During 2018 we are celebrating Thomas Chippendale and his legacy as widely as possible, both by encouraging greater public awareness of his genius and the glories of 18th century craftsmanship, and by demonstrating how the same spirit animates today’s designers and makers.
The Chippendale 300 partnership
The institutions and historic houses below have joined together to create a programme of exhibitions and events to celebrate Thomas Chippendale's tercentenary. For information on each, hover over the picture links and click or tap to go to their websites.
Burton Constable Hall’s important Chippendale furniture collection was made for William Constable in the 1770s. Working with both local and London craftsmen, Chippendale supplied furnishings for Constable’s London and Yorkshire houses. There is also an important archive of bills and original drawings.
The Chippendale Society, founded in 1965, is a charity devoted to studying and promoting interest in the life and work of Thomas Chippendale senior and junior. Its small but highly important collection of Chippendale furniture, designs, documents and ephemera are kept at Temple Newsam House, Leeds.
Dumfries House holds the most complete and important collection of Chippendale furniture from the late 1750s and 1760s. Designed by Robert Adam, and furnished by Chippendale and several leading Scottish furniture makers, it is managed by a charitable trust and is open to the public.
Firle Place, Sussex, owned by the Gage family since the 16th century, contains furniture made by Chippendale for the 1st Viscount Melbourne including the ‘Panshanger Cabinets’, which are among the finest neo-Classical pieces made in England.
The Furniture History Society is the world’s leading charity for the academic study of historic furniture. Since its foundation in 1965, members have been at the forefront of Chippendale research. In 2018, the Society will run a programme of visits, study days, seminars, publications and other events.
Harewood House, probably Chippendale’s most expensive and extensive commission, occupied his firm from 1767 to 1778. Supported by extensive documentation, Harewood has the largest collection of Chippendale’s neo-Classical furniture, housed in magnificent rooms by Robert Adam.
Leeds Museums and Galleries’ furniture collections, housed at Temple Newsam House and Lotherton Hall, are designated as being of national importance. They include significant documented Chippendale furniture such as the Harewood Library Writing Table.
The Master Carvers’ Association, founded in 1897, is the only body in the UK that represents professional wood and stone carvers. Membership is gained by peer review ensuring that members are recognised as masters of their crafts both in period and innovative design.
The legacy of Chippendale at The Met extends over the course of the last century. In 1918, the Museum purchased the George S. Palmer collection which included a now famous Philadelphia high chest that incorporated exact quotations from printed designs by Chippendale. From that point forward, The Met’s collection has grown and includes rare drawings by this gifted and imaginative designer.
Photo by Floto + Warner.
Newby Hall was modernised in the 1770s by William Weddell with furnishings by Chippendale senior and junior. Its magnificent Tapestry Room contains unique chairs and sofas covered in their original Gobelins upholstery. Other Chippendale pieces include marquetry tables, beds and bedroom furniture, and an important dining room suite.
The National Trust’s most significant collection of Chippendale furniture is at Nostell, where Chippendale furnished the whole house. His bills and correspondence give a unique insight into the master-craftsman relationship. Chippendale furniture can also be seen at other National Trust properties, including Saltram, Petworth Osterley, Anglesey Abbey.
Paxton House, Berwickshire was furnished by Chippendale senior and junior between 1774 and 1791 ‘in a neat but not an expensive manner’. Paxton’s Chippendale furniture and that by William Trotter was recently Recognised as a Nationally Significant Collection. The Dining Room and Drawing Room, almost untouched since the 18th century, perfectly express the distinctive ‘Paxton Style’.
Otley, the West Yorkshire market town that bridges Leeds and the Yorkshire Dales, is Thomas Chippendale's birthplace. Points of interest include the church where he was baptised, one of his first homes and the Old Grammar School where he gained his early education: this has a statue in his honour.
Weston Park, Shropshire, home to the Earls of Bradford, was lavishly re-furnished by Sir Henry Bridgeman in the 1760s. Main attractions are the magnificent Gobelins Tapestry Room and many fine English and French pieces, including mahogany armchairs attributed to Chippendale.
