Ritual and Art Across the Danish Reformation: Changing Interiors of Village Churches, 1450–1600

Abstract

of Troy House is bleak’ (p. 61). If the purpose of the book is to draw attention to the architectural and historical significance of Troy, thereby providing a mandate for its future preservation, it has been an unequivocal success. The biography of the building presented by Benson advances understanding of the structure and site beyond all other previously published accounts. The work proceeds through seven interrelated chapters, including sections on the landscape setting, ownership history, architectural development, designed gardens, walled garden and built features within the demesne. This approach takes the study of the house beyond the sphere of architectural description, linking the building to the identity of its owners and, importantly, taking account of the house’s broader estate landscape setting — extending to the gardens, farmstead, deer park and estate facilities including the water mill, brick kiln, keeper’s cottage and conduit house. The methodology employed by the author is refreshingly multipronged for a house history, taking into account an array of sources including: estate archives (inventories, wills, correspondence, sale catalogues and estate maps); Welsh praise poetry; old photographs; oral history; archaeological finds; resistivity surveys; and visual and material culture (extending to an early painting of the hall by Hendrick Danckerts dated 1672). This broad range of material is well handled, allowing the author to chart a course through a complex building and ownership history. Benson shows how Troy developed into a site of significance during the fifteenth century, as part of the substantial landholdings amassed by Sir William ap Thomas (d. 1445) of Raglan, whose heir, Sir William Herbert (1423–69), was created 1st Earl of Pembroke. The Troy estate crystallised under the Herberts and remained fastened to the family interest for a period of some 150 years, including during the highs and lows associated with loyalty to the Yorkist cause. During the sixteenth century Troy was established as a residence of junior members of the family; a hall house which was an important site of local office-holding and administration under Sir William Herbert of Troy (d. 1524), its prominence confirmed by a visit from Henry VII in 1502. The sub-heading chosen for the book — ‘a Tudor estate through time’ — does not do justice to the author’s achievements in grounding the long-term architectural development of the site within a continually changing historical context. Between 1584 and 1600 Troy was purchased by the Somerset family and became part of a much broader, multinational complex. Benson demonstrates some of the ways in which the family utilised Troy as an expression of their status and identity, linking aspects of its function and appearance to the Catholic sympathies of the family (pp. 44–7) and a European tour of 1611–12 (pp. 47, 98–9). For the first time, Benson identifies Robert Warren as the architect commissioned to undertake the major remodelling works from 1678. Following the death of Charles Somerset (d. 1698), Troy ceased to be occupied by members of the family until 1852, when it was taken up as the residence of the 8th Duke of Beaufort and re-emerged as an important focal point in the social life of the community. The estate was auctioned off in sales in 1901 and 1929, with a group of French Endist nuns taking up occupancy of the house for much of the first half of the twentieth century, eventually converting the site into a school. The significance and distinctiveness of Troy rests on its status as an aristocratic residence in Wales. For much of its history it formed part of a larger complex of Somerset residences and landholdings, which included Raglan Castle, Chepstow Castle, Worcester House in London and Badminton Court. Benson’s research opens up questions about how this context influenced Troy’s development and use: how did the priorities, objectives and self-image of the Somersets map onto their different landholdings and powerbases and how did this influence their character? How did Troy’s position on the Wales–England border influence its cultural identity? We are told that, for much of its existence, Troy operated as the residence of estate stewards, men such as Sir William Powell (d. 1611), with the Somersets making only periodic use of the site and acting as quasi-absentee owners. It would have added to the biography of the place to hear more about the role of Troy as a centre for managing the Beaufort’s Welsh landholdings. Likewise, the tenantry, workforce and communities enveloped by the estate are largely absent from this study. The book is beautifully presented and the University of Wales Press should be applauded for including copious colour images, which are an essential component of publications of this type. The work forms a welcome addition to the growing number of publications on the built heritage and designed landscapes of Welsh estates. It opens up a number of questions which merit further exploration and will hopefully play a formative role in ensuring a vibrant future for the house.