Armchair thumbnail 1
Armchair thumbnail 2
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Armchair

ca. 1823 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
The red and gold upholstery of this chair is based on the original scheme, using fragments of material found on the chair and John Buckler's illustration of the drawing room published in his Views of Eaton Hall (1826). The unusual method of hanging the fabric from the back of the chair was intended to emphasise the Gothic design and to make the backs look more interesting.

Places
Eaton Hall, Cheshire, was built in 1804-1812 for Robert, 2nd Earl Grosvenor (1767-1845) by the architect William Porden (1755-1822), with additional wings of 1823-1825. (The house was altered 1846-51, rebuilt in 1870 and demolished in 1963.) The drawing room was furnished with blue and yellow curtains and a range of furniture in different versions of the Gothic style, including two of these chairs, covered in crimson velvet and red damask.

Ownership & Use
Lord Grosvenor also commissioned a simplified version of this chair for the dining room at Eaton Hall. Another set of dining chairs was ordered by Lord Berwick from the furniture makers Gillow & Co for his house, Attingham Park, Shropshire. That set, covered in blue leather and carved with vine leaves in the back, are still in the dining room at Attingham.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Armchair
  • Drop-in Seat
Materials and techniques
Gilded mahogany; modern upholstery based on the original
Brief description
mahogany, carved and gilded, with modern silk top cover and fringe; possibly designed by A.C. Pugin and made by Gillow & Co. for the Drawing Room, Eaton Hall, Cheshire, British 1822-3

From armchair, English, 1822-5, designed A.C. Pugin? for Eaton Hall
Physical description
Carved and gilded mahogany. Rectangular stuffed back with horizontal panel at the top set with a plaque of carved and gilded foliage. Open arms enclosing pierced gothic tracery and set with panels of carved and gilded gothic foliage. Moulded legs of square section. The seat rail covered with plum coloured velvet on which are applied cusped panels of mahogany, in the centre of each a carved and gilded flower. From the seat rails, at the side hand carved a gilded gothic pendentives. The chair retains its original silk damask covering, much worn and the seat and stuffed-over top rail. Silk replaced with modern silk.
Dimensions
  • Height: 94cm
  • Width: 63.5cm
  • Depth: 66cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • RS Dee Conservation Department Victoria and Albert Museum Jan 1961 (Inscription; decoration; underside of original drop-in seat frame; pencil)
  • Lawrence [CI?]osergrove June 27th 1909 (Inscription; decoration; underside of original drop-in seat frame; pencil)
Gallery label
(pre October 2000)
ARM-CHAIR
ENGLISH; 1822-1825
Mahogany, parcel gilt with modern upholstery

Design attributed to Augustus Charles Pugin (1769-1832)
Maker unknown

Designed for Eaton Hall, the Cheshire seat of the Duke of Westminster, one of the grandest Gothic Revival houses in England. The first part of Eaton was built 1804-1812 to the designs of William Porden (1755-1822); sizeable additions were made in 1822-1825 to the designs of Benjamin Gummow (active 1799-1831).
(1996)
Probably designed by August Charles Pugin (1769-1832) for Eaton Hall, Cheshire
Mahogany, gilded; modern upholstery
One of a set of eight armchairs designed for the drawing room at Eaton Hall, Cheshire, a very large Gothic Revival house built for the Duke of Westminster. A.C. Pugin as draughtsman and teacher, was the faterh fo A.W.N. Pugin (1815-52), the Gothic Revival architect.
(1996)
Draft label
One of a set of eight armchairs designed for the drawing-room at Eaton Hall, Cheshire, a very large Gothic Revival house built for the Duke of Westminster. A.C. Pugin, a draughtsman and teacher, was the father of A.W.N. Pugin (1815-52), the Gothic Revival architect. The chairs may have been made by Gillow & Co. of Lancaster and London who worked at Attingham Park, Shropshire, where there are similar chairs in the dining-room.
(27/03/2003)
This chair is from Eaton Hall, Cheshire, one of the largest and most extravagant Gothic Revival houses of the early 19th century. Its interiors mixed classical forms with Gothic ornament, leading one critic to comment on the 'shapeless tables and chairs, which most incongruously affected to imitate architectural ornaments'.
Credit line
Purchased with a bequest from Mrs Blanche Redburn Clayton
Object history
One of a set of gothic chairs commissioned by the 2nd Earl Grosvenor for the Drawing Room at Eaton Hall, Cheshire. Probably designed by Augustus Charles Pugin (born in Paris, 1769, died in London, 1832); made by Gillow & Co. in Lancaster or London.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Object Type
The red and gold upholstery of this chair is based on the original scheme, using fragments of material found on the chair and John Buckler's illustration of the drawing room published in his Views of Eaton Hall (1826). The unusual method of hanging the fabric from the back of the chair was intended to emphasise the Gothic design and to make the backs look more interesting.

Places
Eaton Hall, Cheshire, was built in 1804-1812 for Robert, 2nd Earl Grosvenor (1767-1845) by the architect William Porden (1755-1822), with additional wings of 1823-1825. (The house was altered 1846-51, rebuilt in 1870 and demolished in 1963.) The drawing room was furnished with blue and yellow curtains and a range of furniture in different versions of the Gothic style, including two of these chairs, covered in crimson velvet and red damask.

Ownership & Use
Lord Grosvenor also commissioned a simplified version of this chair for the dining room at Eaton Hall. Another set of dining chairs was ordered by Lord Berwick from the furniture makers Gillow & Co for his house, Attingham Park, Shropshire. That set, covered in blue leather and carved with vine leaves in the back, are still in the dining room at Attingham.

Bibliographic references
  • Peter Lindfield-Ott, 'Furnishing a Gothic Fantasy 1803-1825; Eaton Hall, Cheshire', Furniture History, vol. XLVIII (2012), pp.155-180, illustrated p.166, fig.14. Peter N. Lindfield, 'William Porden's State Bed for Eaton Hall, Cheshire', Regional Furniture, vol. XXXI (2017), pp.1-10.
  • Jonathan Meyer, The Intelligent Layman's Book of British Furniture 1600-2000'. London, The Intelligent Layman Publisher Ltd, 2005, pp. 104-185, ill. pp. 145 and 146
Collection
Accession number
W.22:1& 2-1959

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Record createdJanuary 25, 2001
Record URL
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