The altar at Wrest Park, installed by Jemima, Marchioness Grey in 1748

Wrest Park was home to one of England’s leading aristocratic families for over 600 years. Today it is an exceptional rarity – a magnificent house of the 1830s, set in a restored garden landscape originating in the 17th century. The house itself is a near unique example of 19th-century English architecture following the style of an 18th-century French chateau. Its grounds, meanwhile, are a glorious amalgam of three centuries of English garden design, and contain one of the few remaining formal gardens of the early 18th century. For nearly 100 years, the gardens at Wrest Park were managed and maintained by two women, Jemima, Marchioness Grey (1723–97) and her daughter Amabel (1751–1833). Their careful management of the garden resulted in the survival of many of the features we see today.

Jemima installed this altar at Wrest Park in 1748. It was meant as an intellectual joke, and mystified her visitors.