Eleanor
1000+ Posts
Scottish Borders: Paxton House, Description
From the kitchens, we climbed the steps into the main Entrance Hall. This is a very elegant room and designed to make an impression on visitors. It has an Adam’s ceiling. This was made by George Morrison from Kelso who began work on this as an apprentice. By the time he’d finished working at Paxton House, he was a fully qualified artisan. There is a marble fireplace with a plaster frieze of flowers and leaves above it. All the fireplaces and chimneys are numbered to save mistakes when they are cleaned. On the wall is a large and very ornate Louis 14th clock. All the furniture is Chippendale, as is the light fitting. This would originally have contained three candles. The glass surround was designed to stop them blowing out when the front door was opened.
Four white panelled doors lead off the hall. We moved into the Morning Room with a marble fire surround and mirror above. The furniture and wallpaper are all Chippendale. He had a selection of 10-12 different patterns to choose from. This has a pattern of grey wreaths with a stipple pattern inside and tiny five dot crosses between the wreaths. Around the room are yellow upholstered armchairs with wicker sides. One has a candlestick mounted on the arm for extra light.
On a wall is a pair of mounted gloves. Patrick spent time at the court of Frederick the Great in Prussia where he fell in love with one of the ladies in waiting. The families would not agree to the marriage and Patrick was sent on the Grand Tour in the hope he would forget Sophie. She presented him with the gloves and promises of being faithful. When he returned, Patrick began to built Paxton House as a symbol of his standing in society. Unfortunately he never did marry Sophie.
Off this is a small room which had been used as a servery. Food from the kitchen was brought here before being taken into the dining room. This now contains a large glass display case with three 1750s men’s waistcoats. It used to contain a horse with the costume, saddle and headgear worn by Patrick when he attended the Berlin Carnival in 1750. He led the ‘Carthaginian’ contingent. When the costumes were checked recently, the stitching was beginning to pull apart and stretch, so the display has been dismantled and the costumes laid flat to allow the stitching to recover. After restoration, they will be going to an exhibition in Berlin next year as a rare survivor of the 1750 event. It is hoped they will be back on display afterwards.
The Main Bedroom has a Chippendale four poster bed and wall paper with a grey diamond pattern on an off white background. Off this was the secure strong room where all the important documents could be stored. This was later turned into a bathroom with a quarry tile floor, hip bath, marble top washstand with a blue and white jug and bowl and a Chippendale clothes horse.
A corridor leads to the Alcove Bedroom. On the glass of the window are carved the names of all the children born in this room. The four poster bed is set back in an alcove to shield it from drafts. The wall paper is blue and white stripes with black flowers and there are Japanese and Chinese paintings on the walls. A small wooden Chippendale chest opened up to provide space for a china bowl for washing in. This room also doubled up as a sitting area and there is a small table laid out with a dainty blue and white china tea set with a copper kettle set in front of the fire.
Across the corridor is the Portico Bedroom so named as the four poster bed had a hand painted timber frieze with pink roses painted along the top. These were fragile and few still exist.
The Nursery contains a crib and a small bed with a stone hot water bottle. There is a fire guard in front of the fire with clothes airing over it. Another large screen has pictures pasted on it. Toys include a spinning top, cup and ball, skipping ropes, marbles, dominoes, set of lead soldiers, doll’s house and furniture, doll’s pram puppet theatre... On the walls are old family photographs.
Another bedroom was originally a library but was turned into a bedroom by the wife of Ninian as it was a large room which she could use to entertain her friends. The four poster bed has a white embroidered nightdress thrown across it. On either side are cabinets with a chamber pot. The wallpaper, curtains, bedding and upholstery are pale cream with a dark blue pattern of flowers and leaves. The marble fireplace has a white plaster frieze above it. An inlaid sewing cabinet opens up to reveal space for needles, scissors and threads and has a pull out shelf and small drawer below. There is a table with wheel back Chippendale chairs with a green design on the white wood. These originally cost £1-4s-4d. Four similar chairs were recently sold at auction for over £10,000.
The Landing at the top of the stairs has a beautiful rosewood cupboard with thin legs with etched bone inlay, bought from an Italian family. The doors open to reveal 108-110 drawers and secret compartments but unfortunately are now too fragile to be opened.
The Main Stairs have a half turn and a plaster ceiling with an eagle holding a crystal chandelier in its talons. There are decorative plaster panels on the walls with vases with scrolls.
The Dining Room has a glorious plaster ceiling in the style of Adams painted in pink, pale green, blue and cream with a crystal chandelier. The fireplace has plaster roundels and pale blue panels with white plaster oak leaves and acorns. In the centre of the room is a polished oval table set with a Japanese china service. The cutlery and glass are modern re-creations of the style used in the 1770s. We were told the crystal bowl beside each place setting was not used to rinse fingers but to rinse the wine glasses. These were very expensive to buy as they had a very high duty on them. Numbers used were kept to a minimum. The long serving table is Chippendale and has silver gilt bowls and china dishes containing fruit or nuts.
A door leads to the Ladies Retiring Room with a 1807 box piano. There is a glorious plaster ceiling in shades of pale green, pink and white. The crystal chandelier cost £10,000 to clean last time it was done. There are French hand painted panels down the walls and over the doors. Between the windows are huge Italian mirrors with semi-circular wall tables beneath them and other occasional tables scattered around the room. On the walls are family portraits.
A long corridor leads to the 1815 extension containing the library and picture gallery. This is furnished with display cases with china and chairs with white and gold upholstery.
The Library has an oval end wall and a marble fireplace. The walls are lined with glass fronted bookcases full of books with marble busts arranged on top of them. There is a large settee and red upholstered arm chairs with wicker sides. On a drop leaf table is an ink stand, silver salver and a piece of unfinished embroidery. There is a model of the Hibernia, flagship of the British Fleet, in a large display case.
The Picture Gallery originally housed the family portraits but these have been sold off over the years. It now has a selection of paintings on loan from the Scottish National Gallery. It is a very elegant oval room with two big pillars at either end. These and the wall pillars are made of plaster and painted to resemble yellow marble. This was done using a feather by a technique know as feathering. The base of the walls are painted with deep plum and blue panels. Above, the walls are blue. There is a white ceiling with a central cupola to give more light. The plum coloured carpet with its pattern of banana leaves is a copy of the original. There are several marble topped tables made from pieces of marble collected by Patrick when he was in Italy. The furniture is by William Trotter. In an alcove is a scale model of a 400’ obelisk planned for the estate but never built. In front of it is a grand piano as the room is now used for musical recitals as the acoustics are so good. It is also licensed for weddings.
The gardens are pleasant to walk in with flower gardens, woodland and river walks. There is a good shop and the Stables Tea room is excellent.
Paxton House
From the kitchens, we climbed the steps into the main Entrance Hall. This is a very elegant room and designed to make an impression on visitors. It has an Adam’s ceiling. This was made by George Morrison from Kelso who began work on this as an apprentice. By the time he’d finished working at Paxton House, he was a fully qualified artisan. There is a marble fireplace with a plaster frieze of flowers and leaves above it. All the fireplaces and chimneys are numbered to save mistakes when they are cleaned. On the wall is a large and very ornate Louis 14th clock. All the furniture is Chippendale, as is the light fitting. This would originally have contained three candles. The glass surround was designed to stop them blowing out when the front door was opened.
Four white panelled doors lead off the hall. We moved into the Morning Room with a marble fire surround and mirror above. The furniture and wallpaper are all Chippendale. He had a selection of 10-12 different patterns to choose from. This has a pattern of grey wreaths with a stipple pattern inside and tiny five dot crosses between the wreaths. Around the room are yellow upholstered armchairs with wicker sides. One has a candlestick mounted on the arm for extra light.
On a wall is a pair of mounted gloves. Patrick spent time at the court of Frederick the Great in Prussia where he fell in love with one of the ladies in waiting. The families would not agree to the marriage and Patrick was sent on the Grand Tour in the hope he would forget Sophie. She presented him with the gloves and promises of being faithful. When he returned, Patrick began to built Paxton House as a symbol of his standing in society. Unfortunately he never did marry Sophie.
Off this is a small room which had been used as a servery. Food from the kitchen was brought here before being taken into the dining room. This now contains a large glass display case with three 1750s men’s waistcoats. It used to contain a horse with the costume, saddle and headgear worn by Patrick when he attended the Berlin Carnival in 1750. He led the ‘Carthaginian’ contingent. When the costumes were checked recently, the stitching was beginning to pull apart and stretch, so the display has been dismantled and the costumes laid flat to allow the stitching to recover. After restoration, they will be going to an exhibition in Berlin next year as a rare survivor of the 1750 event. It is hoped they will be back on display afterwards.
The Main Bedroom has a Chippendale four poster bed and wall paper with a grey diamond pattern on an off white background. Off this was the secure strong room where all the important documents could be stored. This was later turned into a bathroom with a quarry tile floor, hip bath, marble top washstand with a blue and white jug and bowl and a Chippendale clothes horse.
A corridor leads to the Alcove Bedroom. On the glass of the window are carved the names of all the children born in this room. The four poster bed is set back in an alcove to shield it from drafts. The wall paper is blue and white stripes with black flowers and there are Japanese and Chinese paintings on the walls. A small wooden Chippendale chest opened up to provide space for a china bowl for washing in. This room also doubled up as a sitting area and there is a small table laid out with a dainty blue and white china tea set with a copper kettle set in front of the fire.
Across the corridor is the Portico Bedroom so named as the four poster bed had a hand painted timber frieze with pink roses painted along the top. These were fragile and few still exist.
The Nursery contains a crib and a small bed with a stone hot water bottle. There is a fire guard in front of the fire with clothes airing over it. Another large screen has pictures pasted on it. Toys include a spinning top, cup and ball, skipping ropes, marbles, dominoes, set of lead soldiers, doll’s house and furniture, doll’s pram puppet theatre... On the walls are old family photographs.
Another bedroom was originally a library but was turned into a bedroom by the wife of Ninian as it was a large room which she could use to entertain her friends. The four poster bed has a white embroidered nightdress thrown across it. On either side are cabinets with a chamber pot. The wallpaper, curtains, bedding and upholstery are pale cream with a dark blue pattern of flowers and leaves. The marble fireplace has a white plaster frieze above it. An inlaid sewing cabinet opens up to reveal space for needles, scissors and threads and has a pull out shelf and small drawer below. There is a table with wheel back Chippendale chairs with a green design on the white wood. These originally cost £1-4s-4d. Four similar chairs were recently sold at auction for over £10,000.
The Landing at the top of the stairs has a beautiful rosewood cupboard with thin legs with etched bone inlay, bought from an Italian family. The doors open to reveal 108-110 drawers and secret compartments but unfortunately are now too fragile to be opened.
The Main Stairs have a half turn and a plaster ceiling with an eagle holding a crystal chandelier in its talons. There are decorative plaster panels on the walls with vases with scrolls.
The Dining Room has a glorious plaster ceiling in the style of Adams painted in pink, pale green, blue and cream with a crystal chandelier. The fireplace has plaster roundels and pale blue panels with white plaster oak leaves and acorns. In the centre of the room is a polished oval table set with a Japanese china service. The cutlery and glass are modern re-creations of the style used in the 1770s. We were told the crystal bowl beside each place setting was not used to rinse fingers but to rinse the wine glasses. These were very expensive to buy as they had a very high duty on them. Numbers used were kept to a minimum. The long serving table is Chippendale and has silver gilt bowls and china dishes containing fruit or nuts.
A door leads to the Ladies Retiring Room with a 1807 box piano. There is a glorious plaster ceiling in shades of pale green, pink and white. The crystal chandelier cost £10,000 to clean last time it was done. There are French hand painted panels down the walls and over the doors. Between the windows are huge Italian mirrors with semi-circular wall tables beneath them and other occasional tables scattered around the room. On the walls are family portraits.
A long corridor leads to the 1815 extension containing the library and picture gallery. This is furnished with display cases with china and chairs with white and gold upholstery.
The Library has an oval end wall and a marble fireplace. The walls are lined with glass fronted bookcases full of books with marble busts arranged on top of them. There is a large settee and red upholstered arm chairs with wicker sides. On a drop leaf table is an ink stand, silver salver and a piece of unfinished embroidery. There is a model of the Hibernia, flagship of the British Fleet, in a large display case.
The Picture Gallery originally housed the family portraits but these have been sold off over the years. It now has a selection of paintings on loan from the Scottish National Gallery. It is a very elegant oval room with two big pillars at either end. These and the wall pillars are made of plaster and painted to resemble yellow marble. This was done using a feather by a technique know as feathering. The base of the walls are painted with deep plum and blue panels. Above, the walls are blue. There is a white ceiling with a central cupola to give more light. The plum coloured carpet with its pattern of banana leaves is a copy of the original. There are several marble topped tables made from pieces of marble collected by Patrick when he was in Italy. The furniture is by William Trotter. In an alcove is a scale model of a 400’ obelisk planned for the estate but never built. In front of it is a grand piano as the room is now used for musical recitals as the acoustics are so good. It is also licensed for weddings.
The gardens are pleasant to walk in with flower gardens, woodland and river walks. There is a good shop and the Stables Tea room is excellent.
Paxton House
