History

Brodsworth Hall Collection Highlights

Many of the objects at Brodsworth Hall today were among its original furnishings in the 1860s. Together with the house and gardens, the collections illustrate vividly how one family set up a new country house. There are heirlooms from the families of both Charles Sabine Thellusson and his wife, Georgiana. They include 18th- and 19th-century family portraits, Dutch old masters, paintings of racehorses, books, and mahogany and gilt furniture.

The Thellussons also bought carpets, curtains and furniture from Lapworth Brothers of London and an impressive group of contemporary Italian marble sculpture.

The survival of many of these items and others accumulated over the years was a major reason why English Heritage saved the property in 1990. The National Heritage Memorial Fund purchased most of the collections and transferred them to English Heritage. The interiors and collections have been conserved as they were found – as far as possible – rather than restored. They are a fragile evocation of both the taste of the 1860s and the struggle to live in such a house in changing times.

Giuseppe Lazzerini - Instruction (or Education)

Instruction (or Education)

  • Date: 1864-65
  • Type: Sculpture
  • Material: Marble
  • Place Made/Found: Carrara, Italy
  • Artist: Giuseppe Lazzerini

This is one of the largest of the 25 mainly Italian sculptures bought by Charles Thellusson from the Dublin International Exhibition of 1865, and one of three signed by Lazzarini. A young girl helps a little boy to read. Both are intent on a scroll in her lap and his hands are clasped reverentially. The sculpture, placed opposite the front door, would have created an instructive first impression for visitors to Brodsworth.



Haydock’s Horse

Haydock’s Horse

  • Date: c.1912
  • Type: Exercise Horse
  • Material: Wood, iron, leather, hessian
  • Place Made/Found: London
  • Artist: Spencer, Heath & George Ltd.

This unusual horse was used for taking indoor exercise. The interior of the body contains springs, to mimic the movements of a real horse. It would have been bolted to the floor to stop the rider from falling off. The horse was invented by Dr Haydock Wilbe in 1912 and became known as 'Haydock's Horse'. This one was probably bought by Charles or Augustus Thellusson to keep fit as they grew older.



Nicolas de Largillière - Madame Isaac de Thellusson, née Sarah le Boullenger

Madame Isaac de Thellusson, née Sarah le Boullenger

  • Date: 1725
  • Type: Painting
  • Material: Oil on canvas
  • Place Made/Found: France
  • Artist: Nicolas de Largillière

Largillière, a leading French portrait painter, presents Madame de Thellusson in a confident pose and rich costume. She married Isaac de Thellusson, from a family of bankers, in 1722. One of their sons, Peter, settled in London and became wealthy enough to buy the Brodsworth estate. This portrait hangs in the library and reflects the source of the Thellusson fortune, which enabled Peter's great-grandson to build the present hall.



Folding Bed

Folding Bed

  • Date: Late 19th Century
  • Type: Furniture
  • Material: Pine, string, canvas
  • Place Made/Found: England

The service wing of a country house accommodated both resident servants and those of guests. Folding or 'metamorphic' beds developed when sleeping space was at a premium. This rare survival was probably part of sleeping arrangements for visiting servants at Brodsworth. The doors and hinged top of the grained pine cupboard open to reveal a folding wooden bed which could be disguised when not in use.



Wheelbarrow and Spade

Wheelbarrow and Spade

  • Date: 1905
  • Type: Wheelbarrow and spade
  • Material: Ebonised wood, silver

Charles Thellusson (1860-1919) used this commemorative wheelbarrow and spade to turn the first sod at the opening of Brodsworth Main Colliery on 23 October 1905. The wheelbarrow features silver plaques with the Thellusson greyhound crest and the family motto 'Labore et honore' (through work and honour). Charles granted mineral rights to the colliery company, leased land for the building of the model village of Woodlands for the miners, and paid for a new church to be built.



Chair Cover

Chair Cover

  • Date: 1862-63
  • Type: Chair cover
  • Material: Chintz (glazed cotton)
  • Place Made/Found: England
  • Artist: Lapworth Brothers of London

The loose covers for the gilt seat furniture in the drawing room and South Hall were almost as smart as the silk upholstery they were made to protect. Lapworths made two sets of chintz covers for these rooms. This block-printed design with magnolias, called 'The Favourite', was probably intended for spring and summer use. Furnishing textiles in many different designs from the 1860s to the mid-20th century were found at Brodsworth.



Piano

Piano

  • Date: 1855
  • Type: Piano
  • Material: Rosewood, iron, ivory
  • Place Made/Found: London
  • Artist: John Broadwood & Sons
  • Lender: Given by private donation

This iron-framed piano was bought by Charles Sabine Thellusson, who later transported it by rail to Doncaster to take pride of place in the drawing room of his newly built house. In 1946 it was sold at auction and was seemingly lost forever. In 2002 it was given back to Brodsworth Hall by a local resident, though, and is once again on display, after an absence of 56 years.



Axminster

Axminster

  • Date: 1862-63
  • Type: Carpet
  • Material: Wool, linen
  • Place Made/Found: Wilton, Wiltshire
  • Artist: Lapworth Brothers of London

Lapworths, then owners of the Wilton carpet factory, supplied high-quality hand-knotted Axminsters for all the main rooms at Brodsworth. The elaborate design, vibrant colours and sheer size (over 10 metres long) of the drawing room carpet made it the most expensive, at £367 and 10s . It was made in two main sections to fit the plan of the room, and described in Lapworths' bill as 'Extra Superfine Real Axminster Carpets to special Design, Italian scrolls ornament and flowers'.



James Ward - Walton

Walton

  • Date: 1812
  • Type: Painting
  • Material: Oil on canvas
  • Place Made/Found: England
  • Artist: James Ward

This unusually dramatic portrayal of a successful racehorse by James Ward is one of a group of his paintings at Brodsworth Hall which come from Georgiana Thellusson's side of the family. Her grandfather John Theobald built up a racing stud in the early 19th century. He and his son William may both have bought the paintings of horses by Ward and other artists which now hang at the hall.



Card Table

Card Table

  • Date: 1820-30
  • Type: Card table
  • Material: Rosewood, brass
  • Place Made/Found: London
  • Artist: Seddon

This is one of a pair of card tables now in Brodsworth's drawing room that bear the paper label of T&G Seddon of Aldersgate Street, London. Among the furniture at Brodsworth dating from before the 1860s, there are nine pieces with Seddon labels. Seddon was one of the largest furniture-making firms of the late 18th and early 19th centuries but relatively few pieces with their labels are known.



Bird Specimen

Bird Specimen

  • Date: c.1865
  • Type: Bird specimen
  • Material: Wood, organic
  • Place Made/Found: Doncaster
  • Artist: JT Storrs

This oriental silver pheasant specimen was created by JT Storrs of No. 6, Silver Street, Doncaster. It is one of a collection of late 19th-century specimens at Brodsworth made by local taxidermists, including C Helstrip and Edward Allen & Co., both of York. The collection was previously on display throughout the house, but most of it was gathered for storage in the lathe room in the 1930s because the last resident of Brodsworth Hall, Sylvia Grant-Dalton, did not like taxidermy.



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