Palladian Bridge to Gothic Temple - Stowe Landscape Gardens

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Depicting two significant features of the Eastern Garden, situated within Stowe Landscape Gardens; this digital artwork was created in 2008 by award winning master photographer Andrew Eldridge.

It depicts the view from the edge of the octagon lake!  With The Palladian Bridge dominating the foreground and the path leading the eye right up to The Gothic Temple, this piece provides a dark, mysterious feeling, while retaining a rich warm tone.

This piece is now available to purchase as a 30”x20” Canvas wrap for just £199  Buy Now!

The Palladian Bridge:

Sitting much lower in the water than intended following the damming of the Octagon Lake this is a copy of the bridge at Wilton House.  This version at Stowe however was designed to be used by horse drawn carriages, so it was set lower and with shallow ramps instead of steps on the approach. Completed in 1738 under the direction of James Gibbs it consists of five arches with carved keystones and a balustraded parapet, where the middle of three arches are supporting an open pavilion above the central arch.  This consists of colonnades of four full and two half columns of un-fluted Roman Ionic order.  Again above the flanking arches there are more pavilions with arches on all four sides.

The Gothic Temple:

Modelled on medieval buildings such as Westminster Abbey, it was a tribute to Lord Cobham's important Saxon ancestors.  Designed by James Gibbs in 1741, and completed around 1748 it was one of the last additions to the garden at Stowe.  The only building in the gardens to be built of ironstone; it has a two storey triangular plan with a pentagonal shaped tower at each of the three points. One of these rises two floors higher than the main building, while the other two towers have lanterns on their roofs

Stowe House:

Stowe House is a Grade I listed country house located in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school. The gardens (known as Stowe Landscape Gardens) a significant example the English Landscape Garden style, along with part of the Park, passed into the ownership of The National Trust in 1989 and are open to the public. The house is open to the public during the school holidays, and there is usually a daily guided tour during term time. The parkland surrounding the gardens is open 365 days a year and access is free.