Ickworth House – Pompeian Room
The Pompeian Room at Ickworth House was completed in 1879 and this wasn’t in the original design conceived by the Earl-Bishop, even though he was inspired by Italian elements during his Grand Tour. Instead, it was the concept of Frederick William John Hervey, the 3rd Marquess of Bristol (1834-1907), who inherited the estate and title long after the initial Neoclassical vision had been established. In 1879, the 3rd Marquess engaged the architect Francis Cranmer Penrose (F.C. Penrose) to undertake works aimed at improving the internal layout of Ickworth. Penrose, a notable and quite decadent figure who held the prestigious position of Surveyor of St Paul’s Cathedral, was specifically tasked with creating both the Pompeian Room and its counterpart, the Smoking Room, within the projecting bays of the linking corridors to the main house.
While Penrose handled the architectural modifications, the room’s defining characteristic – its elaborate decoration – was entrusted to John Diblee Crace (J.D. Crace) of the renowned Crace decorating firm. J.D. Crace was a leading figure in 19th-century interior decoration, particularly skilled in historical revival styles, making him something of an apt choice for realising a Pompeian scheme. Despite the name of the room, they copied the design from Roman wall paintings found at the Villa Negroni in Rome, rather than using anything that had been found in Pompeii.
Much of the Earl-Bishop’s collections of Italian archaeological treasures were seized by Napoleon, which rather limited his initial intention to create a substantial art gallery and museum at the house. That meant that when Hervey came along decades later, he had to use imitation designs when he built this room. The Victorians, or at least the Victorians who owned large houses, liked to have rooms for specific reasons, such as the smoking room that was built at the same time. This room was used for rather advanced leisure gatherings, it must have all been quite sophisticated and intellectual in here…..
