May 2009

King George III and the Royal Collections

At the May lecture of the Farnham Decorative and Fine Arts Society, Oliver Everett, Librarian Emeritus to the Royal Library at Windsor Castle gave a talk to members on “King George III and the Royal Collections”.    Mr Everett began speaking of the connection between NADFAS and the Royal Castle remembering the fire in November 1992 when he was asked to evacuate the 42,000 books in the Library and once the fire was contained the books had to be put back; they were not damaged but dirty and had to be cleaned.   This was a huge task and he was greatly indebted to the 90 NADFAS conservators who helped clean the books.

George III who is largely remembered for his madness and losing the American colonies was misjudged.   Today his illness would have been diagnosed better and he was in fact a friend of America believing that an independent US was preferable for the UK than being a colony.   George III was a patron of art, a collector of art and books, an advocate of architecture and agriculture and a family man.   

In 1755 a tutor was appointed for the Prince of Wales, Lord Bute, who was a friend of George’s father.   Lord Bute had great influence and Oliver Everett amusingly got audience participation each time Lord Bute’s influence was raised, such as recommending the artist to paint the formal portrait on George III’s accession to the throne in 1760, scripting the Accession speech and choosing a suitable bride for the King, Princess Charlotte of Germany.   The magnificent gold state coach designed by Sir William Chambers and carved by sculptor Joseph Wilton, who was also recommended by Lord Bute.

George III was a clever man; he had a wonderful library in Buckingham House which his son was later to donate to the British Library.   His patronage of the arts included proposing and sponsoring the Royal Academy and Somerset House was the Headquarters with Sir Joshua Reynolds as President.   He loved history painting, collecting maps, watercolours and military maps.   There were many paintings of his family; they had 15 children but two died young, leaving 6 daughters and 7 sons.   Certainly King George III’s many objects form a most important part of the present Royal Collection.

In 1811 George III had a last bout of porphyria and was locked up in Windsor for 9 years until his death in 1820.   Oliver Everett gave an informative and amusing talk on a subject dear to his heart.

Chairman, Peter Duffy reminded members of the forthcoming visit to Hatfield House on 16 July and bookings are being taken for the event.

Photo Graham Parlett

Visit to Tyntesfield 26 May 2009

Tyntesfield, pronounced Tintesfield or even ‘Tint ess field’, by some of the local population has long been on my ‘must visit’ list so, when Jeanne Stow of Farnham DFAS organised a trip there, I was immediately in the queue with cheque book in hand.

Was it worth the wait and three hour coach journey?  Well, yes and no.  On the ‘no’ side:  scant refreshment facilities and loos; a very long, steep and gravelly walk to the house from the car park  - not fun in the rain especially when coping with a pushchair; the house is in the midst of a major re-fit.

On the ‘yes’ side:   one of the best plant sales areas ever (many went home clutching beautifully grown treasures); the surrounding landscape is stunning since many specialist gardens are scattered throughout  the estate.  Unfortunately time, not to mention torrential rain, precluded visits. 

At first sight the scaffolding shrouded house and the gloomy hall provoked an equal sense of gloom.  However, as the first steward I spoke to said ‘It grows on you’.  And it did.  The plasma screens in each room helped as they showed how the rooms looked before the curtains were taken down, the furniture wrapped in sheets and the carpets rolled up.  Best of all, though, was the warmth and erudition of the stewards.  From them I learned that the Gibbs family, which had owned Tyntesfield, were deeply religious and devoted Oxford Tractists –  a sect of the Church of England which promoted very high practices.  This in turn led to the commissioning of a Mr. Norton, who was known for his ecclesiastical buildings, to transform the modest Georgian building into the Victorian Gothic house it is today complete with church-like vaulted ceilings and carved panelling.  There was even an oratory where the family and staff gathered for religious services twice a day.

Indeed, since 1843 when the Gibbs first bought Tyntesfield , each generation has added (or subtracted from it) so that it has become of microcosm of life through the ages up to 200l when the last Baron Wraxall died.  And that is what tempted the National Trust to take it on when the house and all its contents went up for auction.  All 40,000 objects found in the house – ranging from a 1960’s carrier bag to priceless Japanese porcelain is being photographed, catalogued and put on computer.  Just by moving furniture treasures were revealed.  An airtight box holding many fans here – and there a William Morris stencilled wall-covering  hidden behind panels of Italianate wallpaper dating from re-decoration in 1908.  So much to see and ask about and I, for one, can’t wait to see Tyntesfield back to its former glory.

Copy and pictures by Vicky Jackson