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Seventeenth‐century English sculpture is often described as 'artisan mannerist' in character. The term implies that native craftsmen (artisans rather than artists) felt the influence of the classical ideals of the Renaissance, but that they were capable of producing only an inferior version of continental Mannerist originals. This article reconstructs and deconstructs a bawdy fountain at Bolsover Castle in Derbyshire, exploring both its classical and its native influences, and showing that the so‐called 'artisan mannerist' style had a social function that could be the result of a deliberate choice by a patron. The fountain's patron William Cavendish (first Duke of Newcastle, 1595‐1676), was informed and sophisticated, well aware of Renaissance sculpture of Giambologna and others available in Italy. Yet British influences such as references to his family property in Northumberland also appear is his fountain and in other figurative sculptures at he new‐built Castle at Bolsover. Furthermore, the icono‐graphic references to lewd behaviour and the fountain's possible use as a recreational swimming pool can be read as a justification to his household of his personal interests and amorous behaviour, just as much as its classical features indicate his knowledge of classicism to visiting social equals. Far from being a debased version of Italian Renaissance styles, then, the British 'artisan mannerist' style could have positive, local meanings in the British Midlands.

This article interrogates the court's reputation as ‘the residence of dullness’ to reveal a multivalent emotional space with a practised grammar of emotional concealment and display. The performance of emotions by the royal family and courtiers in the State Apartments acted as a powerful draw to court events, as the display of joy or cheer acquired national significance. Under such scrutiny the king and his courtiers routinely limited displays of grief or pain to more restricted spaces such as the closet. The article analyses the court as a unique micro‐community in order to recreate the emotional character of London's palaces.

How did the restrictions imposed by eighteenth-century society help and hinder women in their fulfilment of the role of architectural patron? This article will examine the case of Henrietta Cavendish Holies Harley, second Countess of Oxford and Mortimer (1694–1755), and patron of the remarkable remodelling of Welbeck Abbey in Nottinghamshire.