Classical Clayton

  THE RETURN OF THE GODS … AND THE RETURN OF THE INCE BLUNDELL MARBLES   Review of the ‘Return of the Gods’ exhibition at Liverpool World Museum   Roman marble copy of Apollo Sauroktonos ( Apollo the Lizard Slayer ) by Praxiteles (the original statue was made c 340 BC) In 1776, Henry Blundell of Ince Blundell Hall, Crosby, was invited on a trip which would change the course of his life – and provide an unexpected bonus for the people of Liverpool.   It was his friend Charles Townley, of Towneley Hall near Burnley (yes, the house does have an extra ‘e’), already a veteran of two Grand Tours, who suggested that Henry should accompany him next time he went to Italy.   Henry was fifty-two when he embarked on his first Grand Tour, which is a good reminder that this type of travel wasn’t just restricted to people in their late teens or early twenties. Charles Townley had already built up a substantial collection of ancient sculpture (his collection formed the basis of the British