Religion by Roubiliac Gopsall Hall, Leicestershire.

 Religion by Roubiliac from the Temple at Gopsall Hall now at Belgrave Hall, Leicester.

Built for charles Jennens.

"Fides Christiana".

This post was prompted by a review of the Roubiliac Sale Catalogue from the Finberg Collection at the British Museum.

Lot 39 First Day of the Roubiliac Sale - A figure of Religion in plaster - bought by (Arthur?) Mr Pond.

This is presumably either a plaster cast or a reduced plaster copy of the marble figure of Religion by Roubiliac now at Belgrave Hall, Leicester originally from the roof of the temple in the garden at the house of Charles Jennens (d.1773) at Gopsall Hall (built 1749/50).

The temple was erected as a memorial to a friend of Charles Jennens, the classical scholar Edward Holdsworth (1684-1746).   It was octagonal externally but internally circular, with eight columns and surmounted with a domed roof.  The whole structure was surrounded by a brick-built ha-ha and entered via steps on the south side.  

There is a painting of Gopsall with the Temple and statue of Religion attributed to Tillemans (1684 - 1734).

Given the date of his death it is unlikely to be by Tillemans (see black and white image below).

A statue of Religion (Roubiliac, c 1760) adorned the domed roof and a cenotaph (by Richard Haywood, 1764), with inscriptions in memory of Holdsworth , stood within.  

The temple collapsed in 1835 and the cenotaph was moved to the formal gardens to the east of the Hall.  

The statue of Religion was donated to Leicestershire Museums and Art Galleries by Richard Penn in 1857.  Both the statue and cenotaph are now on display at Belgrave Hall, Leicester.

For a brief introduction to the history of Gopsall see

http://congerstonevillage.co.uk/gopsall-hall/

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The landscape painting of Gopsall erroneously attributed to Tillemans.

Image from Wikimedia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Gopsall

The temple which was situated on a gentle eminence at the edge of the Racecourse wood, would have provided an important focal point in the view south across the ornamental lake from the Hall and formal gardens.  

There were no temple structures in the original plans for the gardens and formal parkland dated 1749.  

The original plans for the temple were drawn up by James Paine who also produced designs for the Hall interiors, most of which were not executed.  

Plans produced for Charles Jennens in about 1755 by William and David Hiorn depict an open temple which appears to be a simplified version of the elaborate and decorative structure favoured by Paine.  

This simplified version conforms to the structure in existence today which must have been constructed in the late 1750s as the Hiorns finished work at Gopsall in 1759/60.

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The Royal Institute of British Architects have many drawings related to the planned rebuilding of Gopsall. - https://www.ribapix.com/search?q=Gopsall

It appears the planning went through two preliminary stages before the finaldesign was arrived at.

Two Preliminary Drawings of the Gopsall Temple by James Paine Sr.

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The Temple as built using the simplified Ionic order - drawing by William Hiorne (1715 - 58) or David Hiorne (1712 - 76).

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An Early 20th Century postcard of the remains of the Gopsall Temple

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Of Tangential Interest.

The RIBA drawings for Gopsall Hall.

Of particular interest are the two drawings below of the intended library including the group of busts above the bookcases.

The Two Roubiliac Sale Catalogues at the British Museum.

 

The First Roubiliac Sale Catalogue.

by Abraham Langford of the Piazza Covent Garden.

Wednesday 12 May and the following three days.

At his Dwelling House in St Martins Lane.

I am truly very grateful to Alison Wright of the British Museum for going to the trouble of photographing and sending me this version of the Roubiliac Sale Catalogue and the second catalogue of the leftovers on the Roubiliac premises - Saturday 12 June 1762.

I have already published another copy of the sale catalogue -

https://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-roubiliac-sale-catalogue-with-list.html

For Abraham Langford see -

https://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2025/09/abraham-langford.html

This post is a work in progress.

I will add further notes as I progress.

Lot 39 - A figure of Religion in plaster - bought by (Arthur? Pond).

This is presumably a plaster cast of the marble figure of Religion at Belgrave Hall, Leicester originally from the roof of the temple in the garden at the house of Charles Jennens (d.1773) at Gopsall Hall (built 1749/50). (see my next post).

https://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2026/09/religion-by-roubiliac-gopsall-hall.html

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Sale of the Odds and Sods remaining at the Roubiliac premises after the first sale.

Saturday 12 June 1762.

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The Missing Roubiliac Portrait Busts.

 

Day 1.

 Lot 13. Mr Wildey. Plaster Bust.

 Lot 16.  A Gentleman. Plaster Bust.

 Lot 44. Mrs Nightingale. Mould in plaster.

 

Described in the catalogue and listed as Heads.

 Lot 77. Lord Shannon. Terracotta Head. Possibly related to the monument at Walton on Thames.

 Lot 78. Lady Shannon. Terracotta Head. Ditto see my post -

 http://bathartandarchitecture.blogspot.com/2020/08/richard-boyle-viscount-shannon-monument.html

  Lot 79. Mrs Lyon. Terracotta Head.

 

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Day 2.

 Lot 7. Dr Bradbury. Plaster Bust.

Lot 12. Mr Carter Statuary. Plaster Bust.

Lot 15, Captain McKenzies son. Plaster Bust.

Lot 17. Mr Floyd. Plaster Bust.

Lot 18. Mr Floyd. Plaster Bust.

Lot 20. Mr Capel Plaster Bust this is perhaps a relief. (Edward Capell {1713-81} known from engravings by Bartalozzi at the BM).

Lot 76. A Gentleman. Terracotta Bust.

Lot 81. A Gentleman Terracotta Bust.

Lot 77. ---- Capel. Terracotta, Bust.  (known from engravings by Bartalozzi and Anker Smith at the BM).

Lot 85. Mr Nightingale and his Lady, Terracotta Busts.

A Peter Nightingale (d, 1763) was a lead merchant! of Lea and Ashover Derbyshire.

 Could these be the models for the pair of lead busts traditionally believed to be Mr and Mrs Salmon in the V and A?

 Given that there were 6 of these busts in the sale it is odd that none have come to light

  

 Day 3.

 Lot 19, Councillor Floyd. Plaster Bust.

 Lot 4. Britannia - Plaster.

 Lot 6. Mr Floyde - Plaster.

 Lot 28. Two Plaster busts of Mr Nightingale and his Lady. (The Mould for Mrs Nightingale was Lot 44, Day 1). See my suggestion for Lot 85 on the previous day.

 Lot 29. Ditto.

 The identity of these Nightingales remains to be discovered, perhaps those on Roubiliac's Nightingale monument in Westminster Abbey although the "Salmon busts do not resemble the Nightingales on the monument.

 Lot 73. A Lady. Marble bust.

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