced that it was planned that a series of annual lectures would take place in honour of Professor John L. Taylor (Principal of Bretton Hall College from 1983 to 2001), who had supported and contributed to the development of the NAEA since its inception. Professor Taylor was invited to introduce Dr. David Hill - the presenter of the 2017 inaugural lecture.
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- Anna Bowman
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- Professor John Taylor
Dr David Hill presented his topic on 'The Bretton Marbles', two objects which were displayed in prominent positions at Bretton Hall from the 1960s onwards. One of the marbles was an imposing Greek altar, and the other a Corinthian well-head, otherwise known as a 'Puteal'.
David Hill – professor of fine art at Bretton Hall during the 1980s and 1990s, had originally assumed that the pieces being used as flower pots were merely copies of classical objects, but his research and subsequent confirmation by the British Museum, showed that the marbles were valuable antiquities.
In the 19th century, the marbles had been purchased by Lord North - 5th Earl of Guilford - and displayed in one of his London residences. After his death in 1827, Guilford's house and contents were sold to Thomas Wentworth Beaumont, who moved the Puteal and Altar to Bretton Hall.
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- Hellenistic Marble Altar
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- Corinthian Marble Puteal
