Dining Room
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As you walk through the double doors into the dining room the first thing you see is the huge dining table that runs down the centre of the room. When the judges were in residence this room would have been used extensively to entertain local dignitaries. There are two fires in this room because it was originally two rooms knocked into one to accomodate the judges and their guests.
Objects within the room
The following objects are located in this room:
The Drawing Room, Whittington Hall, LancashirePainting by Richard T. Lonsdale, c.1838. This is a unique record of a room furnished with pieces by Gillows of Lancaster, almost all of which can be identified in the surviving records of the company as having been made for Thomas Greene M.P. of Whittington Hall.
Although all the pieces of furniture look to be from different periods they were in fact all made in the mid 1830s but designed in different styles to give the appearance of the family having acquired them over a long period of time. |
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Arm ChairOne of the pieces made by Gillows of Lancaster in the 1830s for Thomas Greene M.P. of Whittington Hall.
The arm chair has recently been re-upholstered but this very chair can be seen in it's original condition in the painting "The Drawing Room, Whittington Hall, Lancashire", by Richard T. Lonsdale.
Gillows made a large number of pieces of furniture for Thomas Greene and we are lucky that we are able to identify the arm chair from the surviving records of this time.
Although the arm chair dates from 1835 it was made in the French style of the 1770s - the original upholstery was an aubusson tapestry of Aesops fable "The Fox and the Stork".
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Dining TableThis dining table is an original piece made specifically for the Judges' Lodgings by Gillows of Lancaster.
It has been in the Dining Room since it was made at the turn of the 18th/19th century. The whole table measures 18.5 feet with all the sections added. |
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Long-Case ClockThe clock mechanism was made by Thomas Shaw of Lancaster and the mahogany bodywork is by Gillows of Lancaster.
The brass face has applied silvered chapter ring with Roman and Arabic numerals, a silvered centre with subsidiary seconds dialand date aperture. The cast spandrels are of elaborate rococo scrollwork and there is and arched, silvered and painted dial with moon phase indicator engraved around the top - 'Thomas Shaw, Lancaster'.
Although this clock does not have a Gillows stamp, they are known to have made similar longcase clocks and it is almost identical to an illustration in Gillows' Estimate Sketch Book for 1797. |
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