Cavorting at Castle Goring
Ted Gooda writes about a unique visit to the castle-villa home built by Shelley’s grandfather.
On Saturday 17th March, members of the SMP team were invited for a private tour of Castle Goring, home of Lady Colin Campbell.
Lady C is a generous host and supporter of the Shelley Memorial project, already sponsoring one of the maquettes of proposed designs for the memorial artwork. She took on the challenge of renovating the castle in 2015.
The impressive property was designed by the architect John Biagio Rebecca for Sir Bysshe Shelley, 1st Baronet, grandfather of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Work began in the 1790s and took over several years.
The unique architectural design marries a Gothic sandstone turreted castellation on one side with a Palladian-style Italian villa on the other; perhaps inspired by the renowned Villa Lante near Rome.
In the midst is an impressive dome whose glass panes date back to the early 1800s and separate the astonishingly different two halves of the property, beneath which lies a stunning spiral staircase where the SMP team couldn’t resist posing.
The Palladian southern half is believed to have been built first, probably in 1797-98; construction on the Gothic half continued until about 1810. Sir Bysshe never took up full residence himself (preferring Horsham!). The intention was for the castle to become the baronetcy residence of the Shelley family, and for the poet to one day make the Greco-Palladian and Gothic property his home. But active work on the house ceased after the death of Sir Bysshe Shelley in 1815, when the house passed to his son, Sir Timothy. Though Shelley is reputed to have visited Castle Goring, he never lived there. His life was cut tragically short in 1822. The castle passed to his widow, Mary Shelley, who eventually sold it to Vice-Admiral Sir George Brooke-Pechell in 1845-1846, Brooke-Pechell had been living at the property as a tenant since 1825. His daughter, Adelaide, married Sir Alfred FC Somerset, and the castle remained part of the Somerset estate until 2013, latterly falling to ruin.
All the spaces we saw were fabulous - I particularly enjoyed posing in front of the bookcases in the first floor library - but my favourite was a room containing original leather wallpaper with gold inlay, reported to be where Mary Shelley signed over the deeds to the castle.
These days the castle remains the private residence of Lady C and her family, but is also used as a spectacular wedding venue.
It was wonderful to visit a place that remained in the Shelley family for nearly fifty years, to feel a part of history, and to lounge around in the luxury of the castle.
Many thanks to Lady C for opening her doors to the SMP, and to Lisa Carmel for sharing her time, knowledge and expertise.