The Outer Hall
The general form of this room is Pugin’s but the decoration, including the stenciled ceiling, the tiled floor and the stained glass was all designed by Bentley. The east window contains panels of St. George, St. Louis and St. John the Baptist. The ecclesiastical character of the room is not accidental for it was first fitted up as a temporary chapel, when Cardinal Manning visited Carlton in 1876 and he celebrated mass here. The metal tables with the green marble tops were designed by Bentley. The bust is of the 8th Lord Beaumont by Patrick MacDowell. The ebonised French-style cabinets with Florentine mosaic panels date from the early 19th century.

The Inner Hall
Marble steps lead between elephantine piers to the Inner Hall. This is the first of the series of state apartments stretching away to the east for nearly 200 feet. Bentley expended great care on the detailing of these rooms, designing much of the furniture to match the architecture in his effort to achieve a unified effect. He designed the chandelier. The carved woodwork, including the Minstrels’ Gallery, the ceiling, the panelling and doors, was executed by J. Erskine Knox who was responsible for all the excellent Victorian woodcarving at Carlton. Lavers and Barraud made the stained glass in the windows to Bentley’s design; it includes portraits of Henry, 9th Lord Beaumont as a peer, and his brother Miles (later 10th Lord Beaumont) dressed as a medieval knight.

The gold and red chairs are late 17th century (originally they had walnut frames and split cane seats but were ‘done up’ for the 8th Lord Beaumont in the 1840’s); the three marquetry commodes are in the Louis XVI manner; the bronze cherubs on marble plinths and the two large marble urns with ormolu mounts are also French. The urns are said to have belonged to Talleyrand and are among a number in the house which came from the collection of Sir Charles Henry Tempest, Bt. of Broughton Hall (father of Ethel, wife of the 10th Lord Beaumont), who together with his grandparents formed a collection of works of art on the Continent in the early nineteenth century. Sir Charles preferred bronze and marble to china because there was less chance of it being broken while

dusting. The Chinese vases are famille rose and the clock is early 18th century, made by W. Garfoot of London.

The portraits, are of the Stapleton family and their connections. They include Miles Thomas, the 8th Lord Beaumont, by Richard Buckner; Isabella Anne, his wife and her parents, Lord and Lady Kilmaine; Henry, the 9th Lord Beaumont and his sister the Hon. Agnes Stapleton, both by A. Besnard. The vast gilt looking glass is baroque.

The Exterior    
The Outer & Inner Halls   
Bow Drawing Room   
Venetian Drawing Room   
Picture Gallery