To see: here the sculpted masterpiece is not a façade but a sky. Across nearly an acre and a half of lead roofing, William Cecil (Lord Burghley, Elizabeth I's minister) raised between 1555 and 1587 a forest of stone: chimneys clustered into shafts of classical columns, cupolas, pinnacles, obelisks and finials. The climax is the clock tower dated 1585, borne on lions, flanked by corner obelisks and crowned with a tall obelisk spire. The 76 chimneys do more than smoke: they mimic the antique orders. Note in passing the ornate gatehouse and the window detailing where France and Italy show through. The whole silhouette is a sculpture read against the sky.
Did you know?
Burghley was conceived from the top down. Cecil treated his roofline as others treated a portal: chimneys become columns, the clock a miniature temple. He is said to have taken advice from the Fleming Hans Vredeman de Vries — the same ornamental source as Wollaton and Hardwick.
Info
- Patron and designer: Sir William Cecil, Lord Burghley (1555-1587).
- Decoration: chimneys as columns, cupolas, obelisks, pinnacles; 1585 clock tower on lions with obelisk spire.
- 76 chimneys; lead and Collyweston-slate roofs; French-Italian window detailing.