S t o w e  G a r d e n s

S o u t h  F r o n t

K i n g  G e o r g e  II  M o n u m e n t

A short distance from the Menagerie, perhaps a 2 minute walk through the "sleeping woods", brings the visitor out on to the edge of the great South Front Lawn, and to the Monument to King George II, also known as the King's Pillar. A robed statue of King George II is perched some 35 feet above the ground, atop a Corinthian column on a rectangular plinth. Lord Cobham had this monument built to honour George, who was then the Prince of Wales, in 1724. George was later to ascend the throne 3 years later, with his consort Caroline by his side. The Queen's monument originally stood facing the King's Pillar, built down the hill on the opposite side of the great lawn, before being moved to its current position, at the southern end of the Home Park around 1760.

The statue of George II was sold, along with many other statues at Stowe, including the Saxon Deities, in 1921. The statue we see today is a replacement copy, made in 2004 from Portland stone, from a cast of the original that now stands at Port Lympne mansion.

S t o w e  H ou s e  

T h e  S o u t h  F r o n t

Heading back through the Sleeping Woods and rejoining the path, Stowe House's South front comes into view. The sheer size, and majesty of its huge portico, is overwhelming.

The main part of Stowe House was built around 1675, the South Front, with its grandest of façades and its beautiful portico was finished around 1775. The staircase is flanked by two statues of a lion, and the portico above the entrance to the house is elaborately decorated. Michael Bevington's book, "Stowe, A guide to the house", describes the house in exhaustive detail for those interested. The house is open to the public on certain days during the year. Counsult the N.T website from the introductory page of this suite.

The South Front has been used many times as a backdrop in Hollywood movies, for example, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" was filmed here, where the portico was substantially changed to depict Berlin in the 1940's.

Below: The lovely South front view, across the lawn and the Octagon lake, up the hill to the distant Corinthian Arch eye catcher.

Below: The George II Monument as viewed from the South Front Portico.

The garden path now heads down into the western side of the Elysian Fields, towards the Doric Arch, The Temple of Ancient Virtue, and to The Grenville Column.

 

 

 

Bookmark this Page    

Reproduction of part or all of the contents of any of these pages is prohibited except to the extent permitted below.
These pages may be downloaded onto a hard disk or printed for your personal use without alterations. Any other use needs consent of the web site owner Mr C Curtis :- see Contact Page. These pages may not be included in any other work or publication, or be distributed or copied for any commercial purpose except as stated above.