Croome has worked with artist Faye Claridge and local community groups to create new sculptures in response to the Four Seasons statues that once stood within the parkland. The four new sculptures were created through a process of creative community engagement with four project partners, who created designs inspired by the history of the original statues, Croome’s landscape and current issues around seasonality and climate change.
The 6th Earl of Coventry (1722-1809), a man who redefined contemporary taste in the mid-18th century, chose Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown to design his new house and landscape. This was Brown’s first complete design which influenced landscape design in Britain and the rest of the continent for decades. The Earl added many statues into the garden including four representing the Four Seasons located in the Evergreen Shrubbery. Coade stone was a prominent material used in the late 18th century and was popularised by its creator Eleanor Coade. Many examples of this new product can be seen at Croome, including Sabrina, the Sphinxes, the Druid and the decoration of the Dry Arch Bridge. Sadly the original Coade stone Four Seasons statues disappeared sometime during the 20th century; since 2010 they have been represented by four white wooden plinths marking where they once stood.
In 1996, following decades of arable farming at Croome, the National Trust acquired the landscape and set about restoring the ‘Capability’ Brown's design by replanting shrubberies, dredging the river and restoring statues including Sabrina, Pan and the Druid, which were found in the overgrown garden.
Maps of the Four Seasons Location
In the Snape map of 1796, the Evergreen Shrubbery can be seen completely planted with trees and shrubs, with the path running through the middle.
It was a puzzle as to why the Earl had made this change until summer 2007 when Croome experienced dramatic flooding. Prior to this, hundreds of shrubs had been planted throughout the Evergreen Shrubbery, however, due to the flooding, we lost all of the plants in precisely the cleared area on the Hopcraft map when heavy summer rains meant the ground was waterlogged for over a month. Had Croome experienced a flood in the early 1800s which meant the Earl lost a section of planting, and in a nod to the reason why, he bought new statues in the form of the Four Seasons?
As summer storms and heavy rains become more frequent due to climate change, leaving the gap in planting and installing the new sculptures is the right thing to do, and echoes the changes that the Earl had to make in the early 1800s.
Following an open call in May 2023, Faye Claridge was selected to lead Croome’s Four Seasons commission.
Faye Claridge is highly skilled in co-producing socially engaged public artworks, with experience in creative heritage interpretation through public participation. She is passionate about empowering participants to meaningfully contribute to creative projects through her inclusive and accessible approach, harnessing nature connection, wellbeing and relationship to place. Her previous commissions include Meadow Arts, English Heritage, National Trust, Compton Verney, Royal Shakespeare Company and more.
“I follow a social equality agenda and use my expertise in creating meaningful partnerships to achieve positive experiences for participants and impact for audiences and organisations. Connections with the natural environment and wellbeing are often central to this and projects are delivered with sustainability in mind." – Faye Claridge
Nicola Prestage is an independent filmmaker and digital artist known for her innovative work in the commercial digital media sector. She is dedicated to creating films that not only educate but also challenge negative stereotypes in society. Nicola makes a significant contribution to the world of filmmaking with her thought-provoking and socially relevant work, often revolving around the themes of love and acceptance. Her short documentaries have been featured on prominent platforms including BBC Three and during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games. Her digital film art has been exhibited alongside renowned artist Grayson Perry at Croome, as well as in several galleries including the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
Croome’s creative programme is committed to socially engaged practice. We work with artists and communities to bring to life the stories of our past for audiences of today. It was important that the artist commissioned to lead Four Seasons work collaboratively with local community partners to explore the history of the Four Seasons statues and Croome landscape, alongside contemporary concerns including nature connection, seasonality and climate change.
Participants from four diverse groups developed ideas for the new sculptures through creative activities that explored individual and shared experiences of the seasons, with natural tie dye, poetry, cyanotypes, clay, hapa-zome, junk modelling, miniature garden-making, scent, splatter painting, origami, scratch art and more.
Elements from the activities were chosen by participants to co-design the final sculptures. It was decided that spheres would echo the rolling shapes and protective ‘bubble ’ atmosphere of Croome’s landscape and that using storm-damaged ‘Capability’ Brown cedar would reflect the site’s history and current climate change issues. Each group also added strong individual details to specific seasons, for example, women’s past and present place in the landscape was a key theme for spring, and hibernation before new beginnings a central metaphor for winter.
“Four Seasons project is incredibly special because it’s being co-created with some vulnerable communities that face the greatest barriers to the benefits of heritage and culture. It feels like we’re enacting the Trust’s pledge ‘forever, for everyone’ and hopefully inspiring many others, for years to come, to see their place in this special landscape.” – Faye Claridge.
Summer
The activity for Four Seasons launched with a group of Croome volunteers who responded to the theme of summer. Through a range of creative approaches they experienced Croome in new and different ways to their usual voluntary roles. They shared their knowledge and passion for Croome with Faye so she could better understand the motivations of some of our closest supporters.
Four Seasons creates a legacy that reflects on some of the most urgent issues of our time. By embracing change to reimagine the original 18th century statues through community engagement with people facing some of the greatest barriers to heritage and culture we reinforce our commitment to being for everyone, forever. Central to the project were participants’ responses to seasonality at Croome and challenges brought about through climate change. For this reason we were committed to ensuring that the final sculptures demonstrate best practice in sustainable site-specific commissioning.
The new sculptures are situated in the Evergreen Shrubbery, where the original Four Seasons statues once stood. They comprise a cedar plinth made from a fallen lakeside tree which was part of 'Capabilty' Brown’s original parkland design. They are topped with hand plasma-cut steel spheres, incorporating designs developed by participants in response to the seasons.
Four Seasons launches at Croome in 2025.
Four Seasons is a new artwork commissioned by Croome funded by the Tony Brooks Legacy, Friends of Croome and Arts Council, England.
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