Enfilade

From The Furniture History Society:

Furnishing the British Country House, 1700–1900
Online Course, BIFMO-FHS, 14–16 June 2022

Restored Drawing Room at Brodsworth Hall, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, 1860s (Photo: Historic England Archive).

British and Irish Furniture Makers Online (BIFMO) is delighted to partner with the Furniture History Society (FHS) to offer an online course that looks at the evolution of the British country house from 1700 to 1900.

For two hours on three consecutive days, curators and historians will consider the furniture and designs commissioned for the interiors of specific country houses. They will touch upon the relationships between the architects and the craftsmen as well as the networks of furniture makers and the impact of the changing clientele. Over the course of these two centuries, the industrial revolution and social reform recast British society, creating new groups of wealthy property owners. By the nineteenth century the British stately home was no longer exclusively the domain of the aristocracy but a haven for the successful businessman and his family. The course speakers will consider the fashions and styles used to furnish these properties set against the backdrop of the changing role of the British country house.

The three sessions on 14th, 15th and 16th June, will be held on Zoom between noon and 14.00 GMT (7.00–9.00 EDT). All three days will be introduced by Dr Megan Aldrich who will provide an historic and stylistic context for the case studies of houses presented by the curators. These sessions will be recorded and links to the recordings will be sent to ticketholders shortly after the event.

Each day BIFMO will also offer the opportunity to participate in an additional online session in the form of a seminar where a much smaller group will be able to discuss the points raised by the presentations. These seminars will follow the course each day and will be guided by experts, who will also give further short presentations on a theme. Ticketholders for the seminars will be able to turn on their microphones and videos to fully participate in the discussion. Tickets for these seminars are available on the course Eventbrite page but must be bought in addition to the main session. Places are extremely limited and are allocated on a first come first served basis. These seminars will not be recorded.

To purchase tickets for this course and additional seminars on Eventbrite, please click here.

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Day 1: Tuesday, 14 June — Early 18th-Century Country Houses

Course
12.00  Introduction — Megan Aldrich
12.45  James Pascall in London and Temple Newsam — Tessa Murdoch
13.15  The Early Furnishing at Holkham Hall — Katherine Hardwick
13.45  Panel Discussion and Q&A

Seminar
14.20  The Country Seat: Researching the Country House: History, Architecture, and Furniture — Jeremy Musson with Adriana Turpin

Day 2: Wednesday, 15 June — Historicism and Revival in the British Country House

Course
12.00  Introduction — Megan Aldrich
12.45  Increasingly Aspirational: 18th-Century Nostell, Robert Adam and the Winn Family — Kerry Bristol
13.15  A Mid-Victorian Vision of a Comfortable Country House: The Furnishings of Brodsworth Hall by Lapworths of Bond Street — Eleanor Matthews
13.45  Panel Discussion and Q&A

Seminar
14.20  Looking at Furniture in the Context of the Country House — Peter Holmes with Adriana Turpin

Day 3: Thursday, 16 June — Tradition and Innovation: Different Approaches to Late 19th-Century Interior Design

Course
12.00  Introduction — Megan Aldrich
12.45  Furnishing the Arts and Crafts Interior: Morris & Co at Standen — Caroline Ikin
13.15  Mackintosh and the Design of Hill House — Joseph Sharples
13.45  Panel Discussion and Q&A

Seminar
14.20  Researching the Furniture Trade — Clarissa Ward with Adriana Turpin

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Megan Aldrich will introduce all three days of the course, setting out an outline for the two-hour session while providing an historical context. Dr Aldrich is a part-time tutor in the Department of Continuing Education, University of Oxford, and Hon. Editorial Secretary of the Furniture History Society. She researches aspects of antiquarian design and historicism across the areas of architecture, interiors, decorative art and design, and garden history, and has published widely in these areas. She is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and formerly Academic Director, Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London

Information about the other speakers is available here»