Montacute House near Yeovil 1857 - 1860

Alfred Capel Cure captured Montacute House near Yeovil in a photograph that invites us to reflect on the intersections of class, history, and representation in Victorian England. During the Victorian era, the landed gentry, like Capel Cure, held significant social and economic power. The photograph aestheticizes the family estate and its connection to the English countryside. Montacute House stands not merely as a building, but as a symbol of heritage and power. The choice to photograph Montacute House, a monument to Elizabethan architecture, speaks to a Victorian preoccupation with history and lineage. The carefully manicured gardens in the foreground further emphasize control over the natural world, mirroring the social hierarchies of the time. How do the clean lines of the garden contrast with the rough texture of the stone in the building? Through his photograph, Capel Cure participates in constructing an image of idyllic Englishness, deeply entwined with notions of class, privilege, and historical narrative. It prompts us to consider whose stories are told, and whose are left out.