Portico Entrance Hall
In the September 1963 issue of the Journal of the West Yorkshire Society of Architects, Derek Linstrum described the Entrance Hall as:
“…a severely classical composition with a screen, pierced with three arches facing the entrance. The three arches and piers are decorated with grisaille paintings of military trophies and Roman soldiers. Beyond this is a vaulted inner hall. The heavy early eighteenth century door cases give a fine solidity to the room and there is great interest in the grisaille paintings of Roman soldiers and military trophies which have been cautiously ascribed to William Kent.”
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Above photographs by Tony Rigby, January 2015 |
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In the monochrome image on the left, scanned from a 1930s postcard, the quadripartite vaulting of the ceiling of the inner hall can clearly be seen. In the background is a fine Regency fireplace, described in the Country Life magazine of 1938 as:
“The fireplace, above which hangs a fine Samuel Scott of Westminster Bridge, is a composition of siena, jasper, and statuary marbles, with a charming carved relief of a pastoral scene.”
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We are also told that:
“The strips of carpeting, made up of alternate squares in blue and red and displaying the Wentworth and Beaumont crests, are interesting as showing how halls were carpeted in the early years of the last century, when stone and marble floors looked as attractive as they do today, but were not less cold and hard to the tread.”
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