Burton Constable Hall - Remodelling of The House in The 1760s

Remodelling of The House in The 1760s

By the 18th century, the Great Hall must have seemed old fashioned, and a surviving design of circa 1730 suggests that Cuthbert Constable intended to completely remodel the interior. However, it appears that remodelling was not undertaken until the 1760s when his son William Constable commissioned a number of architects for designs. These included John Carr and Timothy Lightoler. (He also commissioned a design for the park from Capability Brown.) The decorative plasterwork was executed by James Henderson of York. At this time, Constable also acquired the plaster figures of Demosthenes and Hercules with Cerebus, and plaster busts of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and the Greek poetess Sappho, from the sculptor John Cheere. Above the fireplace is a carving of oak boughs and garlands of laurel leaves, crowned by the Garter Star, surrounding the armourial shield of the Constable family in scagliola by Domenico Bartoli.

The Dining Room was substantially remodelled by William Constable in the 1760s, who commissioned designs from Robert Adam, Thomas Atkinson, and Timothy Lightoler (who won the commission). The ceiling draws on contemporary interest in the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, with plasterwork by Giuseppe Cortese. The overmantel plaque of Bacchus and Ariadne riding on a panther was modelled on famous antique cameos illustrated in Pierres Antiques Gravées, published 1724 by Philip, Baron von Stosch and Bernard Picart. This room was again redecorated in the 19th century.