Bonnington House
Bonnington House is a large Jacobean manor house near Edinburgh. The estate is over 100 acres including formal gardens, woodlands and a sculpture park featuring work by artists such as Nathan Coley, Charles Jencks, Anthony Gormley and Andy Goldsworthy.
The design brief reflected the client’s keen interest in symbolism and art and led to an exploration of the classical elements of earth, air, fire, water. In addition, the design needed to incorporate some deeply personal motifs in the form of human figures, animals and a family crest. Finally, everything needed to work in harmony with the colour palette of the surrounding walls, the planned colonnade of pleached hornbean and a beautiful Moroccan antique fountain at the centre of the mosaic.
At the heart of the final design sits a lotus flower surrounding the fountain. Important personal motifs command each corner of the square mosaic: an eagle on its nest, a lion in an oak tree and two different peacocks. At each of the four entrances, we have the symbols of the four elements.
Meticulous carved slate work, the need for many porcelain features combined with the sheer number of different design elements made this commission a real challenge for our pebble mosaic artists. A creative challenge that now contributes to a stunning walled garden.
The walled garden is not open to the public but you can visit the incredible Jupiter Artland which opens each April https://www.jupiterartland.org
