Monumenta Romana

It’s a Bank Holiday Monday, nicely prolonging my annual leave by one whole day. Tomorrow I have only a short morning shift, which is a relatively painless release back into the working wild. It’s a sunny, blue-sky day, and we have family visiting: Ed, Gail and Tara are with us, a guarantee that the house will be filled with laughter. Monty has begun his long journey back to the UK now—I tracked his four-hour flight from Salt Lake City to JFK this morning. We all had a mellow afternoon, and later Raff and I cooked a risotto for supper. A spot of gaming in the evening for me, and later we heard from Monty to say he’d arrived at Heathrow around eight.

Today's blip, The Monumenta Romana, was unveiled in December 2021, and occupies a clearing on the Waldershare Estate as both an artistic intervention and a functional resting point for walkers on the North Downs Way. Charles Holland Architects’ timber dome reimagines the unfinished cupola of the nearby Belvedere, an 18th-century Grade I listed tower whose skeletal brickwork dominates the landscape. This dialogue between incomplete past and reinterpreted present unfolds within a site layered with archaeological significance, from Palaeolithic flints to Roman roads and medieval manors.

The Belvedere’s construction between 1720 and 1721 under Sir Robert Furnese remains architecturally enigmatic. While once attributed to Lord Burlington, evidence suggests Colen Campbell’s involvement, though surviving accounts name no designer. The structure’s three-storey square plan incorporates circular rooms 18 feet in diameter, with serliana windows initially concealed under render. Despite ambitions for panoramic views stretching to France, the tower was never completed; John Whaley noted its unfinished state during a 1724 visit, and a planned plaster vault for the first-floor ceiling remained unrealised.

Furnese’s political career paralleled the construction of Belvedere. As MP for Kent and other constituencies from 1708-1733, he oversaw the Waldershare estate’s development, including the main mansion completed in 1712. This red-brick house, later gutted by fire in 1913, passed through marriage to the North family, whose most notable member, Lord Frederick North, served as Prime Minister during the American War of Independence. The estate’s medieval roots trace further back to Odo, Earl of Kent, whose 11th-century acquisition of Walwaresere through dubious means established centuries of aristocratic ownership.

Holland’s contemporary response uses salvaged materials—barrel staves, sea groins, and flooring—to craft an open-framed dome encircled by an octagonal seat. This choice echoes historical building practices while acknowledging modern sustainability concerns. Positioned along the Via Francigena pilgrimage route, the sculpture functions as both viewfinder and contemplative space, inviting comparison with the Belvedere’s blocked sightlines. The artwork’s placement on private land, facilitated by the current owner Lord Guilford, required collaboration between Dover Arts Development, Kent Downs AONB, and European funders.

The Belvedere itself remains on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, its hopes for 1990s restoration dashed by withdrawn funding. A proposed cupola addition under the Vivat Trust’s plans might have realised Furnese’s vision, but today the tower stands roofless, its pyramidal gutter collapsed post-1960s fire. In contrast, the Monumenta Romana’s lightweight timber structure offers provisional completion, its transparency contrasting with the Belvedere’s solid yet fractured masonry.

Recent estate changes, including the 2023 sale of a 127-acre parcel, highlight ongoing tensions between preservation and modern land use. Yet the Monumenta’s success lies in its refusal to resolve these contradictions. Instead, it frames overlapping histories—ancient pilgrimage paths, Georgian ambition, and contemporary environmental practice—within a single sightline, inviting visitors to trace connections across time without prescribing their meaning.