The First Battle of Little Sparta

Our first garden visit this weekend was to Little Sparta in Dunsyre.  It is a garden and also a work of art.

It was created by the artist Ian Hamilton-Finlay and has passed onto the Little Sparta Trust.  It is a fabulous place.  The occasion was the rededication of the monument to the First Battle of Little Sparta.

To cut a long and fascinating story short, Ian Hamilton-Finlay redesignated one of his buildings - on the right of the blip.  It was an art gallery and he redesigned it a garden temple.  He had sound reasons for this - particularly his view that contemporary life was losing a spiritual dimension.  the predesignation was an artistic statement.

As a Temple, the building was exempt from local property taxes.  However, the local authority did not agree with the re-designation.  There was lengthy correspondence between the artist and the Council, some court activity until finally a sheriff's officer (bailiff) was directed to collect goods from the property to be sold to pay the outstanding taxes.  The officer duly arrived on 4th February 1983.

Waiting for him were a band of Saint Juste Vigilantes, a mock Panzer tank, a canon and a farmer whose tractor jus happened to break down.  The officer left with his task uncompleted.  The First Battle of Little Sparta had been won.  There wasn't a second one.

In due course, the officer undertook his task and removed some works of art for auction.  This led to some court action in the United States against the Council as some of the works of art belonged to an American Institution.

Eventually the Council relented.

Following the rededication of the monument, we were led up the path by a flautist who played while we enjoyed the garden and its works of art.