Sculpture of Richard Tarlton and attached walls

Summary

A sculpture of a man, believed to Richard Tarlton of Condover, Elizabethan actor and clown. The carving is attributed to Reginald Cholmondeley, owner of Condover Hall in the late 19th century.

Reasons for Designation

The sculpture and wall is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Historic interest:

* the statue is believed to have been executed by Reginald Cholmondeley, artist and amateur sculptor, as a highly personal element of his significant development of Condover Hall, its garden and estate in the mid-to-late C19;
* understood to depict the actor and clown Richard Tarlton, born in Condover, and of historic significance for his activity in Elizabethan court life.

Architectural interest:

* a lively caricature in a comic style;
* the sinuous wall marks the transition from the formal terraced gardens to the south, and woodland to the north.

Group value:

* as one of a number of listed garden structures at Condover Hall, and with the Hall itself (listed at Grade I).

History

The manor of Condover was acquired in 1586 by Thomas Owen, the eldest son of a Shrewsbury merchant. He immediately began to rebuild the hall (listed at Grade I), and in due course laid out gardens around it looking out into a new deer park. The estate passed through a series of heirs, and then to Thomas Cholmondeley, who assumed the name Owen, in 1863. Following his death a year later, it passed to his younger brother, Reginald. Reginald was succeeded in 1896 by Revd Richard Cholmondeley, and the estate was sold E B Fielden. After passing through various hands the hall and most of the park was bought in 1946 by the Royal National Institute for the Blind, in whose ownership it remained until 2005. It was subsequently used as school for special educational needs, and then as a children’s activity holiday centre.

Reginald Cholmondeley (1826-1896) made a number of changes to the house and gardens during his period of ownership. The principal structural elements of the western terraced gardens were erected between 1868 and 1872, probably to the designs of George Devey (1820-1886). Cholmondeley was also an amateur sculptor and the statue which is placed on the wall leading from the formal lower terrace is attributed to him and probably erected as as part of, or following, Devey’s commission. It is purported to be of Richard Tarlton (d 1588), an Elizabethan actor and clown, born in Condover.

Details

Sculpture of Richard Tarlton and adjoining walls, late C19, probably by Reginald Cholmondeley.

MATERIALS: sandstone.

PLAN: mounted upon a curved wall leading from the north-west corner of the lower terrace (listed at Grade II).

DESCRIPTION: the statue consists of a seated figure with crossed arms and legs, mounted on a square pillar of dressed sandstone. A curved retaining rubble wall leads eastwards, back towards the formal gardens, and terminates in a semi-circular feature to the west. A plaque is attached to the pillar, explaining its probable provenance.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

259389

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Websites
Thomson, P (23/09/2004). Tarlton, Richard (d 1588), actor and clown. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, accessed 24/03/2025 from https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-26971

Other
Tenneson, Sara, ‘The revival of the formal garden in the late nineteenth century and the contribution of architects George Devey (1820-1886) and Sir Reginald Blomfield (1856-1942)’. Unpublished PhD thesis 2022, Institute of Historical Research, School of Advanced Study, University of London

End of official list entry

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