Baronscourt | Selections from a Great Irish House

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Born in 1934, educated at Eton and the Royal Agricultural College, and commissioned into the Grenadier Guards, the Duke has led a life of remarkable public service: MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, Lord Lieutenant of County Tyrone for over two decades, Lord Steward of the Household to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and, from 2012 until his retirement in 2024, Chancellor of the Order of the Garter. He was appointed a Knight Companion of that most ancient order in 1999.

^{A Queen Anne-style mahogany wing armchair, late 19th century (£300-500)}

The Duke's seat, Baronscourt, stands in the wooded demesne outside Newtownstewart in County Tyrone, its neo-classical facade little changed since George Steuart completed the house in 1782. Remodelled shortly afterwards by John Soane, and further refined in the nineteenth century by the Morrisons – who added the library – it is a house that has accumulated layers of history with quiet authority. The late twentieth century saw David Hicks brought in to remodel the library once more, and his touch is felt in the present sale: a Queen Anne-style wing armchair, its buttoned red leather upholstery supplied by Hicks himself, speaks to the house's long tradition of combining patrician comfort with an eye for quality.

^{A leather cabin trunk by Louis Vuitton, early 20th century, French (£2,500-3,500)}

The contents offered here are modest in number but telling in range. A William IV drum library table by Gillows, a George II-style architect's table stamped by P.J. Walsh & Sons of Bachelor's Walk, Dublin, a Louis Vuitton cabin trunk and a Falguière bronze of Phryne – modelled after Gérôme's celebrated painting of the same subject – together paint a picture of a great house lived in with both distinction and ease. Sworders are honoured to offer these selected contents to auction with the kind permission of the Duke.

Tuesday 23 & Wednesday 24 June | 10am

fineinteriors@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778

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