Demolition and Dispersal
The Brydges lost a significant part of their fortune when the South Sea Bubble burst and their finances never recovered. Following the death of the first Duke, the very fabric of Cannons, all its contents and every fixture and fitting were auctioned to satisfy debts. A twelve-day sale began on 16 June 1747 and the sale catalogue included works by Titian, Giorgione, Raphael and Guercino. Amongst the most notable paintings were Caravaggio's Boy Bitten by a Lizard (wrongly attributed to Guercino in the catalogue) which the National Gallery, London acquired in 1986, and Nicolas Poussin's The Choice of Hercules which was purchased at the sale by Henry Hoare for Stourhead, his house in Wiltshire, where it still hangs. Of the sculptures Grinling Gibbons' carved panel The Stoning of St Stephen is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and a statue of George II attributed to John van Nost is in Golden Square.
The portico, railings and marble staircase with bronze balustrade were bought by the 4th Earl of Chesterfield for his new London home, Chesterfield House, South Audley Street, which was built in 1749 but like Cannons is no longer standing having been demolished in 1937.
The rest of the house and contents were dispersed across the country and the location of much has been lost, however some substantial elements can still be seen, including the colonnade which is in front of the National Gallery in London. Elements of the chapel, in particular stained glass windows designed by Sebastiano Ricci and made by glass painter Joshua Price and Bellucci's ceiling paintings were purchased by Thomas, Lord Foley and installed by James Gibbs in the Church of Saint Michael and All Angels, Great Witley, Worcestershire. There is a tradition that the gates were removed to Trinity College, Oxford, but this is incorrect, for the College's two sets of gates both predate the demolition of Cannons and are well documented.
The estate itself was purchased by the cabinet maker William Hallett who in 1760 built a large villa on the site which today houses the North London Collegiate School,where part of the original temple can still be seen, and is known by the modern spelling, Canons. Hallett's villa was mentioned by John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington in 1788 as being of a more appropriate size for the location than Cannons: "the situation is too near London for such display; being better suited for this present villa, sprung from the former demolition".
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