LY O N & T U R N B U L L
The Lingholm Collection
furniture, and the author of articles, largely for Country Life. He produced four books on the history of English furniture, the first major survey of the subject, which have been reprinted and are still of use today: The Age of Oak, The Age of Walnut, The Age of Mahogany and The Age of Satinwood. He collaborated with Ralph Edwards on The Dictionary of English Furniture (three volumes, 1924–1927), and several pieces in the present collection are illustrated in this celebrated reference work. Lord Rochdale was eventually to own four houses. Apart from Lingholm, his other homes were Beechwood in Rochdale, Old Hall in Highgate, (Lord Arundel’s old house) and Gunnerside in Swaledale. Slowly these houses began to fill with early furniture and works of art, purchased from mainly London galleries and authorities of the day, including Harold Ainsworth Peto, Sir George Donaldson, Morant & Co, Mallett & Son and, of course, Macquoid himself. All these purchases were recorded in a marvellous inventory in the possession of the current Viscount, recording dates of purchase and from whom. The inventory records furniture and works of art from the 16th and 17th centuries; oak and walnut furniture from England, France and Italy; Flemish and Italian tapestries and textiles; the celebrated collection of maiolica, some sold in London in
Beattrix Potter, her brother and friend on the terrace at Lingholm
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the 1970’s, and at Lyon & Turnbull more recently, and the remainder in the present collection. There is also rare 17th century English silver and silver-gilt and a magnificent collection of engraved glassware. Where it has been possible to identify a piece in this inventory, the information is annotated next the appropriate lot. When Lingholm was purchased, panelling was introduced into the main rooms. The dining room was fitted with a particularly spectacular carved oak fire surround, salvaged from James I’s Hunting Lodge near Southampton. In the hall, Spanish gilt-leather walls created a sumptuous and rich effect, a fitting backdrop to the Renaissance period furniture and works of art. To the side of the building, the great Stone Hall was created to show off the tapestries, again bought under the guidance of Percy Macquoid and included in the sale. The panelled walls with local slate above the door level are centred on a magnificent Italian Renaissance fireplace, purchased in Florence from Giuseppe Pacini Florence on March 20th 1903. The bay window allowed spectacular views towards the lake, taking in part of the famously planted gardens with its collection of rhododendrons. This collection of rhododendrons and azaleas, many planted in the 1920s and 1930’ are one of Lingholm’s chief glories. On acquiring the estate, Lord Rochdale created terraces and commissioned Bertram SymonsJeune to lay out the water gardens. The woods around Lingholm were – and still are – the home of red squirrels and other woodland creatures. These creatures captured the imagination of one of Lingholm’s most famous visitors, the children’s writer and illustrator, Beatrix Potter. The house was the favourite summer retreat for Potter and her family and in 1901, whilst staying there, she sent a story and picture letter about a red squirrel colony in