Rachel's month
I have been out and about this month with visits to Nostell Priory in Yorkshire and Royal Leamington Spa in Warwickshire. Nostell has a wonderful Palladian façade and Neo-classical interiors whilst Leamington Spa was a Georgian watering place.
I am very excited to have received an invitation to preview the new exhibition – The First Georgians - in the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. The exhibition looks at royal patronage and taste in the reigns of the first two Georges. Although this is earlier than my normal time period, it sets the scene for the entrance of George III in 1760 and should prove very interesting. I will, of course, be blogging about it in due course!
Have a Happy Easter
Rachel
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More gems about Nostell Priory
by Rachel Knowles
The first picture is of a gilt-bronze lantern, attributed to Thomas Chippendale, which hangs from the ceiling over the stairwell. Now it is lit by bulbs which fortunately don’t need changing very often, but originally it had to be lowered every day, by hand, by a person on the roof, in order to light and put out the candles. It became somewhat easier when a handle mechanism was installed but this was still operated from the roof. Not a job for anyone afraid of heights!
The second picture is significant not because of me, bundled up in lots of layers against the biting wind, but the fact that I am sitting on a genuine Chippendale chair. It was originally made for the servants and is now used by the house stewards and was very comfortable.
The third picture is of a magnificent Chippendale bedstead. I love the fact that the feet have been angled in order to make more room to get round the corner and climb into bed.
The last is a picture which hangs in the dining room. It is a ‘capriccio’ - a collage of various classical Roman ruins, including the Colosseum, which have been put together in the same painting. It was painted by Joseph Nicholls in about 1750. It must have been a great talking point for dinner guests who had been on the Grand Tour.
Text © Rachel Knowles
Photographs © Andrew Knowles
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