Old Library

This room is the first of three libraries in the House and the only library conceived in the original plans (the other two were added during the Victorian period.)  The set of chairs was originally made for this space in the early 1770s as were the folding library steps and a larger writing desk stood in the middle of the room.

The bookcases are divided by Corinthian columns and are surmounted by bronzed busts and paintings by Biagio Rebecca.  Paint scrapes revealed Adam’s decorative scheme of green, white and grey, and these colours were used when the room was repainted. 

Towards the back of the room there is a bronze bust of Princess Mary, the current Earl’s mother, by the artist FE McWilliam.