IN August 1778, Mrs Philip Lybbe Powys, née Caroline Girle (1738–1817), visited Ditchley Park and wrote in her journal that: ‘A bed-chamber with hangings, bed, and furniture of crimson and yellow velvet is shown as a great curiosity, but I think ugly. The pattern is all pagoda.’ Echoing the words of the housekeeper who had conducted the tour, she added: ‘It [the velvet] was a present of Admiral Lee, my Lord’s brother, who had taken it taken out of the loom in China, and the loom broke that no one else might have the same.’
Lybbe Powys’s critical comment on the design was hardly surprising in an age when the delicate patterns of neo-Classicism had superseded the bold colours and curvaceous lines of the Rococo. She was viewing a room furnished in about 1740 that was still—as we know from an inventory of 1772 —complete with wall hang- ings, a bed with mahogany posts, two festoon window curtains, five maho- gany armchairs and two stools. All were hung or covered with ‘Rich figured Genoa Velvet’, a cut and uncut patterned velvet on a satin ground. As John Cornforth has observed, ‘the effect must have been overpowering’.
Ditchley Park is well known to readers of COUNTRY LIFE, the house having been the subject of numerous articles since the first one was published on October 22, 1904. It is, therefore, fitting that new analysis, prompted by the recent conservation of the velvet wall hangings by Zenzie Tinker Conservation, should be recorded in these pages.
This story is from the October 04, 2023 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 04, 2023 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
