It is not immediately apparent why it is called the Venetian Drawing Room. The explanation is that Bentley discovered some old Venetian glasses stored in a cupboard and designed the room with display cabinets in the dado to show them. At some unknown date the glass was replaced with china. The Venetian theme is continued in the dado panels painted by N.H.J. Westlake with figures from the Merchant of Venice. The artist referred to them irreverently as ‘Shylock, Boldlock and Padlock.’

The upper parts of the walls are covered in moulded plaster with a pattern of pomegranates gilded to look like stamped leather. The cornice is decorated with alternating Bs, the white rose of York, the Stapleton lion and the Errington shell; the ceiling is attractively painted in pink, green and white.The most prominent.

feature of the room is the chimneypiece decorated with heraldry and panels of Flora and the Four Seasons by Westlake. General de Havilland, York Herald of Arms, worked out all the details of the heraldry. He was not an English General, but an American, born in Boston, whose military rank was achieved in Spain fighting for the Carlist Pretender to the Spanish throne. Lord Beaumont fought in the same war and met de Havilland there; it was probably through him that Lord Beaumont was introduced to Bentley.

The large shield supported by Beaumont Talbots and surmounted by the Saracen’s head crest carries 36 armorial quartering.

The yellow embossed fireplace tiles are by William de Morgan, the Pre-Raphaelite potter. The brass fire-dogs, the three silver plated chandeliers, the chairs with green velvet upholstery and the curtains of a matching pattern in terracotta and green were all designed by Bentley. The two marquetry side-tables are mid- 18th century Dutch. The painting of an architectural scene over the chimneypiece was bought for this position in 1908 for £48.

The china in the cabinets is mainly 19th century continental: Berlin, Ludwigsburg, Höchst, Sèvres, Vienna and Meissen.

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