Historic Buildings and Gardens

Tabley House

Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 0HB

Tel: 01565 750151

e-mail: inquiries@tableyhouse.co.uk

website: www.tableyhouse.co.uk

Tabley House was designed by John Carr of York for Sir Peter Byrne Leicester and completed in 1767. His son, Sir John Fleming Leicester, later 1^st Lord de Tabley, was the first great patron and collector of British paintings. He assembled a splendid collection at Tabley and in his London house during the first decade of the 19^th Century, ultimately with the intention of establishing a National Gallery of British Art.

JMW Turner, Henry Thompson and James Ward were among the many painters who stayed at Tabley. Today, important works by them can be seen in the rooms for which they were created, together with fine paintings by Dobson, Lely, Reynolds, Cotes, Northcote, Callcott, Fuseli, Lawrence and Martin.

The famous Gallery, created for Sir John before 1809, has been restored (1988-90) to its appearance in the early 1840s when it was remodelled by the second Lord de Tabley with sumptuous, red flock wallpaper. The collection of paintings has been rehung in the restored State Rooms of the main floor, with furniture by Chippendale, Bullock and Gillow of Lancaster and memorabilia acquired by the family.

St Peter's Chapel, originally built on an island in Tabley Moat in 1678, was moved in 1927 and re-erected on its present site adjacent to the House.

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