Thomas Chippendale and Denton Hall:
Almost certainly this sofa is illustrated in the Drawing-Room at Denton Hall, Yorkshire in an article by Christoper Hussey, Country Life, November 4th, 1939, p. 471, fig. 4. The manor of Denton, situated between Otley and Ilkley in Yorkshire, was first purchased by the Ibbetsons, a prominent Leeds family of cloth merchants. The present Denton Hall was designed by the York architect James Carr for Sir James Ibbetson (1745 – 1795) and his wife, the only daughter and heiress of John Caygill, a rich wool merchant and property owner in Halifax, after the original house was burnt to the ground. Completed in 1788, Carr’s original plans have not been traced. It is known that the building of the house, the interior of which ‘contains many finely decorated plaster ceilings, handsome marble chimneypieces, richly carved door-cases and a memorable staircase’, cost £9,459. Other payments relating to the furnishings of the house indicate payments to a number of prominent craftsmen including Gillow of Lancaster, Mayhew and Ince, and Thomas Chippendale. Indeed, it was Chippendale who received the largest payment of £551 – whilst his closest rival, Gillow received £220 12s. Denton Hall is the only house in the parish of Otley, his birthplace, known to have been furnished by Thomas Chippendale.