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拍品專文
THE PROVENANCE
This rent audit table was purchased by Henry Duncan, 2nd Lord Aberconway for the Ante-Room to the Boardroom of John Brown & Co. at their offices at 8 The Sanctuary, Westminster, before 1950. Lord Aberconway was an MP from 1906-1922 and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the President of the Board of Trade, 1906-1908 and to the Chancellor of the Exchequer 1908-1910. He was Chairman of John Brown & Co., Tredegar Iron & Coal Ltd., Yorkshire Amalgamated Collieries Ltd. and of other firms such as English China Clays Ltd. and Lovering Pochin & Co. He was a Director of Palmer's Shipbuilding and Iron Ltd., the National Provincial Bank Ltd. and of London Assurance Ltd. among other firms.
The long family association with John Brown & Co., the Clyde shipbuilder continued as Charles Melville, the late 3rd Lord Aberconway, succeeded his father as Chairman of this distinguished firm and later as president until it was taken over by Trafalgar House in 1985. Among many great ships John Brown built the luxury ocean liners The Queen Mary, The Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Elizabeth II and the last Royal Yacht Britannia.
Family tradition recounts that after board meetings the board of John Brown would gather in the Ante-Room for drinks that were set out on this table before taking luncheon. The table was removed to Bodnant at least twenty years ago when John Brown gave up their offices at 8 The Sanctuary and was placed in the gunroom where hang many family photographs associated with John Brown and the launching of their ships.
BODNANT, DENBIGHSHIRE
The 2nd Lord Aberconway inherited Bodnant from his mother Laura, daughter of Henry Davis Pochin who bought the house and estate in 1874 and planted many of the great conifers in the Dell of the garden. Pochin was a remarkable entrepreneur and an industrial chemist of brilliance. He invented a method of clarifying rosin, the brown substance which forms the basis of soap thus enabling soap to become white. He sold the rights to this landmark invention of the 19th century and invented alum cake widely used in paper-making. China clay was the raw material for this process and for a long time the family was connected closely with that industry.
Laura was a keen gardener and entrusted to her eldest son the detailed care and development of the garden at Bodnant. The 2nd Lord Aberconway was an enthusiastic gardener, a great plantsman and a brilliant designer. He developed the garden over a period of fifty years until his death in 1953. His finest achievement was to design and supervise the construction between 1904 and 1914 of the magnificent series of terraces to the west of the house, looking towards the mountains of Snowdonia. He also embellished the terraces by removing the Pin Mill from its site in Gloucestershire and re-erecting it on the lowest terrace. He was President of the Royal Horticultural Society between 1931 and 1953.
His son, the late Charles McLaren, the 3rd Lord Aberconway, managed the Garden from 1953 to 2003. He extended the Garden at Bodnant and enhanced it in many ways. In particular, he opened up new vistas, developed new areas of the Garden and devised new planting schemes. He was President of the Royal Horticultural Society from 1961 to 1984.
This rent audit table was purchased by Henry Duncan, 2nd Lord Aberconway for the Ante-Room to the Boardroom of John Brown & Co. at their offices at 8 The Sanctuary, Westminster, before 1950. Lord Aberconway was an MP from 1906-1922 and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the President of the Board of Trade, 1906-1908 and to the Chancellor of the Exchequer 1908-1910. He was Chairman of John Brown & Co., Tredegar Iron & Coal Ltd., Yorkshire Amalgamated Collieries Ltd. and of other firms such as English China Clays Ltd. and Lovering Pochin & Co. He was a Director of Palmer's Shipbuilding and Iron Ltd., the National Provincial Bank Ltd. and of London Assurance Ltd. among other firms.
The long family association with John Brown & Co., the Clyde shipbuilder continued as Charles Melville, the late 3rd Lord Aberconway, succeeded his father as Chairman of this distinguished firm and later as president until it was taken over by Trafalgar House in 1985. Among many great ships John Brown built the luxury ocean liners The Queen Mary, The Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Elizabeth II and the last Royal Yacht Britannia.
Family tradition recounts that after board meetings the board of John Brown would gather in the Ante-Room for drinks that were set out on this table before taking luncheon. The table was removed to Bodnant at least twenty years ago when John Brown gave up their offices at 8 The Sanctuary and was placed in the gunroom where hang many family photographs associated with John Brown and the launching of their ships.
BODNANT, DENBIGHSHIRE
The 2nd Lord Aberconway inherited Bodnant from his mother Laura, daughter of Henry Davis Pochin who bought the house and estate in 1874 and planted many of the great conifers in the Dell of the garden. Pochin was a remarkable entrepreneur and an industrial chemist of brilliance. He invented a method of clarifying rosin, the brown substance which forms the basis of soap thus enabling soap to become white. He sold the rights to this landmark invention of the 19th century and invented alum cake widely used in paper-making. China clay was the raw material for this process and for a long time the family was connected closely with that industry.
Laura was a keen gardener and entrusted to her eldest son the detailed care and development of the garden at Bodnant. The 2nd Lord Aberconway was an enthusiastic gardener, a great plantsman and a brilliant designer. He developed the garden over a period of fifty years until his death in 1953. His finest achievement was to design and supervise the construction between 1904 and 1914 of the magnificent series of terraces to the west of the house, looking towards the mountains of Snowdonia. He also embellished the terraces by removing the Pin Mill from its site in Gloucestershire and re-erecting it on the lowest terrace. He was President of the Royal Horticultural Society between 1931 and 1953.
His son, the late Charles McLaren, the 3rd Lord Aberconway, managed the Garden from 1953 to 2003. He extended the Garden at Bodnant and enhanced it in many ways. In particular, he opened up new vistas, developed new areas of the Garden and devised new planting schemes. He was President of the Royal Horticultural Society from 1961 to 1984.