The art in the Twyniho Room was recently refreshed to better tell Soulton’s story. Below is an explanation of why this specific artwork was chosen.
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The fountains pictures in this room date from 1664, just before the doorcase was added to Soulton Hall and reflect that characterful Baroque style.
They were printed in Germany, which is the area of Sir Rowland Hill’s mercantile activity in the previous century.
Above the chimneypiece, the central fountain echoes the candlesticks, and could represent the Fountain of Youth, or the Fountain of Knowledge. A more obscure evocation is the Well of Catharsis, or spiritual cleansing, at the Ancient Greek temple complex at Epidaurus, where the people of the ancient Mediterranean came to be healed at the shrine of Asklepios.
At Soulton, there is a well of catharsis at the bottom of the old avenue between the Hall and the bridge over Soulton Brook. Sir Rowland Hill’s visitors could feel that they were entering a sanctuary when they passed its waters. Either side of this fountain there are two columns. Like the columns flanking the main door to the house, these evoke the pillar of fire and pillar of smoke in the Bible, as well as the two great pillars in the lore of Freemasonry. Soulton Hall was pivotal in the foundation of this tradition. One of the columns holds a castle like the Hill coat of arms. Originally Soulton Hall’s turrets continued upwards, and a belvedere crowned a pyramidal roof, so the three-towered castle of heraldry was also the form of the house as seen from its well of catharsis at the end of the old avenue approach. The other column holds a fountain based on The Pelican in her Piety. This is a medieval symbol of the passion of Christ, but is also the crest of Corpus Christi College Cambridge.
Sir Rowland Hill was colleagues with Matthew Parker, Master of Corpus Christi and Elizabeth I’s first Archbishop of Canterbury. It is believed that Soulton Hall was where Parker was sheltered during the reign of Mary Tudor.
The two arched fountains above the small window evoke the Tablets of Moses. This helps to show how each of the little turret rooms served as an oratory (small prayer closet) during Sir Rowland Hill’s time. As a Protestant (Hill published the first edition of the Geneva Bible), Hill was interested in more conceptual symbols of faith, and the two lights in each of the oratory windows in the house evoke the Tablets of Moses. The final fountain depicts the shepherd Narcissus, from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. This ancient story tells how the boy Narcissus was transfixed by his own reflection, and eventually wasted away. The gods took pity, and turned him into a flower. The moral of this story is, do not spend too long in front of the mirror, but to enjoy the company of others and the place you are in.
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The art in this room was curated by James D. Wenn of BYRGA GENIHT.
