A Pair of George I Walnut Stools
Height: 18" 46cm
Width: 21" 54.5cm
Depth: 17" 45cm
The rounded rectangular drop-in seats upholstered in Eighteenth century needlework above shaped aprons with cabriole legs carved with shell motifs to the knees before terminating in pad feet.
English, Circa 1725
Sir Howe Hicks, Witcombe Park, Gloucestershire
Thence by decent to the Hicks Beach family
The manor of Great Witcombe was acquired in the early 17th century by Lady Elizabeth Hicks, although her family was based in Essex. It was not until the late 17th century that one of her grandsons; Sir Michael Hicks decided to adopt Witcombe as his home and enlarge a small farm on the estate into accommodation suitable for a family of his means and status. Hence the existing buildings bearing the date 1607 were retained for the purposes of service accommodation and a five-bay, two story block was added prior to 1704. A bird's eye view painting by Adrian van Diest commissioned by Sir Michael to record the newly completed building and landscape is still owned by his descendants. Witcombe passed to a series of Sir Michael's direct male descendants starting with Sir Howe Hicks in 1710 and ending with Sir William Hicks who died in 1835. During this time scant building work was carried out and only then when essential repairs were required owing to structural problems. The house was inherited in 1825 by Sir William's daughter Lady Cromie who was tragically abandoned by her husband when he eloped with a maid on their honeymoon. Following Lady Cromie's death in 1885, the house passed to a far cousin, W.F. Hicks Beach who was forced to demolish the building due to its dilapidated condition.
REFERENCE
Nicholas Kingsley, The Country Houses of Gloucestershire, Volume Two 1630-1830, 1992, pp. 267-8.
 "A Pair of George I Walnut Stools")