March 2018 – Toovey’s Blog

Parham – the Perfect Place to Celebrate Easter

Parham House bathed in the spring sunlight

As you approach Parham through the soft folds of her parkland landscape this fine Elizabethan house reveals herself in a timeless and welcoming way.

It is five years since I wrote my first column and I am returning to where I began. I love revisiting this remarkable place and today I am rewarded by the sight of Parham’s stone walls glowing in the light of the first spring sunshine of the year. The house sits comfortably in the landscape against the backdrop of the Sussex Downs.

There is an excitement in the air as Parham’s team busy themselves with the final preparations before welcoming the first visitors of 2018 this coming Easter Sunday.

Lady Emma Barnard in the Long Gallery at Parham

I am greeted by Lady Emma Barnard whose home this is. She is following in the footsteps of her grandparents and her Great Aunt. Emma explains “My grandparents, Clive and Alicia Pearson, fell in love with Parham as soon as they saw it. The house was in a poor state when they bought it. They spent a lot of money during the 1920s and ’30s carefully restoring this fine Elizabethan house. They installed electricity, plumbing and heating and thanks to them it’s still a really comfortable home today.”

Parham with its beautiful rooms and collections is no ordinary historic house but a home which gathers its visitors in a generous and unique way thanks to Lady Emma’s particular qualities. Together with her husband, James, Lady Emma has brought up her two boys here and the family’s fondness for this place gives it real life.

Clive and Alicia Pearson at Parham in 1956

“I love it when the visitor season and first opening approaches” Lady Emma declares. She continues “Clive and Alicia opened Parham to the public for the first time in 1948, not out of need but out of a genuine desire to share their home with others. I’m delighted that 70 years on Parham continues to welcome visitors in the same spirit.”

We set out to see how the preparations are progressing and pause at the top of the house in the light filled Long Gallery with its wonderful ceiling. Lady Emma explains that the ceiling was put in by the Pearsons in the 1960s. There were no historical records of the Elizabethan original so they commissioned the theatrical artist Oliver Messel to design it.

I remark that a house and garden like Parham carry with them a weight of history and tradition which demands a particularly keen sense of duty and service from its custodians. Lady Emma replies “It is a way of life but we love this place and being here.”

In the grounds to the south of the house, beyond the ha-ha, is St Peter’s Church where I will be taking the Easter Sunday service of Holy Communion this year. It starts at 9.15am and all are welcome. The church remains open all day.

Parham House and Gardens open this Easter Sunday 1st April 2018 at 2pm and 12pm respectively, closing at 5pm. For more information go to www.parhaminsussex.co.uk or telephone 01903 742021.

By Rupert Toovey, a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington. Originally published in the West Sussex Gazette.

History brought to Life through the Goring Family at Wiston

The authors: Jane Goring, Joyce Sleight, Janet Pennington, Jill Turner and Janine Harvey

A window into the life of a Sussex family and an English Country House is eloquently told through the lives of members of the Goring family in ‘Lives, Loves and Letters – The Goring Family of Wiston, Sussex 1743-1905’.

As I approach Wiston House my eye is met by a pastoral scene which seems timeless. The house sits confidently in its parkland landscape against the backdrop of the Sussex Downs beneath Chanctonbury Ring.

I am meeting the talented team responsible for this beautifully written and illustrated book. It follows in the spirited tradition in Sussex of the Private Press – books published by independent and lively minds.

As we gather in the panelled library at Wiston House Jane Goring describes how her brother, Harry arrived at her home in 2004 and placed an old, wooden Wiston Estate box on her kitchen table. It was filled with letters, diaries and loose paper which had lain forgotten. Jane gathered about her a talented team, Jill Turner, Secretary to the Wiston Estate for many years, and the qualified historians, Joyce Sleight and Janet Pennington, both of whom have skills in palaeography. The painstaking work of transcribing, archiving and cross-checking began.

It became apparent to them that these primary source documents provided very personal insights into important sweeps of British history. The group met regularly to discuss, precis and check one another’s work. There is a quality of real academic rigour in the writing. A fifth member, Janine Harvey, joined the group later in 2012. With her expert IT skills a draft of what would be the finished book began to take shape. This labour of love would take thirteen years.

Joyce Sleight is a bit of a home-grown hero for me. She was an inspirational teacher at Steyning Grammar School and inspired a passion for history which continues to inform my life. In this book she and the team express an excitement and rigour in their subject which captures the reader’s imagination.

The strength of the book’s narrative immerses you in the rich procession of history across three centuries told through the very personal accounts of members of the Goring family. Its scholarly but accessible style provides a textural and rich interpretation of the primary source material.

J.S.C. Schaak’s depiction of Charles Goring of Wiston, circa 1765

One of my favourite characters brought to life in the book is Charles Goring (1744-1829), a scholar and agriculturalist he wrote poetry and was responsible for planting one of our county’s most famous landmarks, Chanctonbury Ring.

The group are keen to express their gratitude to Harry Goring, the owner of the Wiston Estate, for allowing them to research this material and for generously consenting to them using rarely seen illustrations and images from the family collection.

This extraordinary book ‘Lives, Loves and Letters – The Goring Family of Wiston, Sussex 1743-1905’ is available from the Steyning Museum, the Steyning Bookshop and from the book’s dedicated website. To find out more go to www.liveslovesandletters.co.uk.

By Rupert Toovey, a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington. Originally published in the West Sussex Gazette.

The Enduring Appeal of English Country Furniture

A mid-17th century oak six plank coffer, the edges with chip carving and the lid retaining its original wire hinges

I have always loved the comfort and grace afforded by English country furniture dating from the mid-1600s to the mid-1700s. It was handmade by artisans who understood the importance of proportion, use and the materials they worked in.

We live in an age of conservation rather than restoration. Today’s collectors value originality, colour and rarity.

There is perfection in the imperfection of these handmade pieces. The combination of the subtle undulations of hand cut and finished timber with countless layers of beeswax causes light to be reflected with a softness and depth. Over time the application of beeswax to furniture changes its colour; polished in soot and dust add to the patina and value of a piece.

A late 17th/early 18th century Wainscot chair with rare wing back and box seat

I discovered the oak Wainscot armchair illustrated in a collection of country furniture in Richmond. It dates from the late 17th or early 18th century and its construction is incredibly original. Chairs from this period, particularly armchairs, were symbols of status. Its colour and proportions are superb. The box base and wing back are rare. You more commonly find this type of chair without wings. When they have a drawer to the base they are often referred to as Lambing chairs. The demand for regional vernacular furniture reaches across the country and this one was sold to a Yorkshire collector.

A late 17th Century oak dresser base with geometric moulded decoration

The plating and presentation of food was as important in the 17th and 18th centuries as it is today and was known as ‘dressing’. The piece of furniture where this took place was referred to as the dresser. The fine late 17th century oak ‘formal’ dresser seen here with its geometric moulded decoration would have been used in a dining room to put the finishing touches to food as it was arranged on the plates before they were placed on the dining table.

The mid-17th century six plank coffer is small and of fine proportion with a beautiful patina. Where furniture is made by pinning the edges of wooden planks together by means of nails or pegs it is known as boarded or plank construction. The chip carving on the sides, moulded decoration to the apron and original wire hinges are also rare and it is subtle details like these that draw the attention of the connoisseur. This example was bought by a Sussex collector.

Prices for fine examples like these remain strong and they realised thousands.

Country furniture combines quality with informality and a sense of joie de vivre. More typical 17th and 18th century Wainscot chairs, dressers and coffers, still of lovely quality, can be acquired for hundreds of pounds representing a wonderful opportunity to furnish in the English country house taste.

By Rupert Toovey, a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington. Originally published in the West Sussex Gazette.

Nellie Lenson-Smith Collection offered at Toovey’s

Nellie Lenson-Smith sign at Toovey's — Nellie Lenson-Smith sign at Toovey’s (Part Lot 2519)

Many items in our forthcoming March auction were consigned from the estate of the late Nellie Lenson-Smith (1928-2017). Further items from her estate will be offered in future sales.

A late 19th century enamelled copper rectangular panel by John William Bailey titled 'Winslow's dog - Champion' from the Nellie Lenson-Smith collection. — A late 19th century enamelled copper rectangular panel by John William Bailey titled ‘Winslow’s dog – Champion’ from the Nellie Lenson-Smith collection. (Lot 2565)

Nellie Lenson-Smith was born in Aix-la-Chappelle. Her mother was a Russian aristocrat who had fled her homeland during the 1917 revolution. Nellie grew up in Germany and Austria and was educated in Switzerland during the war. The last years of conflict, however, saw her interred in concentration camps until liberated by the Americans in 1945. She subsequently went to university in Paris, married notable pilot Ben Lenson DFC and became a British national in 1952. Ben’s post-war position as a chief pilot for El Al Israel Airlines enabled them to travel widely and they enjoyed a glamorous lifestyle. Nellie went on to work as a continuity director in the film business for a number of years.

A late 19th century Black Forest carved softwood three bottle tantalus from the Lenson-Smith Collection — A late 19th century Black Forest carved softwood three bottle tantalus from the Nellie Lenson-Smith Collection (Lot 2501)

Nellie and Ben divorced in 1976 and Nellie pursued a career in antiques. She met and married her second husband, Roy, and they traded together as Lenson-Smith over the next four decades, specializing in decorative objects. They had several shops and were regular exhibitors at the major antiques fairs. Roy died in 2015 but Nellie was still active in the business up to her final year.

Nellie Lenson-Smith was, by all accounts, quite a character and she is remembered fondly by many in the antiques trade.

View the collection by clicking here.

Ref: Obituaries, Nellie Lenson-Smith, Antiques Trade Gazette 2283, 18/3/17

Celebrating Art, Heritage and Community in West Sussex

The High Sheriff of West Sussex with Jeremy Knight and some of the volunteers at The Horsham Museum & Art Gallery

Last week I accompanied the High Sheriff of West Sussex, Lady Emma Barnard, as she visited the ‘William Blake in Sussex: Visions of Albion’ exhibition at Petworth House and The Horsham Museum & Art Gallery, celebrating art and heritage in our county.

Lady Emma is the current custodian of Parham House and is passionate about art and heritage in West Sussex.

I explain to Lady Emma how excited I am to see the National Trust daring to put on an exhibition of national importance which speaks of, and is displayed in, the context of William Blake’s story here in Sussex. She agrees and congratulates Andrew Loukes, the National Trust’s exhibition manager and curator in Petworth, on this jewel like exhibition and his work. ‘William Blake in Sussex’ is the sixth in a series of annual exhibitions curated by Andrew directly relating to Petworth’s remarkable collections of art and to Sussex.

In an age when our nation is in danger of losing her historic, diverse regional identities with homogenised housing and High Streets it has never been more important that we keep alive the unique characteristics and stories of our nation’s counties, towns, countryside and historic houses.

The High Sheriff of West Sussex, Lady Emma Barnard, with Andrew Loukes at Petworth House

As we explore the exhibition Andrew Loukes weaves together the central threads of William Blake’s art and writing with the formative time that this revolutionary artist spent in Sussex, connecting the artist’s work with our landscape and the lives of his patrons and friends.

We journey from Petworth through Sussex villages and countryside to Horsham’s Museum & Art Gallery in the Causeway.

Under Jeremy Knight’s leadership the Horsham Museum and Art Gallery has become one of the most visited art and heritage attractions in West Sussex. His reputation and the exhibitions he puts on continues to attract the attention of the Tate Gallery and other national institutions. The Horsham District Council’s continued commitment to the Horsham Museum & Art Gallery is deserving of praise. Jeremy has had an enormous influence on the promotion of culture and heritage across the Horsham District.

In the museum he balances the public’s appetite for art with an ability to display our local social and economic history in creative and unique ways. Trades and shops now lost to Horsham and the District are recreated with real windows into bygone workshops and businesses.

Jeremy Knight is a modern antiquarian; passionate about the use of objects in telling stories from our past. He stands against the current concerning trend of removing objects and labels from our nation’s museum displays.

Jeremy has been the curator at the Horsham Museum & Art Gallery for thirty years. He explains to Lady Emma how vital the volunteers are to the success of the museum. He says “We have over sixty volunteers ranging in age from nineteen to nearly ninety – they work on everything from gardening, to making fittings for exhibitions, cataloguing, researching collections, digital recording and local history, as well as guiding.” The quality of community amongst the volunteers and their fond respect for Jeremy quickly comes to light in their conversations with the High Sheriff as they gather in the museum’s library and she celebrates their work.

Our visits highlight the importance of generous, long-term leadership and service, in preserving the history and art of our county, qualities which Andrew Loukes and Jeremy Knight both share.

By Rupert Toovey, a senior director of Toovey’s, the leading fine art auction house in West Sussex, based on the A24 at Washington. Originally published in the West Sussex Gazette.