
Eleanor Coade (1733-1821) was an unusual woman for her age. Born into a prosperous merchant family with ties to Cornwall and Devon, as well as London, she was a well-known business woman and entrepreneur who successfully ran her business for nearly fifty years by combining artistic flair with marketing skills.
“Coade Artificial Stone Manufactory” made statues, fountains, urns, garden features, mantelpieces, commemorative and heraldic devices and other interior decorative carvings such as candelabra. Every eminent architect of the time from Robert Adam to Sir John Soane, John Nash, James Wyatt and Samuel Wyatt commissioned her work which can still be found today throughout Britain. She also exported to North America, for example, Philadelphia and Washington (“new Federal building friezes, keystones and chimney pieces”), as well as South America, Russia and Poland.
Mrs Coade was inspired by the classical style but also referenced gothic style, Egyptian works of art, and Chinese heritage. In the UK, her commissions adorn the Royal Naval College at Greenwich, Buckingham Palace, St George’s Chapel at Windsor and Windsor Castle itself. The great lion on Westminster Bridge is made from Coade Stone and you can also find the stoneware surmounting doorways on London streets and porticos at various great country houses.
She was a remarkable woman yet largely unknown to most people today, partly perhaps because her ceramic product so well imitated the stone it represented. She never revealed the complete detail of the constituent parts of her product or her exact firing technique and always remained closely involved in the production side. She was not the first person to create artificial stone – the Romans did as well but her particular secret formula seemed to die with her. The significant attribute of her stone was that it did not shrink when fired which would have been achieved by incorporating preshrunk clay into the mixture. Even today the precise mixture and firing techniques are not exactly known.
Records give an insight into her marketing techniques. She had an impressive showroom, conducted tours and printed what we today would call brochures, quoting classical authors. These “brochures” also listed her clients, one of whom was the first Earl of Carnarvon. He commissioned a number of ornaments in 1793 to surmount the new entrance to his “Capability” Brown Park at Highclere. In fact the splendour of London Lodge is almost entirely due to Mrs Coade.
The restored Archway entrance to Highclere Park at London Lodge
Geordie and I began the restoration of this building about 5 years ago and it was a fascinating process. It started from dereliction with trees growing out of, and around, the two lodge buildings on either side of the gates. An experienced stonemason from the Midlands, Eric Knight, and his team undertook the project and almost completely rebuilt the arch. The Coade stone by contrast had stood the test of time. We also found a stamped Coade stone and Peter, our architect, gave me a book on Coade stone which is full of detail but still light on knowledge of the lady herself! Gratifyingly our efforts received a Georgian Society commendation and this gatehouse is now rather comfortable and the one building we rent out for visitors and guests to enjoy whenever the Castle is open for tours.
Mrs Coade, a devout Baptist, was a philanthropist and proponent of women’s rights. She never married and after her death left her fortune to family, educational charities and women in difficult circumstances, stipulating that their husbands should have no control over the money. I hope she would approve of our occasional practice of offering London Lodge as an auction prize to favourite charities to help those less well off.
What a wonderful and inspiring woman! When you think about the challenges that many women nowadays still have to overcome to make their way in the world and then look at what she achieved back then when the odds were even more heavily weighted against women….it’s incredible.
Her family were industrious and supported her as just a hardworking successful person. It is such a very interesting background and my challenge was to precis a great life into a few words!
Why was she called Mrs. Coade if she never married? Is it a rule similar to that of housekeepers and cooks (as we learned in Downton Abbey)?
It was a courtesy and matter of respect I think.
As the former architecture critic for The Tampa Tribune newspaper, I’m always delighted to learn of the accomplishments of a woman in a predominantly male field!
She was unique in her era.
Amazing woman
Dear Lady Carnarvon, I find this story utterly fascinating and am amazed at
Mrs. Coade’s ingenuity and her marketing skills. She certainly was ahead of her time!Thank you for posting this.
Diana Squibb
She was and is a fascinating study in business success.
Such a forward thinking lady. A great legacy.
Extraordinary thoughts & gestures for a woman of her time !
So much goodness in this world, even way back then…….I applaud her
She was an extraordinary woman
Fascinating! What an interesting and inspiring woman! And I too would like to know (as was asked above) about the title “Mrs” on the unmarried lady. Thank you very much for making us aware of her! 🙂
Amazing woman!
I always find your blogs so interesting. Reading about your life at the castle is the next best thing to being there! Maybe once a month or so, you could do a story on someone who was important to the castle, or who lived there, past or present. Thanks so much for your blogs. I look forward to receiving them.
The thing is I never know where to start! Thank you for reading the blogs
What an engaging account of the very inspiring and clever Mrs. Coade. Thank you for your stories, all of which are fascinating insights into the remarkable history of your estate. Each one is a narrative to be treasured … and I do.
She is so interesting as she was both entrepreneur and manager .. an interesting study!
Such a wonderful story & I do look forward to your blog & your books. Holly Holden’s TV Series has introduced us to you & your world which is so inspiring. Thank You!!
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
I enjoyed this story of Mrs Coade and her contribution to English architecture. She was not merely a trailblazer in that she was in business, but she flourished in the then all male province of building. Now we think nothing of a woman in business, and it is because of people like Mrs. Coade. I love knowing that when I go to work each day, that was made possible by the contributions of women before me. It’s an inspiring legacy to live up to, and I’m ready for trying to do just that!
Kind Regards,
Ann Catherine Flood
She was a wonderful and inspiring woman I love history like this & seeing her name on the pillar of London Lodge 1793 really brings it home, seeing that date known that just 10 years before Capability Brown died & this being the anniversary of his death 6th February 1783 that 232 years ago today. I would like to think that Lancelot & Eleanor would have talked about what London Lodge was going to look like when it was finished, But sadly Lancelot did not see this fantastic building project finish in the parkland that he designed around it..
Once again Lady Carnarvon thank you for another fantastic history blog
Paul
I found it very inspiring to read your story of Mrs. Coade and her very dynamic work at a time when women were not able to be so prominent in business. The Coade stone is famous and so durable, and London Lodge is mentioned on the internet page when asked about this material. Ah, to visit and spend a few nice in the London Lodge! Always a joy to read your blogs, Lady Carnarvon, and thank you for correcting the problem I had with posting a comment…all is fine now!
I hope you will visit and stay at some point!
What an inspirational woman! Mrs. Coade left a lasting legacy through her outstanding work and philanthropy. I wonder if she had read Mary Wollstonecraft’s “Vindication of the Rights of Women.” How extraordinary. Thank you for sharing her story with us!
And she lived a long time!
Wow! A long life AND a lasting legacy. That’s amazing.
Thanks so much for sharing this knowledge Lady Carnarvon. While touring the bridges of London I put my hand on on what was evidently a Coade stone, because I knew right away it was a composite material, and not completely porous like natural (and slowly decaying) stone. I inquired of several uninformed individuals that were about the bridges, and even of our learned host in London, where does this composite stone come from? I received a lecture of sorts of why composite stone would never be used in the buildings and bridges of London because it could not have been manufactured at the time. Imagine my delight in reading your post today! I can’t wait to forward this to several people, so expect some new subscribers to your blog. And that she was a Baptist makes it all the more delicious! You are a wealth of the type of information my inquiring mind wants to know!
I have read up about the supposed mixtures, length of firing … we know no better today!
DEAR LADY CARNARVON,
THANK YOU FOR WRITE THE BLOGS . SHE WAS AN EXTRAORDINARY WOMAN, UNIQUE IN HER ERA. CONGRATULATIONS ON THE RESTORATION YOU MADE IN LONDON LODGE.
MARIA AUGUSTA .
THANK YOU!
Thank-you for offering the lodge to people who may otherwise never experience your wonderful home.
Always look forward to reading your blogs
God Bless
Lorraine
I hope it gives much pleasure and makes people smile!
Lady Carnarvon:
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the books I have acquired from reading the bibliographies of the books you have written to your recommendations, some in the back of your books, to the those people featured in your blog such as this dear pioneer, Mrs Coade. I am not a feminists but, I am fair minded and do feel everyone should get a fair shake and recognition where it is due. Having been reading much social history of Great Britain and Europe I am yet to see mentioned females such as Mrs. Coade. All the architects, planners, landscapers, decorators etc–except of course, those women who were head of castles/manors– are all male. It is only when writers like yourself take to writing the history of the of your family and home that we manage to read a few lines about women pioneers, in what were profession that were male dominated. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a trend.
I must mentioned that in the 20th Century, there was one female architect who did leave her stamp in a big way. Her name is Julia Morgan, who was hired in 1919 by William Randolph Hearst, Newspaper Magnate, to design and build Hearst Castle in San Simeon, California.
Thanks again. Cannot wait for the next installment of your blog.
Kind regards
Bev
Dear Lady Carnarvon,
We are staying at the London Lodge for these two days and now I am reading your blog about it. We feel really lucky to experience the life in the estate. When we first planned this visit to Highclere Castle, we were expecting to see the real Downton Abbey but when we got your books and met Matthew yesterday (who gave us a wonderful tour in the park), we realized that the real hard work was your own effort. It’s very much appreciated that you share this privilage with the rest of the world. We sincerely hope that you, your family and future generations will keep this estate alive and have a happy long lives in this spectacular place.
Wish you the very best.
Ayşıl & Fevzi
Thank you for staying here and it was very nice to meet you!