Sphinxes at Studley
Spot the spinxes
The pair of sphinx statues at Studley Royal have moved about quite a bit since
the 18th century. This was not unusual in gardens of large estates and we’ve found
evidence that many of the well known figures in the ponds at Studley have resided
in a variety of locations across the estate throughout the years.
Photographs from the 1960s show the sphinxes on top of the Mackershaw lodges
in the deer park, but we know that this was not their original location in the
garden.
When the National Trust bought the Fountains estate in 1983 the sphinxes were
discovered in poor repair in the builders’ yard along with many other damaged
statues.
Work on the sphinxes was planned into our long list of conservation and statue
cleaning projects which involves experts and estate volunteers removing lichen,
moss and years of dirt from the stone.
World renowned stone mason Tim Lees has repaired the damaged sphinxes; replacing
the heads and carrying out conservation cleaning of the statues, which are now
ready to be put back into the gardens after so many years of absence. Tim is an
Associate Member of the Royal British Sculptors and is an elected member of the
Master carvers Association.
The spinxes have just been returned to their intended position on the Drum Fall
in the Water Garden and look great.
