2223

2223 The Saloon was formed with the roofing- over of the inner courtyard of the Elizabethan house, byDorothy, widow of the First Earl of Sunderland, in circa 1662. She was also responsible for the installation of the imposing staircase. Although of simple construction, it is without compare for its size and age. Pevsner refers to its ' unique monumentality'. An earlier guest, Count LorenzoMagolotti praised it in 1661 for being ' constructed with great magnificence'. Made of oak, it had at first been stained to resemble walnut. Holland had it painted white, when he added the gallery balustrades, but the wood was stripped back at the turn of this century. The stairs are covered in acarpet bought bythe Fourth EarlSpencer, from Smyrna ( modern Ishmir). The present layout dates from the end of the last century, the area enlarged and the fireplace put in. MacVicar Anderson, the architect in charge, also fashioned the existing coving to reflect that in the Wootton Hall. Clustered over the fireplace are pictures of various Spencer- Churchills, and the First Duke of Marlborough. Directly above the mantelpiece is the Honourable John Spencer, grandson and heir of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough by George Knapton, surveyor of pictures to George III. The Third Earl Spencer is by George Hayter. Of recent generations, the ever- immaculate Sixth Earlis shown as captured by Sir William Orpen: and the Seventh Earl is seen in an uncomfortable portrait by Augustus John. On the ground floor are ranged portraits of Queen Anne and her husband, George of Denmark, and courtiersand statesmen byvarious English and continental masters, including Sir Godfrey Kneller, Wissing and Jean- Baptiste Van Loo. Among the display items is the clock at the top of the staircase. In a Boulle and ormolu case, this Louis XIV piece arrived through Georgiana, first wife of the Fourth Earl, her inheritance owed something to luck, however. She was a co- heiress to her father, William S. Poyntz, while her mother, Elizabeth Browne, was sole heiress in turn to Viscount Montagu of Cowdray. The clock came from Cowdray, and was valued at £ 10 when it came to Althorp in 1840. The chimneypiece was brought in 1926 from the dining room at Spencer House. Downstairs, also on the south side, are various medals and decorations awarded to family members during generations of public service. THE SALOON