This website occasionally profiles people who are important in the contemporary life of Soulton Hall. Soulton Hall is a complex land-based business and a heritage asset that carries a cultural significance that matters to others and can be sensitive.
Today, we’d like to introduce you to one of our valued partners who shares our commitment to protecting and enhancing the legacy of ‘Old’ Sir Rowland Hill and the wider story of Soulton, and represents an important skill set we need in that undertaking.
James D. Wenn | Consultant, Byrga Geniht
James’ unique education and area of interest has made him the foremost expert in the meaning and significance of English stately architecture.
Heritage Expert James D. Wenn
His clients and assortations beyond Soulton Hall include:
- The British Museum, notably for the blockbuster Silk Roads exhibition (2024/5)
- The National Trust, notably at Sutton Hoo
- Braxted Park
- Hylands Estate
- The Apps Estate
Marcus du Sautoy, Professor for the Public Understanding of Science and Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford, has offered a strong endorsement of the work James is engaged in:
“The new insights into the role that mathematical geometry played in the art and architecture of Anglo Saxon Britain are absolutely fascinating.
This feels like an intellectual version of the metal detectorists uncovering a treasure trove of wonders.
By tapping into people’s passion for history and archaeology I am really excited by the power of this research to explain the way mathematical shapes have inspired such a range of creativity in this period, one that traditionally has been thought to be a mathematical wasteland. Turns out this is far from the truth.
A truly original and exciting bit of research.”
Radcliffe Camera, Oxford
We are pleased to support this work which, as it touches the English Renaissance is insensately connected to Old Sir Rowland Hill and Soulton Hall:
His interest in Soulton Hall began during a visit in 2021, when he identified the house as the epicentre of cultural preservation during a destructive period of English history.
James founded Byrga Geniht, a consultancy business to specialise in interpretation of country houses, palaces, and churches, and he continues to advise the Soulton Estate on how best to manage its cultural capital.
- Educated at King’s School, Gloucester
- Anglo Saxon, Norse, and Celtic; Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge
- Centre for the Study of the Country House, University of Leicester
Corpus Christi College Cambridge
For more information, visit the Byrga Geniht Ltd website.
