 |
The Bristol mansion house was built solely as a home for the mayor, and the mansion houses of London and York provided accommodation for the mayor as one of their functions. Doncaster Mansion House, however, was designed as a place for corporate entertaining and, although there were several rooms to provide living accommodation, the house was never intended as a residence for the mayor in his year of office, although a few mayors made use of the rooms for this purpose. )
) )
)
)
)
) The original Venetian window in the rear wall over the staircase was removed but the design was copied in the new external wall. The window was renewed and the glass replaced in 1986 by the new panes of stained glass, specially-commissioned from Harry Harvey of York, to commemorate the International Year of Peace. On the walls are four of a set of six rococo mirrored sconces (candle-holders). These are some of the few original furnishings now remaining, and all six were purchased for a total of £60.18 shillings (£60. 90p). )
) The focus of the whole building is the room that has been known as the ballroom since 1826. The room does not have paintings in the ceilings but instead it has plaster work of a wonderfully high quality, the work of Joseph Rose or Thomas Perritt, who were amongst the finest craftsmen of the age. The room is lighted by three crystal chandeliers, which the corporation decided to buy in 1750. There is a musician's gallery over the principal entrance doors, which lead from the landing at the top of the imperial-style staircase. The portraits include those of King George III, presented by Lord Eardley in 1804, and the first portrait to hang in the House, and Queen Victoria. There are portraits of three generations of the grandees who lived at Wentworth Woodhouse: the Marquis of Rockingham, Prime Minister in 1782, and his successors the fifth and sixth Earls Fitzwilliam. These noblemen were among the most influential figures in Yorkshire society and politics. In addition, there are also portraits of the Doncaster-born Sir Frank Lockwood, the barrister who defended the locally-notorious Charles Peace and M P for York, who became Solicitor General in 1894, and Lord Lonsdale, the sporting earl (painted by Sir John Lavery, 1930), another reminder of Doncaster's racing history. )
)
) Sixty years after the ballroom was completed, it was provided with a companion of equal, and perhaps less awesome, elegance. In 1806, a new dining room was designed. Since 1914, when the council ceased to meet in the Guild Hall in Frenchgate, the dining room has been adopted as the council chamber. | |||
Back to England page | |||