Houghton Hall

Houghton Hall
The Inspiration

This Colour Collection was created when I was given some 18th Century fabric from the archives of Houghton Hall to match. This lead to a collaboration with the designer Miv Watts.

The History

Houghton Hall was built in the 18th Century for Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of England. The sumptuous interiors were designed by William Kent. As a break in tradition from the usual crimson, Kent decided to use green and gold for upholstery and drapes in the House. This may have come about through the designer’s development of the iconography of the rooms. In particular dedicating the State Bedroom to Venus, Goddess of Love and Sleep. Green at the time was particularly associated with Venus.

In 1796 the House passed into the hands of George James, 4th Earl and 1st Marques of Cholmondeley. It today remains the home of the 7th Marques of Cholmondeley. The present Marques is undertaking considerable work on the restoration of the gardens. He continues to devote the enthusiasm of his grandmother, Lady Sybil Cholmondley, in her eighty years of loving care and restoration of the Hall.

Further investigations in the bag revealed scraps of damask and brocades collected by Lady Sybil’s brother, Sir Philip Sassoon. Sir Philip died in 1939 leaving his outstanding collection of 18th Century decorative art to his sister, to be absorbed into the Houghton interiors. Many of the yellowing shades of silks and damaskes are reflected in the colours used by John Singer Sargent in his portrait of Lady Cholmondeley 1911-12. In which she wears a vast Persiona silk shawl belonging to the artist.

All the little remnants in the bag seemed to be woven around the colours of Houghton and the Norfolk landscapes. With its muddy seas and huge sunsets. The beautiful fallow deer grazing in the Park and the rustic brickwork and golden sandstone of the stables and pumphouses. These colours were a true representation of country house paint colours. They had grown organically through several centuries, and was about to pass into a new one.

Lady Sybil Cholmondeley moved into Houghton in 1919. Along with her own many beautiful objects, she brought with her an understanding, appreciation and warmth for this great political edifice. With her touch, Houghton became a home not only for visiting dignitaries, but full of artists, musicians, and many colourful and interesting luminaries of the day. In 1957 Vita Sackville West wrote to Sybil from Sissinghurst describing her response to Houghton: ’in some strange way you contrive to make its grandeur as friendly and easy as a cottage’.

Vitas’s husband, Harold Nicolson, also observed ‘I have never seen a house so perfect and self-contained. The back of things are as perfect as the side that shows! Certainly the most beautiful 18th Century house that I have ever seen’. Clearly Lady Sybil’s flair for details, and her compassion for humanity distributed through her war work with the Wrens, and later her hands on approach to the visiting public and Houghton, make her a unique and colourful, independent woman of her time.

She died in 1989, leaving behind her a legacy of a more personal and immediate nature that of her forebears. With this in mind, it seems only fitting that a decade later, we have been inspired by some of her influences to create a special collection of Houghton colours in a lime wash. A traditional paint that has endured through the Centuries, and continues to enhance both ancient and modern environments with its natural beauty, practical qualities and earthy properties.

The Collection

Welcome to the Houghton Hall Collection. Text by Miv Watts, December 1999. It was through Miv that I got to know the great people at Houghton Hall, and they allowed me to use historical names for the colours in this Collection.

These paint colours came about through an elective mixture of periods. At the time of their development many of the textiles were catalogued for conservation and restoration purposes. Through salvaging a bag of tiny pieces, we were above to build a Houghton story. The Walpole velvets had faded from forest greens to bluish greys. They had opaqueness to them due to the fine sheen in the pile being mostly undamaged.

For this Collection, the 75 mls sample pots and A4s come in the Lime Wash only. From 1 litre onward, all of our colours are available in all of our finishes.

If you have any questions regarding my Colour Collections, including country house paint colours, or any of my paint products, please email us or call us on 02072287694. Thank you.

Showing all 9 results