page_title: Houghton Hall
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Houghton Hall / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Plate 26, Chimneypiece to Hall, Houghton Hall, Norfolk The Plans, Elevations and Sections, Chimney-pieces and Cielings [sic] of Houghton in Norfolk, 1735 V&amp;A Museum no. 13095 Techniques - Etching and engraving, ink on paper Artist/designer - Isaac Ware, born before 1704 - died 06/01/1766 (draughtsmen and publisher), William Kent, born before 1685 - died 12/04/1748 (designer), Paul Fourdrinier, born 1720 - died 1758 (print-maker) Place - London, England (published) Dimensions - Height 39.5 cm (paper), Width 26.6 cm (paper) Object Type - This print by Paul Fourdrinier combines two printmaking techniques - etching and engraving. Both involved creating a pattern of grooves to hold ink in a metal printing plate. The image on the printing plate was the reverse of the final image. The etched lines were made using acid, while the engraved lines were scored by means of a sharp tool called a burin. The grooves were then filled with ink and the image was transferred onto a blank sheet of paper. Place - Houghton Hall is a magnificent country house in Norfolk. It was built by Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister, in the 1720s and early 1730s. The bust on the mantelpiece is a portrait of Walpole. Subjects Depicted - What appears to be a painting over the mantelpiece is in fact a sculpted relief depicting a Sacrifice to Diana. Diana was the classical goddess of hunting, recognisable by the crescent moon on her head. Use - Isaac Ware's book on Houghton Hall was published only a few years after the house was finished. It was a forerunner of the magazines available today, featuring the homes of the rich and famous.
context_page_description: Houghton Hall is a country house in the parish of Houghton in Norfolk, England. It is the residence of David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley.
  It was commissioned by the de facto first British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, in 1722, and it is a key building in the history of Palladian architecture in England. It is a Grade I listed building surrounded by 1,000 acres of parkland a few miles from Sandringham House.
  The house has a rectangular main block which consists of a rustic basement at ground level, with a piano nobile, bedroom floor and attics above. There are also two lower flanking wings joined to the main block by colonnades. To the south of the house there is a detached quadrangular stable block.
  The exterior is both grand and restrained, constructed of fine-grained, silver-white stone. The Gibbs-designed domes punctuate each corner. In line with Palladian conventions, the interiors are much more colourful, exuberant and opulent than the exteriors.
  The park surrounding Houghton Hall was redesigned in the 18th century by Charles Bridgeman.
caption: Chimneypiece to Hall, Houghton Hall, Norfolk The Plans, Elevations and Sections, Chimney-pieces and Cielings [sic] of Houghton in Norfolk, 1735 V&A Museum no. 13095
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