Heraldic Coade
I was admiring a neoclassical shop front near Bath's Pulteney Bridge when my eye was caught by the royal arms above the shop window. The shop has been a chemist's since 1828, but the arms are those of Queen Charlotte, consort of George III, who visited Bath in 1817, the year before she died. So they must refer to royal patronage of some earlier business based here or hereabouts. The highly complex heraldry combines the arms of the British royal family with those of her father, who was Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The amount of detail on these three-dimensional arms is staggering – all those harps, bulls' heads, fleurs de lys and so on in low relief, and the extraordinary garland of flowers around the central panel. The lion and unicorn are real characters, the former astonished, long-maned and well fanged, the latter realistically equine.
Beneath the lion, the inscription, "COADE LONDON" tell us that this coat of arms is made in Coade Stone, an artificial, stone-like ceramic material produced at Coade's Artificial Stone Manufactory in Lambeth, London. This business, founded by Eleanor Coade (always known as Mrs Coade, although she was unmarried) in around 1770. Mrs Coade developed the material, which she called Lithodipyra (from the Greek for "stone fired twice"), a ceramic composition in which flint, quartz, grog (a mix of silica, alumina, and other elements), and crushed glass were mixed with the clay. It was generally found to be hard and weather-resistant, and was easy to mould into complex shapes. These qualities made Coade stone popular for statuary and architectural ornaments between 1770 and the 1830s. Just the material, in other words, for moulding harps, lions, and tiny flowers.
7 comments:
The Landmark Trust owns Belmont in Lyme Regis, the home of Eleanor Coade, which is decorated with some of her stone. It was later owned by John Fowles, author of The French Lieutenant's Woman.
The trust is fundraising for a scheme of restoration to turn the house into holiday accomodation - http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/belmont although there has been some controversy about the details, which will see a later rear extension demolished - http://www.landmarktrust.org.uk/belmont/ourplans
Their houses are relatively expensive to rent, but highly recommended. Who could resist staying in Pugin's house in Ramsgate, or the tower of a castle in Wales?
Oh, should also mention the huge Coade stone lion on Westminster Bridge.
good cornish name, Coade
Anon: Belmont House looks a stunner. The Landmark Trust should be applauded.
And yes, the lion on Westminster Bridge – truly a big beast.
Worm: I didn't know it was a Cornish name: thank you. Actually she was born in Devon. Perhaps her family had migrated across the border.
And now I wish for scones and tea from the little shop on the bridge. Best wishes.
Interesting to read this, thanks for sharing!
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