A beautiful pavilion in the heart of the Cotswolds has featured on popular design show George Clarke's Amazing Spaces.
The Moorish Pavilion set in the garden of Kingham Lodge was explored in Friday night's episode of the Channel 4 show which focuses on people turning tiny spaces into incredible places to live.
Presenter and architect Mr Clarke said: “This is beautiful, you could be in Morocco, but we’re in the Cotswolds!”
Owner Chris Stockwell said: "George filmed on a beautiful sunny day showing the pavilion off in all its sparkling glory. He couldn’t travel abroad due to Covid so cast around for interesting places to film in the UK. Word reached him of our Moorish Pavilion so Gorgeous George came for a visit."
The pavilion stands in the centre of the grounds which host a biennial charity sculpture show with over 400 exhibits in May.
The building, completed in 2018, was inspired by a trip Mr Stockwell made to the Alhambra palace and fortress in Granada, Spain, 50 years ago.
He said: “Early one April Sunday morning I pushed open the old wooden gate to enter the Generalife gardens of the Alhambra. I was alone. All the flowers of summer were blossoming. The whole effect was magical, as near to Paradise on earth as it was possible for me to imagine.”
The Indian stone used in the Alhambra matched perfectly with local Sarsden stone and the pavilion was all built by local stonemasons with tiles by Tiles of Stow in Kingham.
Mr Stockwell described the building: “The capitol tops are copies of the capitols in the Court of Lions in the Alhambra at Granada. The white lions are copies of the ones round the fountain in that courtyard. The pillar spiral design is inspired by a different building in Andalusia.
"The interweaving design round the cornice and in the glazed tiles set along the aisles, is known as the 'Breath of the Prophet'. Like all Moorish design it is geometric and avoids anything figurative."
The central courtyard is divided in to four as in all Moorish, Persian and Islamic gardens and courtyards, based on the four gardens of Paradise mentioned in the Qur’an.
The four sections are divided by flowing water, referring to the four rivers in Eden and other Biblical and Islamic texts on earth and in the afterlife.
Mr Stockwell said: "More prosaically, in hot climates the sound of running water is relaxing and refreshing. In a paradise there are garden fruit trees symbolising fertility and fruitfulness, hence our lemon and olive trees which are on display in the warmer months and the doves in the dovecot.”
You can stream Amazing Spaces on All 4.
More pictures of the Kingham Lodge Pavillion:
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here