BY GILLOWS

This table was supplied for the 'Breakfast Room' at Hackwood although it is not exactly clear which room this would be. It is only described as such on Gillows' Memorandum and it seems possible that the breakfast room was simply the screened-off end of the main dining-room. This is a narrower version of the well known Gillows 'Imperial' extending dining-table. Also in 1813 they supplied one to Broughton Hall, Yorkshire, at the cost of 50 guineas. Prior to this Richard Gillow had taken out a patent in 1800 for an extending dining-table, known as the 'Patent Imperial dining-table' (M. Jourdain, Regency Furniture 1795-1830, London, rev. ed., 1965, pp. 64-65, fig. 130).
Other imperial dining-tables by or attributed to Gillows were supplied for Belton House, Lincolnshire (sold in Christie's house sale, 30 April - 2 May 1984, lot 92) and Panshanger, Hertfordshire (sold Christie's London, 7 July 1994, lot 169).