Lot Essay
The present picture and a similar view by Knyff (Private Collection, illus; J. Harris The Artist and the Country House, no. 118, pl. 118) both relate to the engraving made by Johannes Kip after the sketches made by Knyff for the "Britannia Illustrata or Views of Serveral of the Queen's Palaces also fo the Principal Seats of the Nobility and Gentry of Great Britain".
The estate of Staunton Harold came into the Shirley family through the first marriage of Ralph Shirley to Margaret, daughter and sole heir of John de Staunton of Staunton Harold in the 15th century. In about 1700 Sir Robert Shirley, 7th Bt. and 1st Earl Ferrers, carried out alterations to the house, and it is at this stage that Knyff has painted it. From that date, one Jacobean interior remains, the Justice Room, together with a magnificent staircase and a wrought-iron balustrade. In 1763, Vice-Admiral Washington, 5th Earl Ferrers, made further alterations - to the facade, the south front with its projecting wings, and the north front, giving an overall Palladian appearance
The estate of Staunton Harold came into the Shirley family through the first marriage of Ralph Shirley to Margaret, daughter and sole heir of John de Staunton of Staunton Harold in the 15th century. In about 1700 Sir Robert Shirley, 7th Bt. and 1st Earl Ferrers, carried out alterations to the house, and it is at this stage that Knyff has painted it. From that date, one Jacobean interior remains, the Justice Room, together with a magnificent staircase and a wrought-iron balustrade. In 1763, Vice-Admiral Washington, 5th Earl Ferrers, made further alterations - to the facade, the south front with its projecting wings, and the north front, giving an overall Palladian appearance