POSSIBLY BY WRIGHT AND ELWICK, CIRCA 1765

Tabley House, located in Cheshire, England, owes its present form to architect John Carr of York (1723-1807) who was commissioned by Sir Peter Byrne Leicester (1732-1770) to re-design and expand the estate in the mid-18th century. Building began in 1761 and was completed around 1769. It was around this time that the bed was most likely supplied to Tabley by the leading Yorkshire firm of furniture makers, Wright and Elwick.

According to Christopher Hussey's article on Tabley in Country Life (21 July 1923, p.89), payments for unspecified furniture items were made in 1770 to various upholsterers, most of whom were unknown and probably of minor significance. However, one notable payee in the accounts was a 'Mr Ellick'. There is strong evidence supporting the belief that this 'Ellick' is, in fact, the Elwick of the renowned Yorkshire firm. This is not only due to the loose spelling conventions of the Georgian era and the soft 'w' in Elwick, but also because of the well-established connections between Wright and Elwick and John Carr, the architect of Tabley House. Indeed, Carr was a known supporter of the firm—Christopher Gilbert described the role that Carr played in pointing his patron John Spencer of Cannon Hall towards Wright and Elwick in 1768. Spencer's diary records Carr taking him around ‘Cobbs, Chippendale and several others of the most eminent Cabinet-Makers to consider of proper Furniture for my drawing Room’. Possibly put off by the potential cost of these eminent London makers, Spencer was steered by Carr towards Elwick, who he repeatedly refers to in further entries as ‘Mr Ellick’ (Gilbert, 'Wright and Elwick of Wakefield, 1748-1824’, Furniture History Society Journal, 1976, p.36).

Given that Wright and Elwick were the premier cabinet-makers at Tabley, it is only logical to conclude that they supplied the grandest item in the house: the bed. This conclusion is further supported by the source of inspiration for the bed’s design, which was apparently pl. XXX of the first edition (1754) and pl. XLII of the third edition (1763) of Chippendale’s Director. Both Wright and Elwick subscribed separately to Chippendale’s 1754 Director, and were heavily influenced by all of the editions. Much of the furniture attributed to them adheres quite closely to his drawings, although they were perfectly capable of innovation and the quality of their output was equal to that of any London maker.

Finally, it should be noted that the posts illustrated in Macquoid and Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture p.64, fig. 50 were not the posts sold Christie's, 16 November 1989, lot 74 but rather those in the following lot 74A. It was speculated at the time that the cornice on the present lot had been erroneously associated with a less important example in 'recent times' and that the correct ensemble of 'state' posts and cornice is as presently displayed and offered.