The Saloon

This eighteenth-century 'Saloon' gives wide views across the park. Vassalli's ceiling of 1758-9 is in the most carefree Rococo style with winged putti flying among the clouds, and is complemented by the sienna and white marble chimneypiece. The festoons of plasterwork are a framework for a series of portraits with trophies hanging from ribbon bows representing the 1st Lord Lyttelton's wide-ranging interests.

To the right of the windows is a portrait of Lord Lyttelton by Benjamin West while opposite is the Allan Ramsay painting of his brother Charles, Bishop of Carlisle. On the right there is a large portrait of Sir Thomas Lyttelton by Pond.  Sir Thomas was Judge of the Common Pleas he worte "Treastise on Tenures". He was born in 1420 and died in 1481.  He is buried at Worcester Cathedral. The painting by Wootton over the chimneypiece shows another brother, Sir Richard, with the Earl of Stair at the battle of Dettingen in 1743.  Opposite the Wootton hangs a rare full length portrait by landscape artist Richard Wilson of Lord Lyttelton's half-brother, Admiral Thomas Smith. Also in this room hangs the portrait of  Sir Richards Lyttelton, brother of George, by Batoni.