Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust Artist Statement
Using Art in support of Historic Buildings in Protest and Preservation
The Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust is working in collaboration with artists John Parker and Karen Wickes, not only to showcase their work of Wingfield Manor, but to also highlight the importance of this crumbling major historic building which has had its funding for repairs cut by English Heritage due to the last government.
There is no moving forward presently, and visitors are frustrated at being kept out due to falling debris.
The DHBT is exploring other options and ideas with organisations and politicians, to fundraise for repairs.
The artwork of these two artists depict the magical and ethereal nature of this very romantic Derbyshire historic building. A building where a Queen was imprisoned, the Civil War ravaged its walls with cannonballs, and power of the emerging bureaucratic elite symbolised a new ambition during the reign of Henry VI.
Wingfield Manor
Wingfield Manor, located in Derbyshire, England, is a significant historical site that exemplifies the transition from medieval fortress to Renaissance-style residence during the 15th century. Built by Ralph, Lord Cromwell—Treasurer of England under Henry VI—it symbolized the power and ambition of England’s emerging bureaucratic elite. The manor is also notable for its role during the Wars of the Roses and later as a prison for Mary, Queen of Scots, reflecting its continued strategic importance in Tudor political affairs. Its architectural innovations, including early use of large windows and grand domestic spaces, mark it as a precursor to the great Elizabethan prodigy houses.
John Parker
John specialises in landscape and historic architecture using infrared in black and white photography. The results are otherworldly and atmospheric.
Karen Wickes
Karen uses discarded orange juice packaging and engraves the wax inside, using it as a plate for printmaking. Her work features discarded or forgotten historic buildings.
