Manual Ref* NFklHH001 Show 4 images 42
Title*

Full Moon Circle
County Norfolk   District Council King's Lynn 
Civil Parish or equivalent New Houghton  Town/Village* Houghton Hall 
Road Just off the A148 King's Lynn to Cromer Road 
Precise Location 2004 installed on axis with the main entrance on east side; 2009 moved to the end of the ha-ha opposite the house entrance on the West front 
OS Grid Ref TF791287  Postcode PE31 
Previous location(s)  
Setting Park at end of ha ha  Access Public 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
Richard Long  Sculptor(s)   

Commissioned by

 David (Lord) Cholmondeley 

Design & Constrn period

 2004 

Date of installing

 Jan 2004 and 2008/2009 

Exact date of unveiling

  

Category
Abstract Animal Architectural
Commercial Commemorative Composite
Free Functional Funerary
Heraldic Military Natural
Non-Commemorative Performance Portable
Religious Roadside, Wayside Sculptural
Temporary, Mobile Other  

Object Type
Building Clock Tower Architectural
Coat of Arms Cross Fountain
Landscape Marker Medallion
Mural Panel Readymade
Relief Shaft Sculpture
Statue Street Furniture War Memorial
Other Object Sub Type: sculpture

Subject Type
Allegorical Mythological Pictorial
Figurative Non-figurative Portrait
Still-life Symbolic Other

Subject Sub Type
Bust Equestrian Full-length
Group Head Reclining
Seated Standing Torso
Part Material Dimension
Circle  Cornish Slate  Dia 22.33 m approx 

Work is
Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

 Houghton Hall Estate 

Listing status
Grade I Grade II* Grade II Don't Know Not Listed

Surface Condition
Corrosion, Deterioration Accretions
Bird Guano Abrasions, cracks, splits
Biological growth Spalling, crumbling
Metallic staining Previous treatments
Other  
Detail: some debris (leaves, bird guano) otherwise in good shape

Structural Condition
Armature exposed Broken or missing parts
Replaced parts Loose elements
Cracks, splits, breaks, holes Spalling, crumbling
Water collection Other
Detail:

Vandalism
Graffiti Structural damage Surface Damage
Detail:

Overall condition
Good Fair Poor

Risk
No Known Risk At Risk Immediate
Signatures/Marks  
Inscriptions  

Description (physical)

 Large installation of overlapping pieces of slate located on a mowed lawn on a central axis with front entrance and the view from the first floor Marble Hall. The slates are rough finished and laid flat on the lawn as a large grey circular shape against the green of the grass. 

Description (iconographical)

 The first of Lord Cholmondeley's three commissions to distinguished modernist sculptors intended to bring new life to Houghton Hall and Gardens. The circle is consistent with Long's post-minimalist sculptural work usually referred to as land or environmental art. Long's early work documented his walks in the landscape with maps, brief descriptions of the itinerary and dates, backed up with photographs. Later, as he explained in one of the notes in his Heaven and Earth exhibition in Tate Britain June - September 2009, he wanted to recreate his outdoor experiences in gallery conditions. These include Red Slate Circle of 1980, now in the National Gallery of Scotland and the Norfolk Flint Circle of 1990 in the collection of the Tate. The moon has a special place meaning for Long and his 1996 Walk of 366 miles ended with a lunar eclipse, evoked in his filled circle at Houghton, which represents the craters of the moon but also suggests a universal form that transcends cultural and national specificities and can be used in any environment. Long often uses local materials for his installations but in this case transports slate from the west of England to the east. Since in 2004 planting of the west front had only just begun, Full Moon would have looked lost on that side and was sited in the avenue of trees leading to the main east entrance, echoing the Leicester monument at Holkham Hall. With the maturing of the planting on the western side, the further commissions, Full Moon was repositioned in the curve of the ha ha, where it forms a striking feature in the middle of the long vista 

Photographs

 Date taken:  27/5/2006
Date logged:  29/5/2006

Photographed by:
Sarah Cocke

On Site Inspection

 Date:  27/5/2006

Inspected by:
David Hulks- Pete Harmon- Wylie Schwartz

Sources and References

 J. Kastner & B. Wallis (eds) Land and Environmental Art, Maidstone 2004 / www.houghtonhall.com/htmlfiles/1024index.htm accessed 26-May-07; Cholmondeley, D. (Lord), ‘Houghton resurgent’, Norfolk Gardens Trust Journal, Spring 2004, 6-11 

Database

 Date entered:  1/6/2006

Data inputter:
Wylie Schwartz and David Hulks/Richard Cocke 2009