Nostell celebrates Chippendale

The National Trust is telling the story of furniture maker Thomas Chippendale’s long-standing connection to Nostell.

The stately home houses one of the most extensive collections of Chippendale’s work in the country, with more than 100 pieces of furniture.

Chippendale was also a renowned interior designer and the house boasts a suite of show rooms that exhibit the very best of his work.

Interior Worlds: Thomas Chippendale at Nostell, which runs until November 4, will help visitors to immerse themselves in the 18th century.

Simon McCormack, project curator at Nostell, said: “Interior Worlds explores more than just the facts. It is about answering the bigger, deeper questions: What was this place for? What purpose did it serve for its owner? Why was Chippendale so influential? Nostell is not just a great treasure house but a place where behind the beautiful objects and sumptuous interiors, is a whole series of deeper stories waiting to be told.”

Also open is the Obelisk Marbling company. Working with the artist Giles Round, the company is a unique piece of interpretation. It has been inspired by the entrepreneurship of Thomas Chippendale.

Visitors will be able to visit the company on the ground floor of the house and discover the technique of paper marbling, a detail Chippendale put into the clothes presses he produced for Nostell.

Obelisk Marbling is part of a special collaboration with The Hepworth Wakefield and Mr Round. A new exhibition, where Mr Round has curated a display of modern and classic design objects inspired by Chippendale’s entrepreneurial spirit, is open at The Hepworth Wakefield. Mr Round said: “I’m interested in Chippendale as an entrepreneur and his influential use of the catalogue as a sales tool, which allowed clients to order functional objects in a variety of fashionable styles from Rococo to Neo-Classic The workshop at Nostell and the exhibition at The Hepworth will respond to enterprise in relation to the domestic interior.”

Nostell is also running a series of hands on workshops for families called ‘Dovetail, Biscuit, Splat’ inspired by the work of the Obelisk Marbling.