Original plans and projects for the redevelopment of Hursley Park: 1902 – 1904

Originally built in the early 1720s, Hursley House was purchased in 1902 by Sir George Cooper and his wife Mary Emma Smith. Their desire to transform the place into an 18th century palace is perfectly illustrated by the purchase, to decorate their ballroom, of 18th century Beauvais tapestries. The decor was to highlight the French art collections of the Hursley Park mansion. The model elements that we present perfectly embody an eclectic taste for the arts of the 18th century, and in particular the ornamentation which simultaneously summons all the styles up to that of Louis XIV. The model, representing the decorations, allows you to see all the opulence of the interior of Hursley House. Large openings hosting tapestries, highlighted by richly decorated woodwork, frame large doors or mirrors displaying large garlands of flowers.

The main model presents an interior design project for the “Grand Salon”. Another part of the models is dedicated to the representation of a bedroom of Mrs. Gould, on cardboard made by Tochon-Lepage & Cie.

The model of the Grand Salon, probably an abandoned project of the Drawing Room which was actually completed, presents a sumptuous decoration in a Regency style. Rectangular in shape, the two longest walls of the room in turn present a decor decorated with tapestries and a series of three windows accompanied by a large mirror. The two smaller walls facing each other have on one side a fireplace topped with a large trumeau, and on the other two doors framing a decoration of woodwork that can be found on all the walls of the room.
These projects are accompanied by drawn plans showing the final vision of the Hursley Park Ballroom development project. These plans represent the entire walls of the room.

The history of the use of models in the field of architecture goes back several thousand years. The interior model such as the one we present was widely developed in the 18th century. It allows the sponsor to see in a more immersive way the rendering of the desired interior design. Very rare, these models have often been lost or destroyed. Some copies sometimes surface during public sales. This is particularly the case of a drawing-model for a three-dimensional project for a music room by Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine during an auction at Artcurial on November 18, 2014.

More recently, the Léage gallery in Paris dedicated, from September 29 to November 12, 2022, an exhibition to these archives of wood or paper entitled “The genius of models”. Those of Hursley Park date from the 1900s, they attest to the persistence of this architectural practice in the 20th century.