The Dining Room
This room was the parlour in the sixteenth-century house and as such has always functioned as a place for eating and drinking. There is no surviving evidence to suggest its appearance prior to the 1760s when it was substantially remodelled by William Constable. He commissioned a number of designs from the architects Robert Adam (1729-98), Thomas Atkinson (1728-92) and Timothy Lightoler who secured the commission, with his design centred on a Bacchic theme.
Drawing on contemporary interest in the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum, it is suggested that the ceiling was modelled on an ancient Roman painting found at Gragnano. The plasterwork is by Giuseppe Cortese ( fl. 1725-78), a leading Italian stuccoist based in York who worked primarily in the county.
The overmantel plaque of Bacchus and Ariadne riding on a panther and some of the other reliefs were modelled on famous antique cameos illustrated in Pierres Antiques Graveés, published in 1724 by Philip, Baron von Stosch and Bernard Picart . Bacchus, as the god of wine and hospitality, is a fitting theme for the Dining Room and the tablet inset into the chimneypiece depicting Aesculapius, the god of medicine, alludes to the notion that good eating contributes to good health.
In the nineteenth century the room was redecorated and the walls, which were originally pink, were painted green by Wright & Dreyer of Hull, with additional gilding applied to the decorative plasterwork and carved woodwork. The window curtains and elaborate pelmets date from this period as do the ormolu chandelier, the gilt-wood wall sconces, fire-screens with Berlin woolwork (made by the ladies of the house), the hot-cupboard and butler's tray.
Registered Charity No.1010121 Registered Museum No. 604
