George Brodrick, 4th Viscount Midleton (d. 1836) for Peper Harow, Surrey, and by descent to; Lady Moyra Loyd, née Brodrick, daughter of the 1st Earl of Midleton and by descent;
The Property of a Family Trust; Christie's London, 21 April 1994, lots 304-306;
With Jonathan Harris, London
Literature
H. A. Tipping, 'Peper Harow, Surrey', Country Life, 26 December 1925, p. 1005, fig. 5 (illustrated in situ in the Hall)
H. A. Tipping, English Homes, Period VI, vol. I, p. 279, fig. 439 (illustrated in situ in the Hall)
C. Hussey, English Country Houses, Mid-Georgian 1760-1800 (London 1956), p. 111, fig. 205 (illustrated in situ in the Hall)
J. Harris, Sir William Chambers, London 1970, pl. 88 (illustrated in situ in the Hall)
H. Roberts and C. Cator, Industry and Ingenuity: The Partnership of William Ince and John Mayhew (London 2022), pp.253-4, fig. 300
A set of four George III mahogany hall chairs attributed to Mayhew & Ince and possibly carved by Sefferin Alken, the oval backs carved with raidating fluting centered by a painted panel with the Viscount's coronet and crest above dished seats and a fluted and roundel carved frieze, standing on square tapering fluted legs
These hall chairs were originally located at Peper Harow, the seat of the Viscounts Midleton in Surrey. An 1851 inventory of the mansion by Farebrother, Clark & Lye of London recorded them as: "A Pair of Mahogany Hall Chairs with crest emblazoned on panels" in the "Inner Hall," and "6 Mahogany Hall Chairs with Crest emblazoned on white panels" in the "Entrance Hall and Portico." Photographs of part of the set were featured in Country Life magazine in 1925 and 1956.
George Brodrick, 4th Viscount Midleton (1754-1836), inherited the title and estates in England and Ireland upon his father's death in 1765 when he was just eleven years old. His father, the 3rd Viscount (1730-65), had commissioned the esteemed Scottish-Swedish architect William Chambers (1723-96) to design a new house at Peper Harow only five months before his death. Despite George's young age, the construction continued under the supervision of his mother, Albinia, and was completed after he came of age in 1775, with the furnishing finalized by 1777 under Chambers’s ongoing supervision.
Chambers naturally turned to his preferred furniture makers, the renowned London firm of John Mayhew (1736-1811) and William Ince (1737-1834), who were leading advocates of neo-classicism. The Peper Harow chairs can be compared to a nearly identical set of eight painted chairs at Broadlands, Hampshire. Though no specific bills survive for the Broadlands furniture, these chairs are part of a broader collection attributed to Mayhew and Ince and were listed in a household inventory of 1786.
Both sets share distinctive features, including roundels and fluted seat rails. Mayhew and Ince had previously collaborated with Chambers on various projects, including the late 1760s refurbishment at Blenheim Palace for the 4th Duke of Marlborough.
The carving on the Peper Harow chairs was almost certainly done by Sefferin Alken, a specialist carver who worked extensively with London’s top cabinet-making firms. Alken had also worked with Chambers on notable projects such as the medal cabinet for the 1st Earl of Charlemont and various pieces for Blenheim Palace. Chambers, who prided himself on being "really a Very pretty Connoisseur in furniture," was known for closely supervising the decorative aspects of his projects and often acted as paymaster, which may explain the direct payments to Alken for work at Peper Harow despite Mayhew and Ince’s involvement.