NEWS ARCHIVE

ROUBILIAC 250TH CELEBRATIONS 2008

Starting on Friday 20th June, the Temple had its busiest weekend of the year hosting a lunch party for the Garrick Club, followed on Saturday by our own function celebrating the 250th anniversary of Louis Francois Roubiliac's marble masterpiece of William Shakespeare.

Among those attending Saturday's celebrations were Dr Vincent Cable MP, The Mayor of Richmond, Helen Lee-Parsons, several Councillors and representatives of over 20 national and local organisations.

On Sunday a garden party was held by the Society of Theatre Research with music by Earls' Court Baroque featuring outstanding soprano Sarah Barnes.

Open House London 2008

Open House London weekend, which was held on 20th/ 21st September 2008, was blessed with two days of warm sunshine. Visitor numbers were down on last year, but a rugby match at Twickenham on Saturday and slow moving traffic in the Richmond area due to road works, may have contributed to this.

Our total this year was: 335.


Visitor Numbers: Saturday 99 (87 adults / 12 children), and Sunday 236 (211 adults / 25 children).


A glance at the Visitors Book showed that the majority of people who attended were local, but some also came from further afield including Kent, Portugal and a visitor from India who had a story about the "Indian Garrick". All gave positive feedback on the Temple.

The children's art activity area which centred round making a cardboard statue, was particularly busy on Sunday.

Estimated takings from donations over the weekend: £229.00.

We were delighted to recruit 4 new volunteers who are keen to carry out various duties in the Temple until the end of the season.

Garrick's love of William Shakespeare lives on in the charming picturesque little octagonal Palladian building in Hampton that will featured in the Open House London showcase from 20 - 21 September between 10.00am and 5.00pm.

Although the architect is unknown the design is similar to the temple at Chiswick House, the home of Lord and Lady Burlington who were close friends of Garrick, and guardians of Eva Marie Veigel before she married Garrick in 1749.

Clive Francis, Chairman of the Trustees, said, "I am delighted that Garrick's Temple is participating in the capital's largest architectural event of the year. In celebrating excellence in design the Temple will again highlight the significance that Garrick played in shaping modern theatre practice.

"It was Garrick's unique reputation that inspired Sir John Gielgud and others of the theatrical profession to lead an appeal that had the Temple restored in 1999 so that visitors could understand more about this remarkable man and his love of Shakespeare."

Visitors to the Temple not only have an opportunity to see this architectural gem, but they also see copies of several great portraits of Garrick by Reynolds, Hogarth, Gainsborough, Zoffany and others. They also see a copy of Roubiliac's statue of Shakespeare that was commissioned by Garrick shortly after the Temple was completed in 1756.

The garden, which was landscaped with advice from Capability Brown, features a serpentine path surrounded by many of the trees, shrubs and flowers that would have been present in Garrick's time.

For further media information please contact: Scott McLean tel: 020 8977 8272 or e-mail: scott.mclean3@btinternet.com

A full-size statue of William Shakespeare will today be at the centre of celebrations by guests at Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare in Hampton to mark the occasion of the 250th anniversary of Louis François Roubiliac's marble masterpiece.

David Garrick (1717-1779), Britain's greatest actor/manager, commissioned Roubiliac, one of the 18th century's greatest sculptors, to carve a statue of his idol, William Shakespeare, for his recently constructed Palladian Temple dedicated to the memory of the Bard.

The first version of the statue was rejected by Garrick as the block of marble used was suffused by faint veins which crossed the sculpture's face giving it a sinister expression.

Roubiliac accepted the criticism, executed the statue, and replaced the head with purer marble. This met with Garrick's approval and the statue was completed in 1758 and placed in the Temple.

Clive Francis, Chairman of the Temple Trust, said: "This special occasion is not only about marking the 250th anniversary of Roubiliac's statue of Shakespeare, it is also an opportunity for us to remember how Garrick made Shakespeare central to our theatrical tradition, and how he helped to make the acting profession socially acceptable."

The original statue, bequeathed by Garrick to the British Museum, is now in the British Library. The copy in the Temple was presented by the museum to Garrick's Temple to Shakespeare Trust.

The Temple is run entirely by volunteers, and welcomes people to assist in areas like secretarial, gardening, caretaking and catering, as well as being on duty in the Temple itself. They can volunteer by contacting Scott McLean at scott.mclean3@btinternet.com.

Generations of local residents and many of England's noble families have visited the Temple, including Queen Charlotte. It is a romantic and stylish riverside treasure that offers everybody the opportunity to find out more about Garrick's life and to stroll in the small garden that was first landscaped on advice from Lancelot "Capability" Brown.

The Temple is available for hire for a wide range of events and is an ideal setting for academic activities, small musical performances (traditional and contemporary), dramatic performances, committee meetings, modest corporate promotions and photo-shoots.

Capability Brown advised Garrick on how the grounds at the Temple should be laid out, but we are not sure if he was responsible for supervising the work.

We do know that Garrick and his wife took great pride in planting many of the trees in the garden themselves and saw the garden as a peaceful retreat away from their hectic social life in London.

Today the task of organising and supervising the hardworking volunteer gardeners is done by Monica Bayes. Under her direction the ongoing task of maintaining the flowering shrubs and evergreens that border the serpentine path ensure that the garden is maintained as a peaceful retreat and in keeping with its original style.

The recently installed easy access ramp into the Temple will eventually be masked with shrubs planted on both sides.

Although volunteers tend the garden the Royal Borough of Richmond is responsible for the heavy pruning, planting and lawn mowing, and we are very grateful for their ongoing support.

"The Actors' Temple

Among many actors who have taken a lively interest in the Temple is Liz Crowther who is a member of the Temple Management Committee.

Liz has worked as an actress for over 35 years: at the National Theatre in "Animal Farm" and Four Short Becketts, at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and "Twelfth Night", and more recently in "The Country Wife" at the Haymarket Theatre, "Rough Cuts" at the Royal Court and as Madame Arkadina in Tennessee Williams' version of "The Seagull" at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter.

Liz has appeared many times at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond including plays such as "King Lear" and two plays "All in the Wrong" and "The Way to Keep Him", written by Arthur Murphy - an actor in David Garrick's Company.