Rupert Toovey’s Articles – Page 36

Restoration and Renewal at Parham

Parham’s Head Gardener, Andrew Humphris in the greenhouse

In the first of two articles I am returning to Parham visiting Lady Emma and her husband James Barnard as they embark on a major restoration of their celebrated walled gardens at Parham.

It is some 28 years since Lady Emma and James came to Parham with their young family. Their time here has been marked by renewal and long-term stewardship in this ancient, processional place.

Emma explains “My great-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 in 1922.”

Lady Emma and James have a similar sense of long-term stewardship and the importance of ongoing renewal so I am excited to hear about the plans for the restoration of the walled gardens as we set off to find their recently appointed Head Gardener, Andrew Humphris.

I ask Andrew how he is settling in to his new role at Parham and the ongoing restoration of the gardens, he replies “This place is just fantastic there is so much potential. Restoring and maintaining a garden has to be a collaborative thing otherwise it never works. It needs a long-term relationship with the garden and the family.” He turns to Lady Emma and James and says “I want to make it special for you – and the team.”

Parham’s gardens in the crisp spring weather

There is a generosity, humility and rootedness apparent in the way Andrew speaks about a lifetime in horticulture, accompanying and following in his father’s footsteps with his wife, Jo.

I ask Andrew how he would describe himself, a horticulturalist or a garden designer perhaps. He pauses, smiles and replies “I’m a gardener.”
Andrew begins to speak about his work “In the garden I’m thinking about what I’m doing [and] in the moment inspiration comes at unexpected times. There has to be a whole to it but the detail matters, lifting a plant to weed – a love for a plant.” He continues “It’s important to pass things on too. You have to keep momentum, constantly being critical to keep it going forward and fresh.”

I comment on how Parham is famous for its borders and Andrew says “I love border colours” reflecting wryly he continues “striving for perfection in a border though with the weather and variables – still it’s the aim.”

The garden is full of activity and a sense of renewal as the garden team is clearing borders to deal with the bind weed. Other newly planted areas like the white border provide hopeful windows onto the future of this beautiful place. It is exciting to see the restoration in process.

Whether you are visiting for the first time or returning to an old friend, as I often do, Parham never fails to delight with its gardens and sense of history. Check out Parham’s new website www.parhaminsussex.co.uk and book your visit to the gardens.

Perfection in the Imperfection, the New Minimalism

A good Queen Anne walnut bureau with overall feather banding and double-reeded mouldings © Toovey’s 2021

By the time of Queen Anne’s (1685-1714) accession to the British throne in 1702 the Dutch influence on furniture design had been fully assimilated and English furniture set off on its own course of development. The Queen Anne style would influence tastes in Europe and America. Queen Anne was the last of the Stuarts. The second daughter of James II by his first wife Anne Hyde. She was brought up as a protestant and has been described as shy, conscientious, homely and small.

The needlework panel of the period is filled with metaphors. Anne is depicted standing in a garden wearing a crown whilst holding a sceptre and an orb as symbols of her office. In the Bible gardens are places of divine encounter, sustenance, beauty and shelter, qualities which are being attributed to the Queen. The cherubim symbolise the glory, majesty, power, and divine protection of the Queen. The cherubim are also present to inspire fear, reverence, respect and awe towards her as they remind the viewer that God himself is the King of kings.

A Queen Anne needlework panel, depicting the Queen and an attendant standing in a garden © Toovey’s 2021

Provincial Queen Anne furniture is designed and adapted to fit the needs and comfort of the human form. For example chairs became lower with serpentine splats to mirror the backs of the sitter. Case furniture too became more graceful and delicate. Hand cut walnut veneers and solid mahogany became popular.
There is a delight to be found in the hand cut veneers of the Queen Anne bureau illustrated. As you open it the fall flap hinges downwards to form a writing surface. It reveals pigeonholes, drawers, a cupboard and secret compartments. The sloping sides gather you as you sit at it whether reading, working or just taking time to imagine.

Light seems to dance on its surface, reflected softly with an extraordinary depth and richness. The marks of life and age add to the sense of joy. It is part of our human purpose to make beauty in the world and it is surely right that we should celebrate it.

It is the subtle, imperceptible undulations of the hand cut veneer which causes this exquisite, generous effect. And it contrasts with later machine made pieces where the surface is perfect but hard to the eye lacking life. Here then is the perfect example of an often forgotten truth – that there is perfection in the imperfection of our lives.

These two exceptional Queen Anne pieces sold at Toovey’s for £3000 and £2200 respectively. However, apart from the finest pieces good quality 18th century English furniture has never been such wonderful value. You can buy Georgian dining tables, chairs, chests of drawers and bureaus for a few hundred pounds. These pieces allow you to have rich, comfortable, eclectic interiors in the English Country House taste whilst making no demands on our world’s finite and precious resources. Young people in their 20s and 30s are actively buying these pieces calling it the New Minimalism. They intuitively understand that there is perfection in the imperfection of a handmade object which perhaps is a hopeful metaphor for us as people too.

Inspired by Nature

A pair of Victorian novelty silver owl salt and pepper, London 1879, by Thomas Johnson II, height 6.5cm © Toovey’s 2021

As lockdown eases and the busyness of life begins to return I am making conscious punctuation marks in my life to continue to walk and be. To shut out the white noise of the demands of life, to inhabit the landscape and my garden and be truly present giving thanks to God for these blessings. Nature seems to have taken on an abundance and grown in our imaginations in these times. The delight in nesting Goldfinches, a Thrush busy tidying our garden of snails, the pickly Blackbirds flicking the soil from the borders onto the paths and terrace as they search for food, and the proud Robins at play in the bird bath as the Woodpecker taps out his tune against the old Weeping Pear.

The Victorians shared this fascination and delight in birds, wildlife and nature, made popular by Queen Victoria. Nature inspired their decorative arts and artists as it does today.

I love the expressions on the faces of the late Victorian novelty silver salt and pepper modelled as a pair of owls. Their glass eyes gift them with such life and character, they remind me a bit of E H Shepard’s wonderful depictions of Owl in Winnie the Pooh. As they stand looking at you their finely engraved plumage shimmers in the light. These fine objects were made by Thomas Johnson II who was well known for his novelty silver birds and animals. Hallmarked in London in 1879 they bear the mark of the Bond Street retailers, W. Thornhill & Co. If you fancy a pair of novelty silver owl condiments they and will be offered for sale in Toovey’s specialist silver auction on 12th May with an estimate of £800-£1200.

A pair of Elizabeth II novelty silver duck sauce boats, London 1973, By Asprey & Co Ltd, length 21.5cm © Toovey’s 2021

The pair of Asprey & Co Elizabeth II silver novelty sauceboats and stands are modelled as a pair of ducks and sold for £2200 earlier in the year highlighting the continued appeal of silver inspired by nature. They seem to glide as if on water, their finely cast and chased plumage giving them light and life. The oval stands are engraved with simulated water adding to the effect. And the matched silver ladles, engraved with feathers, are by Roberts & Belk.

There is a danger that as we return to our cars in our increasingly urbanised lives that we will once again be separated from the joys and importance of nature. I hope that our MPs and newly elected local politicians will use their positions and power to honour and maintain the rural, agricultural nature and needs of Sussex and her farmers with the undoubted need for more homes, and that the new developments will be designed to allow us to live and flourish with nature.

An Actor, Auctioneer and a Vicar

Rupert Toovey taking to the rostrum for post lockdown live and online auctions

I will never forget the first auction I ever attended. It was the mid-1980s and with Margaret Thatcher reinventing the nation’s economy there was considerable unemployment especially amongst graduates. Against this backdrop I had turned down my place to read history at Sussex with no real idea of what I was going to do. Mum and Dad had packed me off to see my Grandpa. I remember the conversation like it was yesterday. We sat at his George V oak dining table as the light from his town garden lit up the bees-waxed surface.

“So Rupert what are you going to do?” he said. “I have no idea.” I replied. “Well it seems to me you have three choices. You love people, you love art and history, and you’ll have to own a sense of theatre. You can be an actor, an auctioneer or a vicar!” I paused to think for a moment, as the eldest of five I didn’t think I could really put my parents through the drama of acting. I knew what vicaring was but auctioneering? “What’s auctioneering?” I found myself saying. “Let’s go and see, there’s a sale on today, come on.” Grandpa responded.

It was a crisp spring morning, bright with a nip in the air as we walked through the Morth Gardens onto Horsham’s beautiful Causeway, past the Horsham Museum and Old Town Hall and into the Carfax. In those days cars still circled through the town. We dodged the traffic by the King’s Head as we crossed the road. The alley way between the pub and the newsagent was cast in shadow. As we walked up past the saleroom office we could hear the rise and fall of the auctioneer’s voice and crack of his gavel. We were greeted by a huge pea green door hung on rusty sliding hinges with a smaller door cut into it. We pulled hard on the smaller door and it swung open. The crowd was gathered amongst the furniture around a towering oak rostrum. The light came from a window set high above in the wall like an artist’s studio bathing the audience in a warm light and causing the medullary rays in the oak to shimmer. The auctioneer, Jack Ash, who would later teach me to sell, had worked at Churchman Burts in Steyning and sold livestock as well as antiques before the war. His voice filled with excitement called the bidding increments at great speed “£220, 20, 20, 40 now, £240 any advance £240?” as the gavel fell.

Furniture, Antiquities and Collectors’ items on view to the public once more

Beautiful things, wonderful people and the theatre of a sale day, I was captivated. That thrill of a sale day, the theatre, the people and the objects has never left me which is why I am so delighted to see the salerooms beautifully laid out and to once again and be able to welcome people by appointment to Toovey’s specialist auctions over the coming weeks – many of the sales catalogues are online already.

Looking back it’s fascinating to reflect how much Horsham and our county has changed. An actor, an auctioneer and a vicar – I have certainly fulfilled the last two of Grandpa’s suggestions and perhaps with the theatre of the sale day all three. So exciting!

Spring and the easing of lockdown

Bonnie enjoying the delights of the Sussex Downs in the chilly spring weather

Is it my imagination that spring seems to have arrived a little later this year?

The frosts and nip in the air do not seem to have deterred our magnolia from producing the most wonderful array of flowers and the brilliant white Blackthorn blossom in the hedgerows is especially fine this year against the backdrop of the deep blue skies.

Like our gardens and the countryside around our Sussex towns and villages we too are tentatively emerging after lockdown.

Monday 12th April brought the first day of steadily easing Covid restrictions. People gathered safely and happily outside pubs with British forbearance in the face of the chilly weather. Life began to slowly return to our county’s High Streets.

Bonnie and I were on appointment as we have been throughout lockdown. Our week took us from Arundel to Amberley, Steyning to Worthing, Brighton and Wimbledon. The weather seemed to improve throughout the week and as the blossom bravely emerged so the numbers of people steadily increased.

My little dog Bonnie really enjoyed rediscovering her favourite walks on top of the Sussex Downs which punctuate our days between valuation appointments. And we’ve been popping into our favourite shops across the county to support them.

Rupert Toovey on a valuation appointment in Arundel, West Sussex

It’s funny how quickly we have adapted to a new routine. As I arrive at people’s homes I am still ringing the doorbell running 2 metres back from the door and turning to greet them. It’s important to see a smile and exchange a greeting safely before putting on a face mask and disinfecting my hands. Once inside we perform a Covid dance as we seek to honour one another with social distancing and old fashioned good manners. We move around enjoying each other’s company and the treasures, the windows flung open to the crisp spring breeze.

The online auctions at Toovey’s have been very successful but I have missed gathering the collectors and dealers whose passions for art and objects I and my colleagues share. So I am excited to report that we have successfully reopened Toovey’s auction rooms to the public. We’ve refreshed our reception and valuations spaces for the public to bring their treasured possessions to Toovey’s for auction. For our live auctions next week we’ve put in place hand sanitizers, direction signs, queuing and viewing point mats to ensure social distancing. The numbers of people viewing our sales at any one time will be limited with timed slots available by appointment with masks. Listen to me being excited by Health and Safety but it’s at its best when it’s practical, empowering and keeps people safe!

Providing valuations, viewing and attendance for our sales by appointment is once again proving really popular whilst keeping people safe. And there has been strong demand for our home visit valuation service throughout.

I hope that lockdown will continue to ease and you will join me in supporting our local businesses, theatres, museums, art galleries, churches and newspapers who add so richly to the life of our community. If we do then there will be much cause for hope and optimism.