Manual Ref* NFklSA004 Show 4 images 543
Title*

Father Time
County Norfolk   District Council King's Lynn 
Civil Parish or equivalent Sandringham  Town/Village* Sandringham 
Road Sandringham Road 
Precise Location Gardens of Sandringham House 
OS Grid Ref TF695290  Postcode PE35 
Previous location(s) Whitton Park in Middlesex 
Setting At the end of the north garden next to the Chinese Joss  Access Private 
Artist/Maker Role Qualifier
Coades  Ceramicist(s)   
Coades  Ceramicist(s)   

Commissioned by

 Unknown (possibly George Gostling II); purchased by Queen Elizabeth (the late Queen Mother) for £100 

Design & Constrn period

 Unknown, circa 1800 

Date of installing

 c. 1951 (date of purchase) 

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: Garden 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
Statue  Coadestone  H 129 cm x W 62 cm x D 74 cm 
Pedestal  Limestone   

Work is
Extant Not Sited Lost

Owner/Custodian

 Sandringham 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:

Structural Condition
Armature exposed Broken or missing parts
Replaced parts Loose elements
Cracks, splits, breaks, holes Spalling, crumbling
Water collection Other
Detail: Wooden handle of the scythe badly worn

Vandalism
Graffiti Structural damage Surface Damage
Detail:

Overall condition
Good Fair Poor

Risk
No Known Risk At Risk Immediate
Signatures/Marks  
Inscriptions  

Description (physical)

 Classical stone pedestal on top of which seated on a rock is an in-the-round depiction of Father Time, bearded winged and naked apart from a flowing loin cloth. His left hand rests on an elevated right knee holding an hour glass while his right hand holds a scythe. The major viewpoint is for a spectator standing to the right of the statue, the view shown in photographs of other Coade versions of the figure. At Sandringham, however, he is shown frontally at the end of the north garden, which faces onto one of the house's main garden entrances. The theme of time may have been chosen both because of the quality of the statue, but also to complement the Edward VII's sundial on the southern side of the house. 

Description (iconographical)

 This long established type is a version of the Coade stone Time on the 1793 Monument to Lady Henniker in Rochester Cathedral, here with his scythe over his right shoulder rather than across his lap. His relaxed and unthreatening pose would have been an appropriate inclusion as part of a wider installation of symbolic garden statuary at Whitton Park. George Gostling II had added a pediment with a bas-relief of Jupiter Destroying the Titans in 1786by John Deare. The estate was established by Lord Islay, later 3rd Duke of Argyll,from 1722 onwards. It was acquired by George Gostling in 1767 and stayed in his family until sold in 1899 and again in 1905. Later broken up and developed for housing when the statue was acquired for Sandringham. 

Photographs

 Date taken:  31/5/2007
Date logged:  31/5/2007

Photographed by:
David Hulks

On Site Inspection

 Date:  31/5/2007

Inspected by:
David Hulks

Sources and References

 Private commumunication with the Sandringham Estate Office, letter dated 3-Aug-07 / HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and G. Pattinson et al. (1996) Sandringham: The Norfolk Retreat of the Queen, English Life Publications www.richmond.gov.uk/home/leisure_and_culture/local_history_and_heritage accessed 27/11/08; Kelly, A., Mrs. Coade’s Stone, Upton-upon-Severn, 1990, pp. 134 and 250 (the attribution of Father Time to Thomas Banks has been questioned by Julius Bryant of the Victoria and Albert Museum 

Database

 Date entered:  5/9/2007

Data inputter:
David Hulks and Richard Cocke