Footnotes

Provenance:
Reputedly supplied to the 1st Marquess of Westminster for Eaton Hall, Cheshire
Christie's King Street, London, English Furniture, 7th July 1994, lot 129

Related Literature:
Peter N. Lindfield-Ott, Furniture History 2012, 'The Furnishing of a Gothic Fantasy, 1803-1825: Eaton Hall, Cheshire', pp. 155-180

The firm of Gillows are known to have carried out an extensive commission at Eaton Hall for the Marquess of Westminster prior to 1840. This was consistent in style with the architecture of the house which was re-built to the Gothic designs of William Porden between 1804 and 1812 . It is therefore tempting to speculate that the present overtly Gothic library desk may have been supplied for Eaton Hall simultaneous to the Gillows commission or during a later phase of the building's development.

The broad lancet arches, quatrefoils and blind tracery to the frieze panels featured here, relate closely to furniture designs by William Porden, for Robert Grosvenor, 1st Marquess of Westminster, 2nd Earl of Grosvenor (1767-1845) at Eaton Hall which are held in the 'Cheshire Archives and Local Studies' (see 'Furniture History', op. cit., pp. 160-162, figs. 7, 8 and 9). Although the majority of the furniture supplied to Eaton was dispersed in two sales in 1959 and 1992, a significant record of the furnishing at Eaton hall was made by the artist J.C. Buckler during his visits to the house between 1823 and 1825. His watercolour depictions of the interiors were later published as a series of engravings in Views of Eaton Hall in Cheshire, the seat of the Right Honourable Earl of Grosvenor, 1826. It is clear from Buckler's interior views that the most of the furniture is heavily inspired by both Porden's furniture designs and the architecture. A second phase of Gothic modifications arose at Eaton Hall after the dismissal of Porden in 1821 when Benjamin Gummow (1766-1844) took over as the supervising architect. This occasioned the requirement for more furniture to fill the extended interiors. A large amount of this was evidently supplied by John Davis of 20 Lower Brook Street, London, who invoiced Lord Grosvenor the substantial sum of £14,491 10s 6d for furniture. An extensive inventory of the furniture supplied by Davis to Grosvenor is preserved in the family archives, although the present desk does not seem to feature amongst the furnishings listed suggesting that it may well have been part of the earlier Gillows commission.

A large oak library table from the Chapter House at Chester Cathedral and with Eaton Hall provenance was sold Bonhams, London, 19 November 2014, lot 176. The tracery patterns to the drawers matches that seen on the drawers of the desk offered here. The oak library table offered previously by Bonhams relates in design to the State Bed from Eaton Hall. As such, this would align the table to John Davis's furniture commission of the 1820s. Nevertheless a tantalising reference to Library tables was made in a letter from Porden (in the Grosvenor family archive) of 7 January 1811 which included the lines 'I shall send this Evening Designs for the smaller Library Tables to stand by the fire & A design for the State Bed. The first I think will conveniently accommodate four persons for reading or writing. The second will have an appropriate effect and be rich and picturesque.' Unfortunately no designs for the bed or tables survive (see 'Furniture History', op. cit.,, pp. 170-172, fig. 19).