Adam's Country House Collections Day II - 10th October 2023

118 The architect James Wyatt (1746 - 1813 ) built or altered numerous neo-classical houses, many of which were in Ireland. Not only did he design plasterwork for the interiors but also furniture, silverware and fittings. His was a disciplined, stripped-back style based on classical principles but without the use of repetitive ornament as favoured by the Adam brothers. In 1772 he designed a grand dining room for Sir Charles Sedley 2nd Baron- et at Nuthall Temple (Nottinghamshire). This most fascinating house had been built in 1754 to the designs of Thomas Wright inspired by Palladio’s Villa Capra and was regrettably demolished in 1929. These tables were delivered in 1776 and were ensuite to a set of twelve dining chairs all of which echo the roundels in the stucco wall panels. As is the case of Robert Adam, the designs would have been executed by a leading London cabinet maker and were traditionally described as ‘Hepplewhite’. In 1916 R. Holden published a description of the con- tents of the house: “ A Pair of “Hepplewhite pier tables with inlaid work and medallions (with) the twelve Hepplewhite chairs were probably made for the room, now called the Music Room, but which was originally the dining room, and were brought (when the house was sold) with the house in 1819” and also “ The two Hepplewhite pier tables now in the north and south side of the hall were probably made for the spaces now occupied by the large cupboards”. Mrs Hepplewhite published many of Wyatts designs in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsters’ Guide (1788) so it is entirely conceivable that Holden’s description of the tables is based on fact and that they were indeed made by George Hepplewhite (d.1786) to Wyatt’s design.