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Lot Essay
THE GILLOWS COMMISSION FOR WENTWORTH WOODHOUSE
Shortly prior to the historic Christie's sale in July 1998 of works of art from Wentworth Woodhouse, a discovery was made detailing payments to the renowned firm of Gillows for the suite of giltwood seat furniture supplied for the Whistlejacket Room. This magnificewnt suite comprised a set of twelve armchairs, the settees, firescreens, tables and torcheres. The set of armchairs weas sold in the Christie's sale, 'Wentworth', 8 July 1998, lot 80 (£287,500). The pair of firescreens sold as lot 81 in the same sale (£4,600). For many years Gillows had been presumed to be the maker of this suite, based upon the similarity of the chairs almost certainly supplied by the firm to Tatton Park, Cheshire, that this had been the case. The discovery of these vital documents, along with others detailing commissions for bedroom furniture in 1823, are evidence that both the 4th (d. 1833) and 5th (d. 1857) Earls Fitzwilliam were major patrons of the Gillows workshops.
The florid 'French' style of the suite derives from the furniture introduced by the architect Sir Jeffry Wyattville into Windsor Castle in the 1820s. It is significant that the taste of 1833 considered this Louis XIV-inspired style to be suitable for furnishing a room in a late Palladian idiom. Christopher Hussey wrote that 'the heavy chimneypiece might be said to represent the decadent end of the Palladian impulse and indeed the room as a whole was more opulent than inspired, furnished with massive gilt Regency pieces' (C. Hussey, English Country Houses: Early Georgian, London, 1955, p. 154). The photograph of the Whistlejacket Room, taken in 1924 (reproduced overleaf), does show the successful combination of the large scale ornament of the mid-18th century wall-decoration with the equally bold ornament on the furniture. The design of the furniture was of course intended to harmonise with the room. As early as 1813, when listing furniture to be supplied to Hackwood Park, Hampshire, Richard Gillow had written on their Memorandum: 'the form of the tables to correspond with the old furniture for the Saloon' (Hampshire RO, Bolton Papers. 11M49). The 'old furniture' was the magnificent suite of giltwood furniture designed by John Vardy for Hackwood in 1760. Though in many ways more rococo in detail than the Whistlejacket Room at Wentworth Woodhouse, this furniture was also Palladian in broad outline and Gillows and Lord Bolton conceived a similarly French harmonisation in carved rosewood rather than giltwood.
COMPARABLE SUITES BY GILLOWS
The chairs on this page represent the variations of the Wentworth suite, which were in almost every case supplied by Gillows. The armchairs from the Wentworth suite, sold in the Christie's July 1998 sale, lot 80, are illustrated top left.
By comparison, the chairs at the top right, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, were sold anonymously, Christie's London, 27 June 1985, lot 85. These chairs are identical in all but the most minor carved details to the suite supplied by Gillows in the 1820s to the new Drawing Room at Tatton Park, Cheshire, created by the architect Lewis Wyatt (d. 1853). The Drawing Room is illustrated in I. Grant, 'The Machine Age', The History of Furniture, London, 1976, p. 194. Gillows had close connections with Lewis Wyatt, and earlier with his uncle, Samuel Wyatt, and it is likely that he was involved in the design of the Tatton chairs and possibly in that of the whole group (N. Goodison and J. Hardy, 'Gillows at Tatton Park', Furniture History, 1970, pp. 1-39).
The chair at the lower left from Ickworth, Suffolk, was sold anonymously, Christie's London, 7 July 1994, lot 56, and is of the same type as the Tatton and Victoria and Albert Museum chairs. This would have been supplied to Frederick, 1st Marquess of Bristol (d.1859). although it is not known whether the chair came originally from Ickworth itself or from another house.
The chair at the lower right was sold in Christie's house sale at Sheringham Hall, Norfolk, and again, Christie's London, 18 November 1993, lot 46, and shows the origins of the Wentworth Woodhouse model in the Tatton Park chairs. Its back is that of the Tatton chairs and its legs those of Wentworth Woodhouse.
One settee is signed by Baynes and Rothwell, two of the tradesmen responsible for at least the one settee. Pencil or ink inscriptions similarly appear on various other early 19th century pieces produced by Gillows. Similarly, the set of armchairs from the suite bear various other signatures including 'Smith', 'Colbrand', 'Schofield' and 'Lees'. While there are many Baynes working as cabinet-makers in Lancaster from the late 18th century, the specific artisan cannot be identified with certainty. Thomas Walmesley Rothwell was apprenticed to Leonard Redmayne in 1824. Redmayne, who himself apprenticed to Richard Gillow, was later bookkeeper and Director of Gillows. Rothwell presumably joined Gillows by this time. (G.Beard and C. Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, p.53). Pencil or ink inscriptions similarly appear on various other early 19th century pieces produced by Gillows.
Shortly prior to the historic Christie's sale in July 1998 of works of art from Wentworth Woodhouse, a discovery was made detailing payments to the renowned firm of Gillows for the suite of giltwood seat furniture supplied for the Whistlejacket Room. This magnificewnt suite comprised a set of twelve armchairs, the settees, firescreens, tables and torcheres. The set of armchairs weas sold in the Christie's sale, 'Wentworth', 8 July 1998, lot 80 (£287,500). The pair of firescreens sold as lot 81 in the same sale (£4,600). For many years Gillows had been presumed to be the maker of this suite, based upon the similarity of the chairs almost certainly supplied by the firm to Tatton Park, Cheshire, that this had been the case. The discovery of these vital documents, along with others detailing commissions for bedroom furniture in 1823, are evidence that both the 4th (d. 1833) and 5th (d. 1857) Earls Fitzwilliam were major patrons of the Gillows workshops.
The florid 'French' style of the suite derives from the furniture introduced by the architect Sir Jeffry Wyattville into Windsor Castle in the 1820s. It is significant that the taste of 1833 considered this Louis XIV-inspired style to be suitable for furnishing a room in a late Palladian idiom. Christopher Hussey wrote that 'the heavy chimneypiece might be said to represent the decadent end of the Palladian impulse and indeed the room as a whole was more opulent than inspired, furnished with massive gilt Regency pieces' (C. Hussey, English Country Houses: Early Georgian, London, 1955, p. 154). The photograph of the Whistlejacket Room, taken in 1924 (reproduced overleaf), does show the successful combination of the large scale ornament of the mid-18th century wall-decoration with the equally bold ornament on the furniture. The design of the furniture was of course intended to harmonise with the room. As early as 1813, when listing furniture to be supplied to Hackwood Park, Hampshire, Richard Gillow had written on their Memorandum: 'the form of the tables to correspond with the old furniture for the Saloon' (Hampshire RO, Bolton Papers. 11M49). The 'old furniture' was the magnificent suite of giltwood furniture designed by John Vardy for Hackwood in 1760. Though in many ways more rococo in detail than the Whistlejacket Room at Wentworth Woodhouse, this furniture was also Palladian in broad outline and Gillows and Lord Bolton conceived a similarly French harmonisation in carved rosewood rather than giltwood.
COMPARABLE SUITES BY GILLOWS
The chairs on this page represent the variations of the Wentworth suite, which were in almost every case supplied by Gillows. The armchairs from the Wentworth suite, sold in the Christie's July 1998 sale, lot 80, are illustrated top left.
By comparison, the chairs at the top right, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, were sold anonymously, Christie's London, 27 June 1985, lot 85. These chairs are identical in all but the most minor carved details to the suite supplied by Gillows in the 1820s to the new Drawing Room at Tatton Park, Cheshire, created by the architect Lewis Wyatt (d. 1853). The Drawing Room is illustrated in I. Grant, 'The Machine Age', The History of Furniture, London, 1976, p. 194. Gillows had close connections with Lewis Wyatt, and earlier with his uncle, Samuel Wyatt, and it is likely that he was involved in the design of the Tatton chairs and possibly in that of the whole group (N. Goodison and J. Hardy, 'Gillows at Tatton Park', Furniture History, 1970, pp. 1-39).
The chair at the lower left from Ickworth, Suffolk, was sold anonymously, Christie's London, 7 July 1994, lot 56, and is of the same type as the Tatton and Victoria and Albert Museum chairs. This would have been supplied to Frederick, 1st Marquess of Bristol (d.1859). although it is not known whether the chair came originally from Ickworth itself or from another house.
The chair at the lower right was sold in Christie's house sale at Sheringham Hall, Norfolk, and again, Christie's London, 18 November 1993, lot 46, and shows the origins of the Wentworth Woodhouse model in the Tatton Park chairs. Its back is that of the Tatton chairs and its legs those of Wentworth Woodhouse.
One settee is signed by Baynes and Rothwell, two of the tradesmen responsible for at least the one settee. Pencil or ink inscriptions similarly appear on various other early 19th century pieces produced by Gillows. Similarly, the set of armchairs from the suite bear various other signatures including 'Smith', 'Colbrand', 'Schofield' and 'Lees'. While there are many Baynes working as cabinet-makers in Lancaster from the late 18th century, the specific artisan cannot be identified with certainty. Thomas Walmesley Rothwell was apprenticed to Leonard Redmayne in 1824. Redmayne, who himself apprenticed to Richard Gillow, was later bookkeeper and Director of Gillows. Rothwell presumably joined Gillows by this time. (G.Beard and C. Gilbert, Dictionary of English Furniture Makers 1660-1840, p.53). Pencil or ink inscriptions similarly appear on various other early 19th century pieces produced by Gillows.