This thesis examines the architectural patronage of William Cavendish, first Duke of Newcastle (1593-1676). It consists of several great houses, chiefly Bolsover Castle, Derbyshire, Welbeck Abbey and Nottingham Castle, Nottinghamshire, Newcastle House, Middlesex, and minor works in Antwerp, Yorkshire and Northumberland. The assumption that there is a connection between building and power is reassessed in the light of William's building programme. While it can be argued that there are connections between its timetable and his court career, this ultimately dissatisfies as an explanation. William's political career was characterised by disappointment, as Chapter One shows, and a level of royal toleration for the biting criticism aimed at him for his behaviour and conduct in the Civil War. This criticism extended right into the heart of his household, with allegations of sexual misbehaviour being made by and against its members. An underlying explanation for his building programme, therefore, which is also valid for the periods when he was estranged from the court, arises from the micro-politics of the household and family. In Chapter Two, an exploration of the building process reveals the limits of William's agency to control his architectural self-image. His amorphous household emerges as a generator of the Cavendish style discussed in Chapter Three, which fuses positive local and historical characteristics with the classical knowledge that William acquired in London and Italy, and which has previously been privileged by art historians. Chapter Four examines the buildings' function: the household hierarchy and access to William's presence were constantly contested. William's buildings, then, are seen not as symbols of power, but of power struggles. Chapter Five argues that they capture an exchange in a discourse between court and country, between the local and international influences within their patron's cultural capital, and between William and his own family. A second, factual volume, containing a Gazetteer of William's projects supports the argument.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:390822 |
| Date | January 2001 |
| Creators | Worsley, Lucy |
| Publisher | University of Sussex |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/79335/ |
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