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Petworth House
The Bedrooms
The Bedrooms are only open to the public on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Belzamine Bedroom
Named after a type of material that once decorated this room, the main object
of interest is the Chippendale bed of 1770, still with its original velvet
hangings. This is one of four identical beds commissioned by the Earl of Egremont.
It is said that he wanted to sleep in a familiar bed whenever he stayed in
one of his four houses, Petworth, Egremont House in London, Shortgrove in
Suffolk and Cockermouth Castle in Cumberland. The bed was japanned to match
the pattern and colour of the velvet.
On the walls are a set of four Flemish tapestries of plants and birds 'c.1670'.
The porcelain on the cabinets flanking the fireplace is Chinese famille verte
'c.1690' of the 'K'ang-Hsi' period. The Chinese lacquer cabinet dates from
'c.1700' and the pair of Chinese lacquer armchairs with ox-yoke toprails,
bent splats and Chinese foliage are mid 18th century.
The little firescreen by the chimneypiece is a William IV rosewood polescreen 'c.1835'.
Roccoco Bed in the Belzamine Bedroom
Belzamine Dressing Room
This is hung with a set of aquatints by Thomas and William Daniell of views
of India bought by the 3rd Earl of Egremont in 1807. The bed is George
IV c.1825 painted in imitation of maplewood and of a type designed to be placed
sideways to the wall, usually in an alcove.
The stained maplewood circular table by the bed is William IV, c.1835.
The lamp by the fireplace is a Chinese blue-and-white vase of the 'K'ang-Hsi
'Period, c.1690. The phoenix-head ewers and powder-blue vases on the
mantelpiece are of the same period.
Mrs Wyndham's Dressing Room
This room still retains its original wallpaper and velvet curtains by William
Morris. The mahogany half-tester bed is 'c.1840' with crewelwork hangings.
The pair of George III mahogany chairs upholstered in Morris velvet are late
18th century.
Mrs Wyndham's Bedroom
The Petworth State Bed, an English Rococo masterpiece of the 1750s, was
made for the 2nd Earl of Egremont's State Bedroom downstairs. In the 1770s,
when fashion turned against ground floor bedrooms, the 3rd Earl moved the
bed upstairs.
In 1984 the bed was exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum's 'Rococo'
exhibition and at this time it underwent some restoration. Fantasy and humour
are the hallmarks of the Rococo style. The Dowager Lady Egremont who always
slept in the bed used to keep a pet owl in her room which happily roosted
in the branches of the gold tree on top of the bed.
The ''India Cabinet'' on the carved gilt Rococo stand and Japanese lacquer
coffer beneath date from the late 17th century. The Chinese vase and jars
are of the 'K'ang-Hsi 'Period and the padouk wood writing and games table
is 'c.1740'.
Flanking the lacquer cabinet are portraits from the studio of Alan Ramsay
of King George III and Queen Charlotte. Arranged around the room are a set
of George III carved giltwood armchairs of 1760, possibly by Paul Saunders.
They are covered in silk taken from some old curtains found in the House.
Ante-Room to the Trellis Bedroom
The early Victorian mahogany washstand 'c.1840' was made for a double bedroom.
the set of Minton earthenware china consists of two large bowls and jugs,
a spongebowl, two soapdishes and a toothbrush dish. The water for washing
was brought in the metal hot-water can.
Trellis Bedroom
This room and the adjoining dressing room were redecorated in 1987 in a wallpaper copied from a bedroom in Lady
Egremont's family home in Argyll. The mahogany half-tester bed
is early Victorian 'c.1840' with a white cotton bedspread dating from
1900. the two pillars which enclose the bed are not a decorative
feature but are structural, holding the ceiling in place.
The muslin covered dressing table is made to the same design as that used
in many of the bedrooms at Petworth and is based on a painting by Zoffany
that can be seen in the Red Room. the dishes on the dressing table are from
a spode Copeland creamware pearl dessert service.
The table at the foot of the bed is a George III mahogany draughtsman's
table 'c.1770'. The portrait by de Laszlo is of Lady Leconfield and was painted
in 1913 after her marriage to the 3rd Lord Leconfield in 1911. she and her
husband lived at Petworth until his death in 1952. In 1947 Lord Leconfield
gave Petworth House and Park to the National Trust.
Trellis Dressing Room
This room is hung with a group of engravings in mahogany and maple frames.
The mahogany half-tester bed is early Victorian c.1840. The framed group of
four medals hanging to the left of the door were Lt. the Hon. William Reginald
Wyndham's, the 3rd Lord Leconfield's younger brother who was killed in the
Great War.
The Eton School House group of 1886 shows the Hon. George Wyndham, the 3rd
Lord Leconfield's older brother, who would have inherited Petworth had he
not died of typhoid at the age of 28. the photograph above the fireplace was
presented to the 2nd Lord Leconfield by the men of his troop on leaving the
regiment in 1867.
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