WILLIAM WHITE (1825–1900) FOR BISHOPS COURT, SOWTON, DEVON TWO GOTHIC REVIVAL ARMCHAIRS, CIRCA 1860 oak, with velvet upholstery

(53.5cm wide, 110.5cm high, 50cm deep; the other 66cm wide, 106.5cm high, 52.5cm deep)

Provenance: The Bishops Court, Sowton, Devon Bearnes auctioneers, Exeter, 'The Principal Contents of Bishop's Court’, auction Monday 26th September 1994, Lots 463 and 464 Note: Originally a palace of the medieval bishops of Exeter from the mid-13th century the whole building was remodelled, and the elevations reworked in 1860-4 by William White, for the Garrett family who had purchased it in 1833. The renovation of the house and furnishings in the Gothic Revival style is considered to be White's most important domestic commission. White designed the fittings and much of the furniture, with exceptional attention to detail, specifically for the house of which these chairs formed a part.