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Lot Essay
Bullock supplied seven beds for the main bedrooms: two '5 ft. 6 in. Bedstead of Oak with Holly mouldings cornice to fix to ceiling with Holly mouldings & patteras £15 12s' (Maroon & Buff and Pink & Buff Bedrooms), another similar, 5 ft. 9 in. wide at £16 8s (Buff & Blue Bedroom); a 4-post bedstead at £20 (Crimson Bedroom), two single wainscot beds at £6 10s each (Green Bedroom and Yellow Bedroom) and a 5 ft. field bedstead for the Best Attic at £3. In all cases, the cost of upholstery and bedding greatly exceeded that of the relatively plain cabinet work: the 4-post bed came to £121 5s 4d with its hangings of damask pattern chintz lined with yellow calico bordered with yellow scrolls and crimson fringe.
This bed, one of the two 5 ft 6 in. beds costing £15 12s each and originally with a ceiling-fixed canopy for drapes, is designed in Bullock's Grecian fashion with its headboard pilasters capped, like 'cippus' altars, with demi-paterae. Its tapered stump feet and ribboned inlay correspond to that of Bullock's pattern for 'An English Bed' issued in Ackermann's 1816 Repositor of Arts (C. Wainwright et al., George Bullock, Cabinet-Maker, London, 1988, p. 123). In his letter to M. R. Boulton, dated 13 May 1817, George Bullock says 'It is well that in arranging the furniture for Tew, I exceeded my instructions so far, as to make double instead of single Beds. I thought you might not always wish to live alone!'
This bed, one of the two 5 ft 6 in. beds costing £15 12s each and originally with a ceiling-fixed canopy for drapes, is designed in Bullock's Grecian fashion with its headboard pilasters capped, like 'cippus' altars, with demi-paterae. Its tapered stump feet and ribboned inlay correspond to that of Bullock's pattern for 'An English Bed' issued in Ackermann's 1816 Repositor of Arts (C. Wainwright et al., George Bullock, Cabinet-Maker, London, 1988, p. 123). In his letter to M. R. Boulton, dated 13 May 1817, George Bullock says 'It is well that in arranging the furniture for Tew, I exceeded my instructions so far, as to make double instead of single Beds. I thought you might not always wish to live alone!'