Duke clashes with heritage body on huge ‘bird cage’ at Blenheim
AN ARISTOCRAT who owns one of the country’s most famous stately homes is embroiled in a row with conservationists over a towering golden sculpture.
James Spencer-churchill, 12th Duke of Marlborough, wants to bring the 25ft artwork, Gilded Cage, to Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire.
The Duke, a cousin of Sir Winston Churchill, who was born at Blenheim in 1874, says the work, which represents the struggle of present-day refugees, will be a “striking” addition to the Unesco World Heritage Site and “aesthetically impactful”, given its similar colour to the palace’s yellow limestone.
However, conservationists say the sculpture, created by Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei, has an “alien nature” and would be “completely at odds” with its surroundings.
The palace and its 11,500-acre estate were granted Unesco world heritage status in 1987. It is owned by the Duke, while day-to-day running is taken care of by a board of trustees which oversees the Blenheim Palace Heritage Charitable Foundation.
West Oxfordshire district council will ultimately decide if the planning application, submitted in March, is successful. In documents, the Blenheim Art Foundation, responsible for presenting exhibitions at the palace, stated: “The sculpture works well with the site of Blenheim Palace, visually as well as thematically.”
It goes on: “The structure brings to mind a colossal bird cage, elegant and whimsical, yet loaded with significance as a symbol of freedom ensnared.
“Blenheim Palace was a safe place for more than 400 boys evacuated from Malvern College during the Second World War. It provided a refuge for the displaced.”
However, Richard Peats, team leader at Historic England, said: “It would be a highly visible structure that would appear completely at odds with the visual character of this part of the park.
“The scale and alien nature of the proposal means that there is likely to be a negative impact.”
Weiwei, a human-rights activist, showcased the sculpture in New York in 2017 as part of a campaign against Donald Trump’s plans to build a wall between the US and Mexico.