The Georgian London Town House : Building, Collecting and Display

For every great country house of the Georgian period, there was usually also a town house. Chatsworth, for example, the home of the Devonshires, has officially been recognised as one of the country’s favourite national treasures – but most of its visitors know little of Devonshire House, which the family once owned in the capital. In part, this is because town houses were often leased, rather than being passed down through generations as country estates were. But, most crucially, many London town houses, including Devonshire House, no longer exist, having been demolished in the early twentieth century. This book seeks to place centre-stage the hugely important yet hitherto overlooked town houses of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, exploring the prime position they once occupied in the lives of families and the nation as a whole. It explores the owners, how they furnished and used these properties, and how their houses were judged by the various types of visitor who gained access. This book explores London town houses of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, considering the important position they once occupied in the lives of families, the capital, and the nation as a whole. Such buildings have not received the attention they deserve. Scholars have, to date, focused their efforts on the country houses which now form such a significant part of the heritage industry, not least because few town houses have survived. Some have left only fragmentary traces, while others have been completely destroyed and can now be recreated only on the basis of inventories and descriptive accounts. However, many of these buildings were designed or refashioned by the greatest architects of the day. They were lavishly decorated and furnished, and housed nationally – even internationally significant collections of works of art, books, manuscripts, and scientific and natural artefacts. Indeed, many owners concentrated their expenditure on and possessions in their properties in London, where they would spend large portions of the year. One section of this book looks at the processes of creation: the means by which these houses were designed, fashioned, furnished, and collections accumulated. The second focuses on subsequent display; on how these spaces were organised and their contents displayed for the benefit of the family, friends and visitors. These houses formed the backdrop to domestic lives, lavish social events, political machinations, and some even anticipated institutions such as the National Gallery in opening their doors and collections to members of the (respectable) public. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Preface Acknowledgements Illustrations Introduction Reconstructing the London Town House Inhabiting the London Town House Notes Part One Architecture, Furnishing, Decorating 1 A House Divided Sources of Evidence No 43, Parliament Street – The Political House A House Divided: Parliament Street and Cannon Row The Political Operative The Actress Public and Private The House Next Door The Wider Streetscape Great George Street Notes 2 ‘You never saw such a scene of magnificence and taste’ Rebuilding and Refurbishment The Private Rooms and Servicing of the House The State Rooms on the Ground Floor The Grand Circuit on the First Floor: ‘Rooms of taste, expense, state and parade’ The Duchess’s Private Apartment The Grand Entertainment: Clothes and Jewels Dining in Style Aftermath and Legacy Notes 3 The Refurbishment of Northumberland House The Transformation of Northumberland House: 1748–57 Northumberland House and Mid-Eighteenth-Century London Palace Construction Conclusion Appendix Architects Bricklayers Cabinet-makers Carpenters Carvers and Sculptors Chandelier Makers Coachmakers Gilders Glaziers Ironmongers Linnen Drapers Masons Painters Paviors Plasterers Plumbers Silversmiths Slaters Smith Notes 4 Town and Country Amphibeous Creatures Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland (1675–1722) Robert, 4th Earl of Sunderland (1701–29) Charles Spencer, 5th Earl of Sunderland and 3rd Duke of Marlborough (1706–58) The Hon John Spencer (1708–46) John Spencer, 1st Earl Spencer (1734–83) George John Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758–1834) Wives and Widows Conclusion Notes 5 The Regency Transformation of Burlington House, Piccadilly The Spiers Album The Stevenson Album The Caryl Barry Album and the Chesham Loan Samuel Ware’s Design and Drawing Influences Notes Part Two Buying, Collecting, Display 6 The Display and Reception of Private Picture Collections in London Town Houses, 1780–1830 Architect and New Work: Grosvenor House Internal Works: No 24, Hill Street Moving Picture Frames: No 22, St James’s Place Visibility and Accessibility Conclusion Notes 7 Superb Cabinets or Splendid Anachronisms? A ‘Great School’ of Anatomy Natural Knowledge and the Fine Arts Where the Royal Society Meets the Royal Academy Notes 8 Artist in Residence 1760: Reynolds Moves In 1792 (and Aft er) Towards 1900 (and After) 1937: The End Notes 9 The Pictures at Carlton House The Royal Town House Carlton House Building History Routes through Carlton House A Portfolio of Paintings The Picture Hang Dutch and Flemish Masters at Carlton House The Meaning of Dutch Art Conclusion Notes 10 Glitter and Fashion in the ‘ Louvre of London’ The ‘ Louvre of London’ The Gallery at Cleveland House Glitter and Fashion: Sociability at Cleveland House Looking at Art in the ‘Louvre of London’ Conclusion Notes 11 John Julius Angerstein and the Development of his Art Collection at No 100, Pall Mall, London The Pall Mall Collection in relation to Angerstein’s ‘other’ Art Collection, Interests and Investments Family, Friends, Dealers and Artists who assisted Angerstein in his Art Collecting Buying Old Masters for Pall Mall and the Shaping of the Collection The Display of the Art Collection at Pall Mall Promoting the Pall Mall Collection: Admittance of Visitors and Loans to Exhibitions The Reputation of Angerstein’s Pall Mall Art Collection Conclusion Notes Afterword The Afterlife of the London Town House – Joseph Friedman The Shifting Landscape of Scholarship and Looking Ahead – Susanna Avery-Quash Notes Select Bibliography Picture Credits Index A House Divided : Building Biographies And The Town House In Georgian London / Matthew Jenkins And Charlotte Newman -- The Display And Reception Of Private Picture Collections In London Town Houses, 1780-1830 / Susannah Brooke -- John Julius Angerstein And The Development Of His Art Collection At No. 100, Pall Mall, London / Susanna Avery-quash. Edited By Susanna Avery-quash And Kate Retford. Revised Papers Presented In Their Original Form At The Conference Animating The Georgian London Town House, March 17, 2016, National Gallery, London. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.