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| The original artful dodger | The original artful dodger |
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| A POINT OF VIEW By Lisa Jardine | A POINT OF VIEW By Lisa Jardine |
| For lessons in how to secure the UK's cultural heritage, look no further than an unscrupulous 17th Century government official, says historian Lisa Jardine in A Point of View. | For lessons in how to secure the UK's cultural heritage, look no further than an unscrupulous 17th Century government official, says historian Lisa Jardine in A Point of View. |
| On a sunny spring weekend, Dyrham Park, just outside Bath, the stately home of William Blathwayt, is the perfect National Trust property to visit. | On a sunny spring weekend, Dyrham Park, just outside Bath, the stately home of William Blathwayt, is the perfect National Trust property to visit. |
| Blathwayt lived at Dyrham ParkIt has everything the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport hopes to promote to the world as "heritage" for the 2012 Olympics. | Blathwayt lived at Dyrham ParkIt has everything the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport hopes to promote to the world as "heritage" for the 2012 Olympics. |
| As you round the final bend of the long driveway, the 17th Century house comes majestically into view, set in beautiful parkland with grazing fallow deer, beneath the spreading shade of centuries-old trees, its carefully-tended flower beds studded with kaleidoscope-coloured tulips. | As you round the final bend of the long driveway, the 17th Century house comes majestically into view, set in beautiful parkland with grazing fallow deer, beneath the spreading shade of centuries-old trees, its carefully-tended flower beds studded with kaleidoscope-coloured tulips. |
| When I was there last Sunday, the honey-coloured stone of the handsome three-storey façade was bathed in golden light, and the adjoining Orangery - with its double-height glass windows - smelled of green shade, citrus and palms. Children romped on the rolling landscaped lawns. | When I was there last Sunday, the honey-coloured stone of the handsome three-storey façade was bathed in golden light, and the adjoining Orangery - with its double-height glass windows - smelled of green shade, citrus and palms. Children romped on the rolling landscaped lawns. |
| The house itself was a welcome respite from the bright light outside. Inside, some 300 years after the original owner's death, the surroundings are sumptuous - glorious walnut panelling and a sensational cedar and cypress staircase; gilded embossed-leather wall coverings, inlaid furniture, tapestries and rugs. | The house itself was a welcome respite from the bright light outside. Inside, some 300 years after the original owner's death, the surroundings are sumptuous - glorious walnut panelling and a sensational cedar and cypress staircase; gilded embossed-leather wall coverings, inlaid furniture, tapestries and rugs. |
| Wrestling with my conscience while enjoying a day out in the country is, for me, the proper way of engaging with the historic past Lisa Jardine Hear Radio 4's A Point of View On the walls are fine Dutch landscapes and perspective paintings in a manner that was enormously fashionable at the end of the 17th Century. | Wrestling with my conscience while enjoying a day out in the country is, for me, the proper way of engaging with the historic past Lisa Jardine Hear Radio 4's A Point of View On the walls are fine Dutch landscapes and perspective paintings in a manner that was enormously fashionable at the end of the 17th Century. |
| And there are fantastic pieces of blue-and-white Delft porcelain everywhere, including a pair of waist-high, pagoda-like pyramid vases designed for the display of rare tulips - another expensive 17th Century fad on which William Blathwayt was happy to spend a small fortune. | And there are fantastic pieces of blue-and-white Delft porcelain everywhere, including a pair of waist-high, pagoda-like pyramid vases designed for the display of rare tulips - another expensive 17th Century fad on which William Blathwayt was happy to spend a small fortune. |
| The house at Dyrham Park belonged to the family of Blathwayt's wife, Mary Wynter. Having met and married his heiress in his late thirties, Blathwayt set about transforming her Tudor manor house into a mansion in the latest fashionable style, with interior decoration to match. | The house at Dyrham Park belonged to the family of Blathwayt's wife, Mary Wynter. Having met and married his heiress in his late thirties, Blathwayt set about transforming her Tudor manor house into a mansion in the latest fashionable style, with interior decoration to match. |
| So who was William Blathwayt? Frankly, he was a somewhat prosaic government official with expensive tastes. Willliam III, whom he served with exceptional efficiency as secretary of war, and auditor general at the Colonial Office, pronounced him "dull". | So who was William Blathwayt? Frankly, he was a somewhat prosaic government official with expensive tastes. Willliam III, whom he served with exceptional efficiency as secretary of war, and auditor general at the Colonial Office, pronounced him "dull". |
| The diarist John Evelyn called him "a very proper person and very dextrous in business", adding "and has besides all this married a very great fortune". | The diarist John Evelyn called him "a very proper person and very dextrous in business", adding "and has besides all this married a very great fortune". |
| Backhanders | Backhanders |
| Old money looked down on him, pronouncing his expenditure on Dyrham Park excessive and unwisely spent: "My Lord Scarborough thinks he lays out his money not very well." | Old money looked down on him, pronouncing his expenditure on Dyrham Park excessive and unwisely spent: "My Lord Scarborough thinks he lays out his money not very well." |
| Where did all his money come from? Well, he was William and Mary's "imperial fixer". His successful career was based on the way he could make things happen, at long-distance, throughout English-administered territories, from its American colonies to its farthest-flung tropical island outposts. | Where did all his money come from? Well, he was William and Mary's "imperial fixer". His successful career was based on the way he could make things happen, at long-distance, throughout English-administered territories, from its American colonies to its farthest-flung tropical island outposts. |
| Arts funding 'has been eroded' | Arts funding 'has been eroded' |
| For this he was handsomely remunerated over a period of 25 years, between the 1680s and the turn of the century. But Blathwayt's salary certainly didn't stretch to cover his magnificent lifestyle at Dyrham Park. That was maintained by systematically extracting backhanders from his "clients". | For this he was handsomely remunerated over a period of 25 years, between the 1680s and the turn of the century. But Blathwayt's salary certainly didn't stretch to cover his magnificent lifestyle at Dyrham Park. That was maintained by systematically extracting backhanders from his "clients". |
| If you want him to act, one of Blathwayt's agents advised the governor of the Island of St Christopher in the Caribbean (now St Kitts), it will cost you. "Without a gratification of twenty or thirty guineas for himself at least I much doubt the effect of anything else," he wrote. | If you want him to act, one of Blathwayt's agents advised the governor of the Island of St Christopher in the Caribbean (now St Kitts), it will cost you. "Without a gratification of twenty or thirty guineas for himself at least I much doubt the effect of anything else," he wrote. |
| The governor duly sent 30 guineas on behalf of the colony, and added another 10 of his own with an accompanying note: "To buy you a pair of gloves in acknowledgement of the favour you did me in my business at court." | The governor duly sent 30 guineas on behalf of the colony, and added another 10 of his own with an accompanying note: "To buy you a pair of gloves in acknowledgement of the favour you did me in my business at court." |
| Which explains a great deal about that grand house. The receiving rooms in Blathwayt's mansion are panelled in black walnut, courtesy of the Governor of Maryland. | Which explains a great deal about that grand house. The receiving rooms in Blathwayt's mansion are panelled in black walnut, courtesy of the Governor of Maryland. |
| The cypress and cedar wood for the balluster and stair risers of the grand main staircase were a gift from the governor of South Carolina, the walnut treads were the contribution of the governor of Virginia. The juniper floorboards came from Jamaica. | The cypress and cedar wood for the balluster and stair risers of the grand main staircase were a gift from the governor of South Carolina, the walnut treads were the contribution of the governor of Virginia. The juniper floorboards came from Jamaica. |
| The Olympics - a cultural day out?The extensive gardens, which once boasted some of the most impressive fountains and cascades in England, were planted with exotic foreign plants collected for Blathwayt by colonial officials engaged in business which needed his blessing. | The Olympics - a cultural day out?The extensive gardens, which once boasted some of the most impressive fountains and cascades in England, were planted with exotic foreign plants collected for Blathwayt by colonial officials engaged in business which needed his blessing. |
| Blathwayt did choose and purchase the Delft ware, the ornamental tiles, and splendid Dutch porcelain himself - as well as oriental silks and large quantities of tea - whenever he accompanied King William to The Hague on royal business. | Blathwayt did choose and purchase the Delft ware, the ornamental tiles, and splendid Dutch porcelain himself - as well as oriental silks and large quantities of tea - whenever he accompanied King William to The Hague on royal business. |
| But he made sure that he was charged absolutely no customs duties on them - remonstrating indignantly with anybody who so much as tried. | But he made sure that he was charged absolutely no customs duties on them - remonstrating indignantly with anybody who so much as tried. |
| At Dyrham Park last weekend I tried to keep Blathwayt's unscrupulous behaviour at the front of my mind. Here was beauty created out of selfishness, for the Blathwayt family's benefit alone. The National Trust had become its custodian only after the family's money finally ran out in the 20th Century. | At Dyrham Park last weekend I tried to keep Blathwayt's unscrupulous behaviour at the front of my mind. Here was beauty created out of selfishness, for the Blathwayt family's benefit alone. The National Trust had become its custodian only after the family's money finally ran out in the 20th Century. |
| Surely knowing this would take the edge off any pleasure I might take in all that opulence? It didn't. In fact, it did quite the opposite. Remembering Blathwayt's ruthless acquisitiveness gave my visitor experience a kind of tension and edginess. It made me think. | Surely knowing this would take the edge off any pleasure I might take in all that opulence? It didn't. In fact, it did quite the opposite. Remembering Blathwayt's ruthless acquisitiveness gave my visitor experience a kind of tension and edginess. It made me think. |
| Wrestling with my conscience while enjoying a day out in the country is, for me, the proper way of engaging with the historic past. My guide-book, by contrast, stressed the "tranquil, but fragile, spirit of Dyrham". | Wrestling with my conscience while enjoying a day out in the country is, for me, the proper way of engaging with the historic past. My guide-book, by contrast, stressed the "tranquil, but fragile, spirit of Dyrham". |
| Most of our great art collections and our stately homes were originally assembled by entrepreneurs | Most of our great art collections and our stately homes were originally assembled by entrepreneurs |
| Too much of what we are offered in the way of publicly funded art now has to be designed to be enjoyed with the minimum of effort. The "quality of the visit" and "visitor satisfaction" have become the measures of an attraction's success (and a condition of future funding). | Too much of what we are offered in the way of publicly funded art now has to be designed to be enjoyed with the minimum of effort. The "quality of the visit" and "visitor satisfaction" have become the measures of an attraction's success (and a condition of future funding). |
| So nothing must trouble our tour of the gallery or trip to the ballet. Under pressure to please, our arts funding organisations risk becoming spoon-feeders of our leisure-time. Just sit back and enjoy. | So nothing must trouble our tour of the gallery or trip to the ballet. Under pressure to please, our arts funding organisations risk becoming spoon-feeders of our leisure-time. Just sit back and enjoy. |
| Re-branded as "heritage", our day-trips to spectacular sites of beauty, visits to national museums, the opera and the ballet, become merely spectator sports. | Re-branded as "heritage", our day-trips to spectacular sites of beauty, visits to national museums, the opera and the ballet, become merely spectator sports. |
| The 2012 Olympic Games will be just like our arts experiences - pleasant ways to spend a day out. Which conveniently allows the DCMS to run the claims to government financial support of the "heritage industries" and the "legacy games" seamlessly together. | The 2012 Olympic Games will be just like our arts experiences - pleasant ways to spend a day out. Which conveniently allows the DCMS to run the claims to government financial support of the "heritage industries" and the "legacy games" seamlessly together. |
| How else could Tessa Jowell, writing in last Sunday's Observer, have confidently suggested that 2012 would be a golden "Olympic opportunity" which "the cultural sector is better placed than ever to take advantage of"? | How else could Tessa Jowell, writing in last Sunday's Observer, have confidently suggested that 2012 would be a golden "Olympic opportunity" which "the cultural sector is better placed than ever to take advantage of"? |
| She went on to claim that diverting 5% of Arts Council funding into sport for four years, starting in 2009, is something anyone interested in the arts ought to applaud. | She went on to claim that diverting 5% of Arts Council funding into sport for four years, starting in 2009, is something anyone interested in the arts ought to applaud. |
| William Blathwayt's profligate getting and spending on art and architecture had none of the worthy aims the DCMS insists on attaching to the nation's historical and current cultural collections. Most of our great art collections and our stately homes were originally assembled by entrepreneurs, exuberantly indulging their personal tastes and pleasures. | William Blathwayt's profligate getting and spending on art and architecture had none of the worthy aims the DCMS insists on attaching to the nation's historical and current cultural collections. Most of our great art collections and our stately homes were originally assembled by entrepreneurs, exuberantly indulging their personal tastes and pleasures. |
| They have come down to us largely by historical accident, as gifts to the nation - often prompted by the need to offset death duties. | They have come down to us largely by historical accident, as gifts to the nation - often prompted by the need to offset death duties. |
| In 2003, for example, two Dutch flower-paintings, which Blathwayt would have given a great deal to have had hanging in his panelled reception rooms, were accepted as "cultural treasures" in lieu of inheritance tax by the DCMS. | In 2003, for example, two Dutch flower-paintings, which Blathwayt would have given a great deal to have had hanging in his panelled reception rooms, were accepted as "cultural treasures" in lieu of inheritance tax by the DCMS. |
| Lobbying | Lobbying |
| One of them, an exquisitely detailed painting by Balthasar van der Ast of a bouquet of exotic flowers in a pewter jug on a ledge, with a grasshopper and fallen petals, is on view at the National Gallery in London. | One of them, an exquisitely detailed painting by Balthasar van der Ast of a bouquet of exotic flowers in a pewter jug on a ledge, with a grasshopper and fallen petals, is on view at the National Gallery in London. |
| The other, by Roeland Savery, has a lizard and a dragonfly alongside the lovingly painted flower arrangement. It now hangs in Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum. | The other, by Roeland Savery, has a lizard and a dragonfly alongside the lovingly painted flower arrangement. It now hangs in Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum. |
| Perhaps, then, instead of wringing our hands at the continual erosion of government grants and dwindling support from the Lottery, we in the arts community should turn our attention elsewhere. | Perhaps, then, instead of wringing our hands at the continual erosion of government grants and dwindling support from the Lottery, we in the arts community should turn our attention elsewhere. |
| Those who have accumulated enormous fortunes - the less-unscrupulous William Blathwayts of today - have also built themselves magnificent homes and assembled collections of carefully chosen artworks. | Those who have accumulated enormous fortunes - the less-unscrupulous William Blathwayts of today - have also built themselves magnificent homes and assembled collections of carefully chosen artworks. |
| We need to make sure that they too will eventually make that cultural heritage available to the nation as a whole. Which means lobbying the Treasury for much better tax breaks on substantial gifts to the nation, and more generous and imaginative acceptance of "cultural treasures" in lieu of death duties. | We need to make sure that they too will eventually make that cultural heritage available to the nation as a whole. Which means lobbying the Treasury for much better tax breaks on substantial gifts to the nation, and more generous and imaginative acceptance of "cultural treasures" in lieu of death duties. |
| The cost to the government of financial incentives for giving will be considerable. But some of us are beginning to think that strategies like these for securing our future cultural heritage are preferable to over-administered public sector handouts. | The cost to the government of financial incentives for giving will be considerable. But some of us are beginning to think that strategies like these for securing our future cultural heritage are preferable to over-administered public sector handouts. |
Add | Below is a selection of your comments. |
| The Blathwayts of this world are only keepers and caretakers.And they pay for the privilege. Let them. Treasures are made, assembled and preserved by craftsmen (and craftswomen) - no need to overwork ones conscience here.Klara Henner, Copenhagen Denmark | |
| The problem is, sport has overtaken everything else in this country, to the total exclusion of the arts. Opera, ballet, even reading books is seen as 'nancified' and something solely for the upper classes. Even the children's anti-obesity drive concentrates solely on sport, with no dance at all. If you look at TV, there are four or five football matches a week, yet only one or two ballets or operas a year, if we 're lucky. Ten sky channels devoted to sport, none to the arts. I think the problem is, people think of the arts as expensive (a seat at the English National Opera costs about the same as a good seat at a football match, but who knows that?) and as something anti-working class - plus of course, sports gets the massive sponsers. I think i agree with the suthor - private collections by the very wealthy are the only way to help the arts survive - the government wants to bond with the 'common people' and therefore favours sport every time.MB, London | |
| Not just this house but all Country Seats were created as monuments to selfishness.Without the wish to show off at the expense of the lower orders, we would not now have the wonders of architecture and the fittings within such as carving by Gibbons to cherish and preserve. Corruption has has run through all classes and all situations since humankind created heirarchies and so this house is simply a more marked example of assets so acquired.We have no architect worthy of comparison with those of the period of this house and no one giving commissions worthy of anything but the request that a lot of glass is used. Long may Dyrham stand and may we all come to a real understanding of what motives create society, namely the selfishness of Old Money and the daring of Arrivistes - but lets have real darig with substance.Eric, Burnley, United Kingdom | |
| This is a very confusing and confused article -- are you suggesting, Professor Jardine, that we return to the unscupulous genocidal methods of imperial Britain to produce an "edge" in cultural experiences. No, of course not, just tax breaks for the wealthy. While your suggestions may be appropriate to "heritage arts," they are of little use to contemporary artists who have lost funding (which pays not just for making art, but making rent) with the round of Olympic cuts. Maybe a return to private patronage is the way forward, with every Russian oligarch having an in-house painter and dance troupe? Private patronage does not favour the experimental, which is what gives an "edge" to my cultural experiences.Kassandra, UK | |
| The Inheritance Tax "Acceptance-In-Lieu" scheme is not only poorly described, even on the Internet, but it is certainly no great fiscal incentive. Indeed, all but the most altruistic will be persuaded to disperse items of national heritage for the sole benefit of their estate. It is not only city financiers on absurdly high bonuses who might acquire substantial works of art, but diligent collectors working over a period of many years can accumulated specialised collections of acknowledged national significance. The dispersal of such collections at auction can be an almost invisible but irreversible loss to the nation. A well illustrated auction catalogue is but small compensation for the loss of tangible items available for physical examination. I do not agree that "The cost to the government of financial incentives for giving will be considerable." With the escalation of house prices bringing increasing numbers into the Inheritance Taxation net, the sums needed to preserve vital historical artefacts for the nation are modest. What is lacking is imagination. Nobody is listening. I was delighted to hear Lisa Gardine's article on Radio 4's A Point of View.Tony Abramson, Leeds |