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Centrum rozleglych niegdys dobrFawley Court stanm-vi zabytkowy XVII-wieczny palac, otoczo
ny parkiem, usytuowanym nad brzegiem Tamizy, na granicy hrabstwOxfordshire i Buckingamshire.
Historia posiadlosci sit(ga polowy XIwieku. Za panowania Edwarda Wyznawcy (ok. 1003-1066) obronny dworz dobrami FaHey otrzymal Tostig, synGodwina, mianowany przez wladct(hrabiq Northumbrii, zas WilhelmI Zdobywca (1028-1087) podarowal goszwagrowi, Walterowi Giffordowi hrabiemu Buckingham. Przez blisko 400lat majqtek pozostawal w posiadaniurodziny de Sackville, potem jego kolejnym wlascicielem zostal Thomas Rakes, szeryf Buckinghamshire za czasow Edwarda IV (1442-1483). W 1616roku przeszedl w rt(ce rodziny Whitelock6w. W czasach wojny domowej1642-1646 Fawley znalazlo sit( na liniiwalk mir,;dzy rojalistami a wojskami
The Centre of the once vast holdings of Fawley Court is that of thehistoric 17th-century house and
surrounding gardens stretching alongthe Thames, on the border of Oxfordshire and Bllckinghamshire counties.
The history of Fawley Court reachesback to the mid-11th century. Duringthe reign of Edward the Confessor (c.1003-1066) a fortified manor with landsknown as 'FaHey' (from the plenitude offallow deer) came to be held by Tostig,the son of Earl Godwin, when the kingnamed him Earl of Northumberland.
After the Norman conquest, William I(c. 1028-1087) awarded it to his brother-in-law, Walter Gifford, Earl ofBuckingham. Having passed to SirWilliam de Sackville in 1079, FawleyCourt remained with his descendentsfor the next four centuries. Thereafter it
came into the possession of ThomasRakes, the sheriff of Buckinghamshireduring the reign of Edward IV (1442-
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Cromwella. S~dzia Bulstrode Whitelock byl zwolennikiem parlamentu, rojalisci zniszczyli wi~c Fawley Courtniemal doszcz~tnie. Nast~pny wlasciciel posiacUosci, pik William Freemanrozpoczql w 1684 r. budow~ nowej,wspaniaIej siedziby wecUug projektusir Christophera Wrena (1632-1723)krolewskiego architekta i matematyka.Si~gajqce konca XI wieku pozostalosciufortyfikowanego dworu zostaly wIqczone w nowq bry1~. Pa1ac byl pozniejkilkakrotnie przebudovvywany: oko1o1787 r. prosta elewacja glowna otrzymala jonskq kolumnad~, zas w 1884 r.dodano do budynku jedno z dwuzaprojektowanych przez Williama D.Mackenzie skrzydel.
W latach 30. XVIII w. owczesny wfasciciel Fawley Court, architekt amatorJohn Freeman zaprojektowal otaczajqce dom zewn~trzne tarasy i ogrodw stylu nawiqzujqcym do projektowWilliama Kenta (1685-1748) ze znajdujqcymi si~ w nim pawilonami - nastrojowq swiqtyniQ, trojosiowQ bramqwodnq zdobionq rustykq i pokrytym
1483). In 1616 Fawley Court passed tothe Whitelock family. During the firstphase of the English Civil Wars (16421646) Fawley found itself caught in thecrossfire be1:\veen the Royalists and thearmies of Cromwell. As Judge BulstrodeWhitelock was a supporter of Parliament, the Royalist forces destroyedFawley Court almost entirely. In 1684the next owner, Colonel William Freeman, began the construction of a newand marvellous residence designed bySir Christopher Wren (1632-1723),crown architect and mathematician.
The surviving elements of the 11th-century fortified manor were integratedinto the new structure. The House hassince been remodelled several times. For
instance, in 1787 its simple elevationreceived an ionic colonnade, and in1884 one of 1:\vo wings designed byWilliam D. Mackenzie was added.
In the 1730s Fawley Court's owner,amateur architect John Freeman,designed outdoor terraces surroundingthe house and a garden whose style wasreflective of designs by William Kent
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przed 1732 r. ruina swiqtyni stanowiprzyldad angielskiej neogotyckiejarchitektury ogrodowej. Byly w niejeksponowane antyczne rzeiby ze slynnej kolekcji hrabiego Arundel, m.in.Gigant z oltarza pergamonskiego.Rzeiby te zostaly sprzedane w 1986 r.
IN latach 70. XVIII w. pracowalw Fawley Court, projektujqc nowy wystroj wn~trz, wybitny architekt JamesWyatt, uczen Roberta Adama. Z tegookresu zachowal si~ wystroj dwumniejszych salonow palacu, z sufitamiz 1771 roku w stylu Adamow orazneoklasycznymi kominkami autorstwa Wyatta oraz Johna FrancisaMoore'a z lat 1767-1771. Wystroj biblioteki z roku 1804 zostal wykonanywedlug projektu cenionej rzeibiarkiAnny Darner Seymour.
Okolo 1770 roku Sambrook Freeman
zlecil przeprojektowanie parku Lancelotowi "Capability" Brownowi. Zamkni~ciem wyznaczonej przez slynnegoogrodnika glownej osi widokowej bylaneoklasyczna swiqtynia usytuowana
The sham millS ofatemple ill the pari?
(1685-1748). It included various pavilions - such as the evocative temple and the watergate in rustic style and thebridge covered in flint. The sham ruinsof a temple built in 1732 is the earliestexample of neo-gothic garden architecture in England. It housed Greek andRoman sculptures from the famous collection of Count Arundel, including theGreat Altar of Pergamon. In 1986 these'Arundel Marbles' were all sold.
In the 1770s the renowned architect
J ames Wyatt, a student of Robert Adam,designed new interiors for FawleyCourt. Two of the resultant parlourshave survived, along with the ceilingsdone in 1771 in the Adams' style andthe neo-classical fireplaces designed byWyatt and John Francis Moore. The1804 library interiors were executedaccording to the design of the talentedsculptress Anne Darner Seymour.
In about 1770, Fawley Court's subsequent owner, Sambrooke Freeman,commissioned the famous landscapearchitect Lancelot "Capability" Brownto redesign the parkland. Brown laid
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na wysepce Temple Island na Tamizie.Zaprojektowana przez Jamesa Wyattaw latach 1769-1771 jest najwczesniejSZq zachowanq do dzis udokumentowanq jego praCq, a wnt(trze stanowiprzyklad kr6tkotrwalej mody na dekoracjt( w stylu etruskim. Budowla ta pelni rolt( punktu orientacyjnego w corocznych Henley Royal Regatta, kt6rych zainicjowanie w 1839 roku przypisuje sit( jednemu z Freeman6w.W 1853 r. palac w Fawley Court znalazl sit( na 100 lat w rt(kach rodzinyMackenzie. W tym okresie WilliamMackenzie zaprojektowal malowniczykanallqczqcy palac Z Tamizq.
Palac Fawley Court w ciqgu wiekowbyl celem wizyt czlonk6w rodziny panujacej: w 1688 r. w palacu zatrzymalsit( 'Wilhelm III Oranski z zonq Mariqw drodze na koronacjt(, w okresie regencji obaj kr61mvie J erzy IIIi J erzy IV czt(sto odwiedzali palac.Rowniez Wilhelm IV, przyjaciel PeeraFreemana Williamsa z czasow wsp61nej sluzby w Kr61ewskiej Marynarce
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Wa tCl:c;a tc }/"OIII the 1730"alld the brl{(c;e overthi' [{lIwl
out a vista that culminated with a neo
classical temple built upon a holm in theThames. Designed by James Wyatt in1769-1771, it represents the oldest surviving example of his work. Moreover,the temple's interiors are the earliestEnglish example of the short-lived fashion for Etruscan style. To this day itserves as a point of reference in theannual Henley Royal Regatta, initiatedin 1839 by one of the Freemans. In 1853the house at Fawley Court passed to theMackenzie family for \-vhat was to be100 years. It was then that WilliamMackenzie designed the picturesquecanal that joins the house with theThames.
Down through the centuries FawleyCourt has been visited by members ofthe Royal family. In 1688 on their wayto the coronation ceremony, William ofOrange and his wife Mary stopped atFawley Court, as later both George IIIand George IV did on numerous occasions. William IV, a friend of PeerFreeman Williams from the time of
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Nonl1al1dzhi portalz XI w. zdobiqcy
Kaplier,:Swiee
Wojennej, odwiedzal Fawley Courtprzy roznych okazjach.
Dopiero druga wojna swiatowai zmiana sytuacji spoleczno-ekonomicznej spowodowaly koniec swietnosci rezydencji. Na aukcji w 1952 rokuwyprzedano caly ruchomy majqtekFawley Court, a trudny do utrzymaniaw nowych warunkach palac przeznaczono do rozbiorki. Nabycie palacuw 1953 r. przez Zgromadzenie Ksi~zyMarianow zmienilo sytuacj~. Nowiwlasciciele przeznaczyli budynek napolskq szkol~ - Kolegium Bozego Milosierdzia, przy niej zas ks. J ozef Jarz((bowski utworzyl Muzeum i bibliotek((.Szkola dzialala do 1986 roku, Muzeumnadal sluzy publicznosci.
Muzeum Ksiyzy Marianow w Fawley Court powstalo przy polskiej szkoIe zalozonej w 1953 r. przez o. JozefaJ arz~bowskiego. Podstawowq cz~sc
5
11 th-eel1tw'JJNorman portaldecorating theCalldle Chapel
their service in the Royal Navy, also visited Fawley Court several times.
Events related to World War II and
Britain's socia-economic changes speltthe end of the estate's splendour. At anauction in 1952 Fawley Court's entiremovable property was sold off, and itwas determined that the House itself
would be demolished. The 1953 purchase of the palace by the Congregationof Marian Fathers rescued it from that
fate. The new owners designated theHouse as a Polish school - the Divine
Mercy College - alongside which FatherJozefJarzybowski founded the Museumand library. The school operated until1986, and the Museum continues toserve the public to this day.
The Marian Fathers' Museum at
Fawley Court arose alongside the Polishschool founded in 1953 by Fr. J6zefJarzybowski. The Museum's core mate-
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(18.97-1,96'4), c;ato~l}cicl
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zbiorow stanowiq eksponaty z dzialajqcego w okresie mitidzywojennymmuzeum przy Gimnazjum Zgromadzenia Ksitizy Marian6w na Bielanachw Warszawie. Ocalale z wojny zbioryzacztito zwozic do Anglii w koncu latpiticdziesiqtych XX w. Byly to g16wniezabytki zwiqzane z powstaniem styczniowym 1863 roku, w tym pamiqtkipo Romualdzie Trauguttcie, dokumenty kr6l6w, wodz6w i bohater6w narodovvych, autografy literackie orazksiqzki i druki ulotne.
Okres najprtizniejszej dzialalnoscii powitikszania zbiorow przypadl nalata 50. i 60. XX w. Liczni goscie odwiedzali muzealne wystavvy, biblioteka sluzyla szkole. W odpowiedzina apel skierowany do Polonii w Wielkiej Brytanii ofiarowano rodzinnepamiqtki, ksitigozbiory i dokumenty, powstalo Towarzystwo Przyjaci61Fawley Court wspierajqce finansowo szkolti i Muzeum. Zbiory powitikszaly siti rowniez przez zakupy odkolekcjonerow i antykwariuszy w An-
rials are comprised of exhibits takenfrom the museum that during the interwar period operated alongside theMiddle School run by the Congregationof Marian Fathers in Warsaw's Bielanydistrict. The collections that had sur
vived the War began to be transferred toEngland in the 1950s. They mostlyincluded historic artefacts pertaining tothe January Uprising of 1863 (notably,the memoirs of Romuald Traugutt, theUprising's final leader), along withpapers of Polish kings, statesmen andnational heroes, as well as original literary manuscripts, books and brochures.
The most intensive efforts to increasethe size of the Museum's collections
were expended in the 1950s and 60s.Numerous guests then visited theMuseum's exhibitions, and the libraryserved the school. In response to anappeal addressed to the Polish community in Great Britain, family papers,book collections and documents wereoffered to the Museum. Moreover, the
Society of Friends of Fawley Court,
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Tile spectacles of
ROlllzwld Trallglltt(1826-1864), the
finallmderofthe1863.!anllill;Zj
Uprisill/f against the
T~arist rule of Po lCllIII
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d,ljlaatora pO!£Istalliast.lJclliOJul/jo 1863 I:
ROlllllalda TraU/flitta
(1826-1864)
glii, Francji, Wloszech, Polsce i Niemczech.
Dzi~ki staraniom kolejnych przeloionych Zgromadzenia, przede wszystkim ks. Pawla J asinskiego, zbiorywzbogacily si~ 0 kilkadziesiqt pl6cieno tematyce religijnej i zabytkowe meble. Obrazy nabywano m. in. w domuaukcyjnym Christie's, cz~s6 to daryprzyjaci61. W 1965 roku do Muzeumtrafily pamiqtki po gen. J 6zefie Hallerze. W 1966 roku Witold Buchowski
podarowal kolekcj~ polskiej historycznej broni bialej, a w 1985 roku Zygmunt Stanislaw Ipohorski-Lenkiewiczofiarowal zbi6r bialej broni, obejmujqcy eksponaty z calego swiata.
Zbiory Muzeum powi~kszajq si~ nadal dzi~ki darom Polonii. Najcz~sciejsq to przedwojenne pamiqtki rodzinneoraz swiadectwa walki Polak6w na
frontach II wojny swiatowej i martyrologii pod okupacja niemieckq czy sowieckq: mundury, odznaczenia elementy uzbrojenia, oftarze polowe r6inych formacji, materialy archiwalnezwiqzane z dzialalnosciq wladz wojskowych czy cywilnych na vvychodistwie. Sq to takie dziela artyst6w dzia-
which then had come into being, actively lent financial assistance to the schooland Museum. The collections also
increased through purchases made fromcollectors and second-hand book deal
ers in England, France, Italy, Polandand Germany.
Owing to the endeavours of successive superiors of the Congregation, inparticular those of Fr. Pawel Jasinski,the collections were enriched with seve
ral dozen religious paintings and withantique furniture. Some paintings werepurchased at Christie's, others came asgifts from patrons. In 1965 the Museumreceived the memoirs of General J 6zefHaller (1873-1960). In 1966 WitoldBuchowski presented the Museum witha Polish sword collection, and in 1985Zygmunt Stanislaw Ipohorski-Lenkiewicz presented yet another, this timeone made up of swords from the worldover.
The Museum's collections continue to
grow thanks to gifts offered by Britain'sPolish community. Said gifts most ofteninclude the pre-war papers of Polishfamilies, as well as documents regardingthe armed struggle of Poles on World
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Kolcli4ja pcrshicjbiali:j brolli
FAWLEY COURT - historia Patacu i Muzeum."~,,,-, ~ ~_ ...J.""," ~ •• _ "~
The PcrsiallsH'ord collectioll
lajqcych na emigracji, m.in. p16tnai akwarele Kazimierza Pacewicza
(1895-1974) .W 1979 r. Muzeum zostalo jednym
z czlonk6w-zalozycieli Stalej Konferencji Muze6w, Biblioteki i Archiw6wPolskich na Zachodzie. W 1982 roku,po wpisaniu do rejestr6w, otwartoFawley Court dla publicznosci. Obecnie do zwiedzania udostypniona jestcZysc pokoi na parterze i na pierwszym piytrze palacu z zachowanymzabytkowym charakterem wnytrz i zaaranzowanymi w nich stalymi ekspozycjami malarstwa, broni, grafiki,rysunku i dawnej ksiqzki oraz ekspozycjq. historycznq. w Sali "Drogi doNiepodleglosci".
War Two's various fronts and the war
crimes committed then by Germans andSoviets against the Polish population,Other donations include military uniforms, medals, weapons, field altars andarchival materials concerning the activities of Poland's civil and militaryauthorities in exile. Also to be found are
the works of emigre artists, if only tomention those of the painter KazimierzPacewicz (1895-1974), In 1979 theMuseum was a founding member of thePermanent Conference of Polish Mu
seums, Libraries and Archives in theWest. In 1982, fo11owing its legal registry, Fawley Court was opened to thepublic. Presently guests may visit anumber of the rooms on the groundfloor and the first floor that have preserved the historical character of their
interiors. Moreover, the rooms that maybe seen boast permanent exhibitions ofpaintings, weapons, graphic prints,drawings and early books. There is alsoa historical exhibition in one of the
large rooms entitled 'Poland's Road toIndependence'.
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· Fawley Court~~:J :J-
Historic Houseand Museum
H enley-on- ThamesOxon RG9 3AE
Fawley Court by Sir Christopher Wren (1684)
CON EGATIOOF MARIAN FATHERS
THE SECOND EDITION
Since the first edition of this brochure there have been some changes andfurther development of the museum.
The museum at Fawley Court originally intended to serve the school, whichexisted here from 1953 to 1986, has long gone beyond this limited role, havingbecome an important istitution and for years now has shown Poles and otherssome of Poland's history and her part in Western European culture.
During the forty years of Fawley Court and the museum cared for by thecongregation of Marian Fathers, a number of people worked hard in maintainingthis historic house and its many collections, however one cannot fail to mentionthe founder, Fr. Joseph and one of hi~.successors, Fr. Paul, todays Director of thismuseum. Due to their enthusiasm and appreciation of fine arts and historicalobjects they devotedly gathered -and encouraged others to collect any valuablesand documents of national importance to present and future generations ofPoles.
1
b~',Apart from many such exhibits, about six years ago the museum received a
marvellous collection of historic sabres and other hand weapons, dating from16th to 19th century, from a notable Polish collector, Mr. Z. Ipohorski~Lenkiewicz.
During the last two years it ha.sbeen possible to recreate the room in whichthe late Father Joseph worked and wrote a number of historical books.
Nowadays, we are happy to be able to share these Polish mementos with ourvisitors and friends.
Museum Curator
Watergate over thestream to the designof John Freeman in
18th century.
2
Fawlev Court. View from the south.
A HISTORY OF FAWLEY COURT
The handsome building of Fawley Court stands on a site that has beenoccupied for over a thousand years. The name "Fawley" comes from the OldEnglish word for fallow deer, great herds of which once roamed this countryside.In Saxon times, records show that Tostig, son of Earl Godwin, held the manor of"Falley" when was created Earl of Northumberland by Edward the Confessor.
After the Norman conquest, Fawley manor was a reward from William I tohis brother-in-law, Walter Gifford, one of the leading compilers of the Doomsdaybook. The Normans policed their new country by putting reliable and powerfulmen in the manors of England, and Sir William de Sakeville was "one Knight'sfee in Fawley" from 1079. The Sackvflles built a fortified manor house in the 12thcentury and today part of this exists in the fine stone arches springing fromcentral pillars in the basement. The family held Fawley for nearly 400 years untilthe 1470's when the manor passed in marriage to Thomas Rokes, created Sheriffof Buckinghamshire by Henry IV.
3
"Folly" atFawley Court parkerected by Freemans.
In 1616 Fawley was sold do Sir James Whitelock, a noted judge who shortlyafterwards bought Phyllis Court and Henley Park to round out his estate. His son,Sir Bulstrode Whitelock was also famous as a judge and parliamentarian, thechairman of the committee who sentenced Strafford to death and the only one ofthe judges who, Strafford said, "used him like a gentleman". In lighter momentshe presented a Masque before King Charles at Whitehall.
4
The Hall- looking towards the Library
When the Civil War broke out, Fawley was caught in the crossfire betweenRoyalist troops under Prince Rupert and the Roundheads. Because Sir Bulstrodewas a wellknown supporter of Parliament, Royalist soldiers took Fawley Courtapart, destroying all they could lay their hands on, and finally went off with thecoach and all the horses. Extensive damage was done to the building by shellingin various engagements, and when Sir Bulstrode was appointed Governor byCromwell, he had to live at Phyllis Court.
Sir Bulstrode did well under Cromwell, ending up as Ambassador toSweden, but had to face swingeing fines when Charles II was restored to thethrone - £ 90,000 for his activities in the Civil War. He managed to keep the estateintact to hand on to his son, but the second Sir James was forced to sell to Col.William Freeman, who began the work of rebuilding. He asked his friend thefamous Sir Christopher Wren to design a fine family residence and Fawely Courtwas completed in 1684. Five years later, William of Orange on his march fromTorbay to London called in at Fawley Court with his wife Mary on their way totheir coronation. In 1690 - the date is quite clear - the famous woodcarver andsculptor, Grinling Gibbons was responsible for the design of the outstandingceiling in the Drawing Room, one of only three ceilings of this kind in the country.
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