Saltram House - Development, Embellishment and Decline

Development, Embellishment and Decline

John Parker inherited the house in 1743 and along with his wealthy wife, Lady Catherine Parker, (who largely funded the remodelling), clothed the building with symmetrical Palladian facades which cover the Tudor origins of the house. The interiors of the house were given delicate touches including Rococo ceiling plasterwork in the Entrance Hall, Morning Room and Velvet Drawing Room.

John Parker the second, who was later created Lord Boringdon, succeeded his father in 1768 and a year later married Theresa Robinson. The Robinson family was of an artistic mind and advised on the embellishment of the house in the six years until Theresa's tragic early death. These six years are considered Saltram's golden age, epitomised by Joshua Reynolds' association with the house due to his close friendship with the family. The house owns ten portraits by Devon's greatest artist. Alongside Reynold's stands Robert Adam, who was approached by Lord Boringdon in 1768 to create a suite of neo-classical rooms along the east front which reaches its climax in the Saloon, perhaps the most iconic of all of Saltram House's rooms. Adam, who was the most fashionable architect and interior designer of the day, created everything from the door handles to the huge plasterwork ceiling. Not to be confined to the inside of the property, Boringdon also commissioned Nathaniel Richmond to lay out the present parkland which surrounds the house.

The third John Parker, later known as Earl of Morley inherited the house just 20 years after his father and took longer again to make any major changes to the house, however in 1819 he employed the Regency architect John Foulston to add the Entrance Porch and create the present Library out of two smaller rooms. His second wife, Frances, continued to develop the artistic legacy of the family by producing her own watercolours and Old Master copies which are on show in the house still. The Earl of Morley was ambitious and attempted to develop several industrial and engineering projects on the estate, but alas many of these were unsuccessful and the family fell heavily into debt.

Money was so short that the third Earl of Morley was forced to leave the house between 1861 and 1884, and was only able to return after selling several of the estates most valuable paintings. The family's fortunes picked up in 1926 when the 4th Earl of Morley inherited several other estates although the good times were short lived as the war brought damage from enemy bombing and eventually in 1951 the house and its contents were accepted in lieu of death duties by H.M. Treasury who transferred them to the National Trust, who remain in charge to this day.