As seen on TV! Amazing Spaces visit Kingham Lodge
Amazing Spaces
George Clarke, of Channel 4’s Amazing Spaces fame couldn’t travel abroad due to Covid so cast around for interesting places to film in the UK. Word reached him of our Moorish Pavilion right here in the Cotswolds so Gorgeous George came for a visit.
The Moorish Pavilion set in the 5 acre garden of Kingham Lodge
Aired at 8pm on Friday 14th January, George filmed on a beautiful sunny day showing the pavilion off in all its sparkling glory and said “…this is beautiful, you could be in Morocco, but we’re in the Cotswolds!”
The Moorish Pavilion
Completed in 2018 the pavilion was conceived on the site of an old chicken shed after an arson attack destroyed the building. Considerably more beautiful than the concrete and asbestos shed, it is built using stone carved in India and matched with local walling stone from Sarsden quarry just a few miles away.
Inspired by owner Chris Stockwell’s formative trips to Spain where he first visited Granada 50 years ago he said;
Exact copies from the Court of The Lions at the Generalife
“Early one April Sunday morning I pushed open the old wooden gate to enter the Generalife gardens of the Alhambra. I was alone. All the flowers of summer were blossoming, the sky was blue, the snows gleamed on the Sierra Nevada and dogs barked on the neighbouring hill of Sacromonte, where the gypsies were beginning to stir and light their wood fires. Down below in the town the bells of the churches were ringing. Beside me the rills of the garden gurgled and the fountains sparkled. The whole effect was magical, as near to Paradise on earth as it was possible for me to imagine.”
Kingham Primary School: A sense of scent. Placing artwork in the garden prior to the show
The pavilion is nestled in the 5 acre garden Chris and his wife Delphie have created over the last 30 years at Kingham Lodge and provides the same inspirational peace and tranquillity to visitors as Chris found in the Alhambra all those years ago.
Familiar to visitors of Sculpture at Kingham Lodge, the pavilion hosts indoor sculpture during the show as well as filling the Loggias with everything from portrait busts to hanging lanterns over the years. Whether rain or shine (and May can produce both in one day!) the courtyard is a glorious part of the garden to walk through or sit in and watch the doves wheel round in the sky above.
Bledington School: Recycled Rainbow Blossom with artist Emma Cox, suspended from a cherry tree
Charities
The very popular Sculpture at Kingham Lodge raises money for a range of charities and in 2021 this expanded to include a hugely ambitious art outreach programme to 17 local primary schools. From art clubs to whole school experiences to teacher training we are delivering art experiences to over 3,000 local children. If you are a local artist interested in working with us, or a donor interested in supporting the important therapeutic and developmental work of art in schools please email info@sculptureatkinghamlodge.com.
Jon Williams from Eastnor Pottery in a workshop with Great Rollright Primary School
How to visit
The garden is open to the public during the biennial charity sculpture show Sculpture at Kingham Lodge. The next show is in May 2023, subscribe to the sporadic newsletter on the website or follow us on Facebook and Instagram to hear more. Access to the gardens is also given to guests at Kingham Cottages, 5 holiday cottages run by Chris and Delphie in the popular Cotswold village of Kingham. To enquire about availability email stay@kinghamcottages.com.
Master bedroom of Lodge Cottage
Heated indoor swimming pool with Hammam
Sitting room of Berry Pen
Private courtyard garden of Lodge Cottage
