Wedding cake sculptural pavilion to be dismantled

A 39ft (12m) sculptural pavilion in the style of a three-tiered wedding cake could be dismantled next year after it was closed to the public.

Buckinghamshire Council said the Wedding Cake, created by sculptor Joana Vasconcelos, which is on display at Waddesdon Manor, near Aylesbury, had to be removed by 2036.

Waddesdon Manor said it had not been able to keep the Wedding Cake "open for quite as long as hoped" after faults in its ceramic tiles raised health and safety concerns.

"We are hoping to continue to showcase art in the landscape, including plans for a new contemporary sculpture trail in the grounds of Waddesdon Manor, which will open in July 2027," a spokesperson added.

Visitors were invited to explore the pavilion's tiers and balconies, but no tours have been held this year.

The project was commissioned by the Rothschild Foundation, which is responsible for the care and management of Waddesdon Manor.

The manor said the Wedding Cake brought "joy" to people who went inside it, but that "due to a variety of circumstances, it was regretfully decided that it should be dismantled".

Planning documents reveal the Rothschild Foundation wanted the sculpture removed as soon as possible because faults in its tiles and ornaments posed health and safety risks, according to Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A council officer's report said no viable solution had been identified.

In February, Buckinghamshire Council approved a change to the listed building consent, allowing the sculpture to be removed earlier than originally planned.

The condition set January 2036 as the latest date by which the Wedding Cake and its floodlights must be removed.

Under the revised consent, the enclosed area must be reinstated with soil and returned to grass within six months of the sculpture's removal.

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