Three Muses have successfully been lifted back upon the roof of Oxford’s Clarendon Building, marking an important moment in the 300-year history of this highly significant building. Calliope (Epic poetry); Polyhymnia (Rhetoric) and Clio (History) were safely re-installed this month, having been removed in 2023 for restoration works. They were subsequently on public display in the Weston Library this summer, giving visitors a rare opportunity to observe the sculptures at close quarters prior to their reinstatement.
Nine statues of the Muses, each just over 7 feet tall, were sculpted in lead and placed to adorn Nicholas Hawksmoor’s Clarendon Building, completed in 1715. The figures were made to the designs of Sir James Thornhill, from the workshop of Jan van Nost the Elder, and were in place by 1717. However, Calliope, situated atop the central pediment, fell in high winds in 1751; with Melpomene suffering the same fate some 60 years later. Neither were replaced until the 1970s when fibreglass replicas were made, at which point Calliope was incorrectly recast as Euterpe. Urania (Astronomy), Terpsichore (Dance), and Thalia (Comedy) are undergoing restoration in situ, whilst Erato (Love Poetry) and Euterpe (Music) are being restored off site and Melpomene (Tragedy) is being recast. These are due to be lifted on Sunday 8th November, weather and progress permitting.
The Group engaged on this application, and we were therefore particularly pleased to see the Muses first hand on a Group offsite to Oxford this summer, kindly hosted by the University’s Historic Building Surveyor, Elizabeth Otter. The exhibition included an excellent display about the Muses, their history and conservation, curated by John Rolfe. We are delighted to see Clio, Calliope and Polyhymnia safely returned to their rightful positions overlooking Broad Street, and look forward to the return of the remaining three later this autumn, at which point the nine Muses will be at correct, full complement for the first time since Calliope’s fall in 1751. Their return not only restores an important part of the building’s architectural composition but also brings these iconic and instantly recognizable figures back to city’s skyline after three years of skilled conservation, craftsmanship and complex project management.
Video courtesy of Paul Rhymes