Victoria here. I was fortunate enough to attend a talk by Lady Henrietta in Chicago recently, under the auspices of The Royal Oak Foundation and the Chicago branch of the English-Speaking Union, held at The Casino, a private club renowned for its ambiance and neo-regency decor.
The Royal Oak Foundation supports the National Trust of Britain and presents programs in New York, Chicago, Washington, and other cities, featuring leading experts on history, architecture, landscape and related subjects. Members also receive free admission to all NT properties, a perk I have often benefited from, as well as sponsoring tours and special events.
Lady Henrietta presented a fascinating account of how domestic architecture has changed over the years and yet survives, sometimes after considerable changes. She talked of houses from Melford Hall in Norfolk, built in the 16th century…
…to Homewood, in Surrey, a modernist structure built in 1958. Both are National Trust properties.
Lady Henrietta also talked about a number of her projects in Britain and in the U.S., and one was of particular interest to me, the story of Easton Neston, a stately home in Northamptonshire. It was built in 1702 by architect Nicholas Hawksmoor. A few years ago, the 3rd Baron Hesketh sold the house to Max Leon, a Russian American fashion executive. Some of us will remember when the furnishings of this great home were sold by Sotheby’s auction in May, 2005.
The designer shared some of her projects in renovating the great house, which ranged from the need to re-do plumbing and wiring to integrating Max’s collection of contemporary art into the classic interiors.
After the talk, I found an interesting article about the renovations, which you can read here. The article, with many pictures, tells about the house and Max’s lavish lifestyle as well.
The author/speaker is the eldest daughter of the 11th Duke of Marlborough and spent much of her life at Blenheim Palace; no wonder she is so well known as an interior designer! You can access her website here.
Below are some of Lady Henrietta’s previous books, all quite lovely and worth anyone’s coffee table, even if the surrounding decor its not quite up to her example!
Her books are SO lovely and SO expensive! And I have them all on my Wish List, including this one now!