Critical Review of John Cornforth's the Genesis and Creation of a Great Interior

3383 Words14 Pages
John Cornforth, The Genesis and Creation of a Great Interior, in Houghton Hall: The Prime Minister, The Empress, and the heritage, ed. Andrew Moore The book Houghton Hall: The Prime Minister, The Empress, and the heritage is a comprehensive volume on Houghton Hall, collecting individual essays which cover a range of historical approaches to the house, such as its patron, its architecture, and its art collection. The book also includes an accompanying catalogue of paintings, drawings, and objets d’art connected with Houghton Hall. It is notable that the book is published for the Norfolk Museum Service, and as such has underlying motives to raise the status and venerate Houghton Hall, one of the ‘great stars’ of Norfolk. The particular essay I have chosen from this volume to use as the subject of my critical review is John Cornforth’s essay entitled The Genesis and Creation of a Great Interior, chapter four in the volume. This essay investigates 18th century Houghton through its interior, which Cornforth approaches directly by way of its designer, William Kent. Ultimately, this chapter of the book is very much an essay on Kent and, not only his contribution to the interior architecture of Houghton Hall specifically, but his prominence within the history of British architecture. By utilising the interiors of Houghton Hall as evidence for Kent’s ingenuity as an architectural designer, Cornforth, in turn, aims to raise the status of Houghton Hall. These motives must be kept in mind when reviewing this essay, as it is likely that through the author’s desire to promote the status of Kent and Houghton, certain details will be overlooked, whilst others may be exaggerated, as the author aims to frame his subject in its most positive light. By shifting architectural responsibility to Kent, other aspects that contribute to the creation of Houghton Hall are either
Open Document