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lennox-cover 14/7/06 11:52 am Page 1 L E N N O X L O V E L E N N O X L O V E For further information contact: Treasures from Lennoxlove Susanne Martin, General Manager Lennoxlove House Ltd, Lennoxlove Estate Office Haddington, East Lothian EH41 4NZ Home of the Duke of Hamilton Tel +44 (0) 1620 823720 Fax +44 (0) 1620 825112 Email: [email protected] Website: www.lennoxlove.com 1st to 18th August 2006 lennox-cover 14/7/06 11:52 am Page 3 Treasures from Lennoxlove 1st to 18th August 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Venue No. 73 A programme for research and cultural learning environments Lyon & Turnbull 33 Broughton Place Hamilton Palace was demolished during the 1920s, after its vast and exceptional collections had been Edinburgh dispersed in a series of sales from the 1880s onwards. EH1 3RR Formally launched at a reception in the Palace of Holyroodhouse on 3rd December 2003 by gracious permission of Her Majesty the Queen, The Virtual Telephone: 0131 557 8844 Hamilton Palace Trust has been formed to recreate the Palace in a virtual world on the Net and to reassemble as far as possible its unique collection of paintings, furniture and objets d’art which have been dispersed to become the treasures of museums around the world. The Trust will aim to set these in Exhibition Opening Times their historical and cultural contexts through a series of research projects and the publication of related archive materials. Monday to Saturday 11am – 5pm As a first step, the Trust, in co-operation with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network (SCRAN) and others, and supported by the New Opportunities Fund, has undertaken the creation of a pilot website (www.rcahms.gov.uk/) to demonstrate the scope and potential for the longer term project. The site represents a formidable body of work, including newly published research, amounting to some 190 pages with over 450 images and several thousand words of text as well as special innovatory IT features. Lennoxlove is pleased to acknowledge the The Trust is currently involved with the National Archives of Scotland in a project to publish on the Net the historical inventories from the 17th to 20th continuing support of Duck’s at Le Marche Noir as centuries of the contents of the Palace as the basis of electronic research into the dispersed collections. The long term aim is to make the inventories exclusive caterers. available in database format with links to locations, images, sale catalogues and other related archive material. As well as images of the inventories Contact details: themselves, there will be transcripts in both contemporary and modern versions. It will also be possible for the database to be added to by scholars and Lyon and Turnbull, Scotland’s oldest established auction room are now the fastest art historians, becoming an international collaborative venture. growing auction business in the UK. We are delighted to be sponsoring ‘Treasures Duck’s at Le Marche Noir from Lennoxlove’ and welcome the rare opportunity to help present the contents of 14 Eyre Place one of Scotland’s most eminent country houses to a wider audience during the Edinburgh Edinburgh Festival. EH3 5EP Further information is available at: www.vhpt.org The organisers of the exhibition would like to thank John Sibbald for curating the T: 0131 558 1608 exhibition and compiling the catalogue and Eddie Hams for catalogue design and F: 0131 556 0798 layout. The kind assistance of the Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network E: [email protected] (SCRAN) is also gratefully acknowledged. www.ducks.co.uk The Trust has charitable status and is a company limited by guarantee. Registered No. SC253452 Charity No. SC034592. Its registered office is: per Biggart Baillie, 7 Castle Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3AP Lennoxlove-pages 14/7/06 10:05 am Page 1 Welcome to the ‘Treasures from Lennoxlove’ Exhibition. I am grateful to Lyon & Turnbull for allowing us to display part of our collection during the important refurbishment project of Lennoxlove. I hope you enjoy the Exhibition and look forward to welcoming you to Lennoxlove itself when we re-open in July 2007. Lennoxlove-pages 14/7/06 10:05 am Page 2 History of Lennoxlove Lennoxlove, set among East Lothian woodlands a mile south of Haddington, is a house with a threefold interest - its historic architecture, the association of its owners with the Royal Stewarts, and its furniture and portraits. The origins of the house go back to the 1300’s. In those days it consisted of a square keep with walls up to eleven feet thick in places. It was called Lethington Tower and belonged to the Maitland family whose coat of arms is still above the front door. Prominent members of the family included John Maitland (1545-1595), Chancellor of Scotland in the reign of James VI (1567-1625) and the first Lord Thirlestane whose descendants became the Earls and later Dukes of Lauderdale. Lord Chancellor Maitland added a new wing and subsequent improvements were made by his grandson John, the 1st Duke of Lauderdale (1616-1682) including the installation of sash windows and extensive internal refurbishings. Records show that his kitchens had the most modern equipment available, ranging from mincing knives to fishpans. Lennoxlove-pages 14/7/06 10:05 am Page 3 On his death in 1682, Lethington passed to the Duke’s stepson, Lord Huntingtower who, owning other properties, decide to sell it. It was purchased by the trustees of Frances Theresa Stewart, Duchess of Richmond and Lennox, “La Belle Stewart”(1647-1702). [See exhibit no. 1.] She had left fifty thousand pounds for the purchase of a house for her nephew Alexander, Lord Blantyre, on condition that it be called “Lennox love to Blantyre.” This fanciful name, in time, was shortened to “Lennoxlove.” It remained in the ownership of the Blantyre family for almost two centuries. Successive owners raised large families, improved the estate, sometimes sat in parliament and often pursued distinguished military careers. When the 12th Lord Blantyre died in 1900, he left no male heir and the property passed to his second daughter Ellen and her husband, Sir David Baird of Newbyth. It was their son, Major William Baird, who, in 1912, commissioned the famous Scottish architect Sir Robert Lorimer to refurbish the House. Extensive restoration was undertaken to various parts of the House, including the Entrance Hall and the Oak Room. to bring colour and warmth to rooms in a land where autumn and winter seasons are prolonged. The 14th Duke and Duchess of Hamilton acquired the house in 1946 and later undertook an extensive programme of redecoration with the Today, the House is open to the public and provides an attractive help of the noted interior decorator John Fowler. Fowler’s venue for corporate entertainment, conferences, weddings, musical achievement was to conceive a scheme of decoration as a background events and other functions. For further information and illustrations of to one of Scotland’s most important collection of family portraits and Lennoxlove go to: www.lennoxlove.com Lennoxlove-pages 14/7/06 10:05 am Page 4 10. The Duchess of Lennox Cabinet This magnificent cabinet was probably produced in Antwerp in the late 17th century. Veneered in tortoiseshell and ebony it is housed in the Stewart Room which was created in the 1980s, as part of a refurbishment of the house, to display furniture and portraits directly related to the family’s Stewart connections. Like the worktable in the Petit Point Room at Lennoxlove, this is thought to have been a gift from Charles II to Frances Stewart, Duchess of Lennox and Richmond (1647-1702). Frances was born in France where her father was a physician in the household of the exiled Queen Henrietta Maria. Sent to England in 1683 by Henrietta Maria, she was appointed maid of honour to Catherine of Braganza, Queen of Charles II. Pepys describes her at the time as the greatest beauty he had ever seen. She was the model for Britannia on the early copper coins. Her portrait is the first item in this exhibition. Charles II, who is said to have first seen la belle Stewart in the apartments of his mistress Lady Castlemaine, quickly became enamoured of her; but for some time she resisted the King’s importunities, though her behaviour was far from modest and she had no aversion to scandal. She had numerous suitors, including the Duke of Buckingham and Francis Digby, son of the Earl of Bristol, whose unrequited love for her was celebrated by Dryden. Despite her marriage to the Duke of Lennox [exhibit no. 94] and the disfigurement of her beauty by small-pox in 1669, she retained her hold on the king’s affections. Her marriage to the Duke of Lennox was childless and she left £50,000 to her nephew Lord Blantyre on condition that the house bought with the legacy was to be called “Lennox love to Blantyre” which, in time, was shortened to “Lennoxlove.” Opposite: Entrance Hall Lennoxlove-pages 14/7/06 10:05 am Page 5 Bay One 1. Portrait of Frances Stewart, Duchess of Lennox 7 & 8. 18th century foldover tables. and Richmond (1647-1702). 9. Portrait of Anne, Duchess of Hamilton (1632-1716) By Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680). ‘The good Duchess Anne.’ 2. 19th century mahogany chest. By Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723). 3. Pair of early George III mahogany half moon 10. The Lennox Cabinet . tables. 11. Portrait of William Douglas, 1st Earl of Selkirk and 4 & 5.