HE 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley is standing in the central hall of his ancestral home, studying the flagged floor. Next to him is the towering form of Sir Antony Gormley, who is overseeing the installation of 100 life-size iron figures for at Houghton Hall in Norfolk, which opens to the public on April 21. They are discussing the placement of one of the sculptures close to where they stand. It will only be visible from the waist up and, to achieve this, they must cut a hole in the floor. ‘I am slightly apprehensive,’ says Lord Cholmondeley with a smile, but he seems more excited than worried. For he is well known for commissioning sculptures by the world’s leading artists—from Dame Rachel Whiteread to James Turrell—and, although Sir Antony’s is the largest work to date to be installed at Houghton Hall, the
