A MAN who unearthed a Neoclassical bust in a garden, that was displayed in the 1800s at the Wyeside Goodrich Court mock castle, has discovered that it depicts a famous artist.

One of four, the bust found in Ross-on-Wye is of Irish painter James Barry, who lived from 1741 to 1806, and is buried in artists’ corner in St Paul’s Cathedral.

It is the work of Italian sculptorJoseph Panzetta, who created the busts in 1818 using weather-resistant Coade stone

The Neo-Gothic Goodrich Court was designed by architect Edward Blore and built in 1828 for Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick to house his collection of antiquities and armour.

It was demolished in 1950 and the only surviving remnant is the gatehouse tower standing in Pencraig beside the A40.

James Barry was born in Cork and worked in Dublin, Paris, Rome, Florence and Venice, latterly under the patronage of Edmund and William Burke.

In London, he became a member of the Royal Academy of Arts and its professor of painting having created six canvases for the Royal Society of Arts’ Great Room.

The bust has natural hair, rather than a wig, with a simple draped garment, and is based on a portrait by William Evans.

Barry died on February 22, 1806, and his body lay in state at the Society of Arts before internment in St Paul’s.

A Ross-on-Wye man, who doesn’t want to be named, explained earlier this year that he was gardening for a woman who was moving into a nursing home and told him about the bust buried in the garden, that it originated from Goodrich Court, and that he could have it.

He said cleaning it and finding out more became a passion, and it wasn’t long before the classical details started showing themselves.

On the side was the lettering Coade, London 1818, which suggested it had been created by Eleanor Coade’s team of artists using a ceramic material.

Graham added before discovering its subject: “After hours of work cleaning the bust, it’s amazing how it looks, almost as good as new.

“It could have been placed in a special niche within Goodrich Court. However, there is no obvious way to say who the bust depicts, but my guess it would be somebody important.

“I originally though it was either Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick who built Goodrich Court or its architect Edward Blore, but equally as the subject is dressed in a Neoclassical style, it could have been a historical figure.

“Despite its age and how it’s been kept over the decades, it’s in remarkably good condition, but has a smacked nose, probably as a result of falling over.”

Now after investigating, he has revealed how he chanced upon an article on Crawford Municipal Art Gallery in Cork, Ireland, and spotted an exact likeness.

He also discovered that the artist had created four busts, one of which is in St Paul’s Cathedral, one held by Crawford, and one by the Society of Arts, and now thinks he has the fourth bust.

Graham said that since the discovery, the bust no longer graces his garden and has been moved for security.