By the Tabley House interns materials group – Fran Boulad, North Garms, Suah Lim and Kacey Stonnell, 2nd-year undergraduates in the department of Art History and Cultural Practices, University of Manchester
The unique heraldry of the Leicester Warren family permeates the material collection and decorative scheme of Tabley House. One of the most striking components of the Leicester crest, a bleeding swan, is of particular interest, with its origins rooted in mythology stretching back to the Middle Ages.
Noticing this bleeding swan as you walk through Tabley House is unavoidable. During Leicester’s occupancy of Tabley alone, the emblem has undergone multiple interpretations and representations. These representations surround you on all sorts of objects, from door stoppers and fireplaces to stained glass and pillowcases. Historically, the motif of a noble bird wounded in self-sacrifice has long been associated with the Leicester name, with filial piety, and with Christ.
When we asked the Head of Collections Tabley what the meaning of this bleeding swan was, Anna said it possibly came from stories of swans self-cannibalising. The swans do this only if they do not have enough food to feed their young. From this story, we began our research, and we found that this story originates from pelicans within mediaeval bestiaries. Within bestiaries, a mother pelican strikes her young in retaliation to their attacks; however, three days later, she regrets her actions and revives them with her own blood.
This violent origin is even further separated in later years when the swan comes to represent the boys’ school that Tabley House became, and even further still when just a simple uninjured swan becomes the logo for the current care home on the grounds of Tabley.
The images of the bleeding Tabley swans, in association with the self-vulning pelican, suggest a sacrifice of the self for the family through the older generations’ self-martyrdom for the sake of newer generations. These representations of linear generational progress may, at first glance, appear to symbolise a defensive protection of the family – yet a closer examination of the various predacious depictions of the swan in the Leicester Warren emblem will reveal an inherent aggression in the notions of family preservation. The features of the swan are sharpened, its curves angulated into the serpentine; it is at once provider, defender and victor. The swan reflected the aristocratic power of the Leicester Warrens, as well as the proud military history of the men of the family. The 1948 acquisition of Tabley by the Victoria University of Manchester, in accordance with the will of John Byrne Leicester Warren, saw Tabley House repurposed into a boarding school. The subsequent succession of the bleeding swan ensured its symbolic evolution from family sacrifice, encouraging filial piety and honour, into educational sacrifice to foster academic discipline in Tabley’s students.
A painted and gilded wooden chimney-piece originating from the Old Hall contains the recurring emblem seen atop the coat of arms, central in the chimney-piece. Surrounding the swan and the coat of arms are caryatids, which are the female figures incorporated as support for the entablature of the piece. Those nude supports frame the figures of Lucretia and Cleopatra featured in the niches. Consequently, these figures take on an allegorical function in the chimney-piece, functioning as symbols for the suicide of heroines. The overt reference to their suicide is emphasised by the female nude above their heads, lying on a skull and holding an hourglass.
The depiction of these tragic heroines may intend to reflect the sacrifices the women of Tabley made. The narrative introduced by this chimney-piece is continued in the entrance hall, which features the story of a ‘reluctant bride’ through relief sculpture. Perhaps this was fitting to be featured in Tabley, as the women of Tabley felt so devoted to their home that they rarely wished to leave.
As well as its heraldic depictions, the swan also takes domestic and functional forms at Tabley. As a cast iron door stopper, for example, the swan appears at once mundane but still bites at its neck in an allusion to its very visceral self-sacrifice. Playing upon the association of swans with the feather, the quill, and the written word, the Tabley emblem is also materialised in creamware porcelain as a pen holder. Aside from its decorative appeal, the holder represents an important reference to writing and domestic activities for the residents of Tabley, especially for women of the house, which are remarkably preserved within the collection.
Women’s sacrifice and devotion to Tabley are artistically represented throughout the house and cannot be separated from the symbolism of the bleeding swan featured in the chimney-piece. The image of the bleeding swan is grounded in maternal imagery, as the swan would feed her children by pinching herself. It can be interpreted that the women of the home, through marriage, motherhood, and family, also sacrificed themselves for Tabley.
The objects and materials at Tabley tell a story of the family that is grounded in the swan’s generational and sacrificial imagery. It is an emblem that is representative of the artistic pursuits of the family, their royal links, and their dedication to one another. Their desire to fill their home with images of the swan suggests that it was intrinsic to their identities.
Dispatches in Art History 