Pretty Wood
Pretty Wood is a woodland area of the Castle Howard estate in North Yorkshire, in England. It contains two historic structures.
History
[edit]The wood lies south-east of the main house at Castle Howard. It is a steeply sloped area, and was a popular location for the Howard family to ride out to during the 18th and 19th centuries.[1] It contains numerous oak trees, including the large King Oak.[2]
The wood contains two follies, probably designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and completed by 1727: a pyramid and the Four Faces structure. Kerry Downes describes the two as "utterly pointless", with "no reason for being there and leav[ing] all your questions unanswered".[3] Nikolaus Pevsner was more complimentary, describing the Four Faces as a "pretty bauble".[4] John Dixon Hunt notes that they "recall us to cultural origins in ancient Rome and Renaissance Italy, yet they do so on as English a site as could be imagined".[3]
Pyramid
[edit]The grade I listed pyramid is built of limestone, about 8 metres (26 ft) high, and has a square plinth with a rusticated base and a moulded frieze. The rusticated pyramid stands on the base.[4][5] It was restored in 2000.[6] From it, The Pyramid, a slightly later work, is visible.[1]
Four Faces
[edit]
The grade I listed statue is built of limestone and about 6 metres (20 ft) high. It has a square plinth with four pulvinated courses, and a rusticated base with raised panels and a moulded cornice. On this is a tapering column, and a bulbous four-cornered sculpture depicting faces, above which is a decorated apex.[4][7] It was restored between 1997 and 2003.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Richardson, TIm (2024). The English Landscape Garden. Frances Lincoln. ISBN 9780711290938.
- ^ "North Yorkshire walks". BBC York & North Yorkshire. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ a b Dixon Hunt, John (1992). Gardens and the Picturesque. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262581318.
- ^ a b c Grenville, Jane; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2023) [1966]. Yorkshire: The North Riding. The Buildings of England. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-25903-2.
- ^ Historic England, "Castle Howard Pyramid in Pretty Wood, Henderskelfe (1149012)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 27 December 2024
- ^ a b "Conservation & Restoration". Castle Howard. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ Historic England, "Castle Howard The Four Faces, Henderskelfe (1316051)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 27 December 2024