Dining Hall
Cleveland House
Cleveland House in St. James Square in the late nineteenth century
Old Cleveland House shortly before its demolition in 1894. From Arthur Irwin Dasent, The History of St. James's Square and the Foundation of the West end of London. London: Macmillan and Company, 1895, p. 99.
Here was the Dining Hall
Floor plan of Cleveland House
Here was the Dining Hall
Daniel Smith Son and Oakley, architects. First Floor Plan of Cleveland House, 1892. Ink on paper. BIFMO/Raby Castle-Cleveland House sources [MR 1134_1].
About
The Dining Hall in Cleveland House served as a space for communal meals and social gatherings. Historically, the dining hall was not merely a place for consumption of food but also a setting for the display of wealth, power, and hospitality.
While both a dining hall and dining room serve the primary function of providing a space for dining, they differ significantly. The dining hall is typically larger and more architecturally grandiose than the dining room. The dining room, on the other hand, is usually smaller, designed for regular family meals rather than large gatherings.
The purpose of rooms may change over time. The dining hall in Cleveland House might have been repurposed for different uses as the needs and functions of the household evolved.
3D model of Dining Hall
Based on the floor plans and facades of the house, we reimagined the interior of the Dining Hall at Cleveland House.
Colour Scheme
Red is a predominant colour throughout Cleveland House, including in the Dining Hall. This choice is consistent with Raby Castle, another property owned by the Dukes of Cleveland, where red is featured in several rooms. An example of this consistency is the Dining Room at Raby Castle, where red tones are present in the carpets, curtains and walls.
A Comparable Example
This drawing captures the Kirtlington Park dining room in 1876, with the table set for tea. The room showcases its original eighteenth-century dining chairs and side table. At the time, the ceiling still featured its original yellow and cream colors, while the walls had been repainted light green. A large Turkish carpet elegantly covers most of the wooden floor. We imagine that the Dining Hall at Cleveland House may have been furnished with a similar arrangement.
Susan Alice Dashwood (British, 1856-1922). Kirtlington Park, Oxfordshire, View of the Dining Room, 1876. Watercolor and gouache over graphite, 13 11/16 x 19 11/16 in.
Edward Pearce Casey Fund, 1993 (1993.28)
Sources to reimagine the interior
Due to the demolition of the building in 1894, we reimagined the Dining Hall interior using primary sources provided by Raby Castle, FHS and BIFMO, periodicals and secondary sources, to create a 3D model that allows to picture how the room may have looked like at mid-nineteenth century. Below are three reference points we used to determine the interior design of the Dining Hall.
Floor plans, interior elevations and illustrations
Three main graphic sources from the Raby Collection were crucial to reimagine the Dining Hall at Cleveland House. There are some discrepancies between these three sources, such as the height and shape of the windows and doors, the presence of book shelves and some of the furnishing choices and arrangements, so we privileged the information from the architectural plans and the illustration of the facade of which we had more certainty.
Scroll and click on them to learn how we used them.
Inventories
We searched through handwritten inventories from 1842 and 1864 [MR 802_1 and MR 802_2] to recreate how the Dining Hall was furnished. We used descriptions written in these documents to depict features like the elegant marble mantelpieces (even those in the basement), gilded ceilings, and polished floors.
Click on the image to read the transcription of the inventories.
Houses Nearby
The houses on St. James Square, including the Cleveland House, were built around the same time. We examined the dining halls of nearby houses to understand their interior designs and arrangements. The picture on the right, for instance, shows the former eating room at No. 20 St. James Square c.1918.
Plate 176: No. 20 St. James's Square. From Survey of London: Volumes 29 and 30, St James Westminster, Part 1. London: F H W Sheppard, 1960. British History Online, accessed August 26, 2024, https://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols29-30/pt1/plate-176.
Furniture
This is how we picture the Dining Hall may have been furnished in mid-nineteenth century. Based on the items described in both inventories, as well as the items that remain in the Raby Collection, we could suggest that the room was furnished in the latest taste at the end of the eighteenth century; however, without further documentation, who designed the interior of the room and the identity of the maker of each piece of furniture remains speculative. Most of the objects used in this image correspond to the items described in the 1842 inventory of the house.
Click on the tags to explore the sources and stories behind each piece of furniture.
Paintings
Paintings hanging in the hall have changed over time. Below are four similar examples found in the Raby collection that could match descriptions from the inventories.
Click over the paintings for more details.
The Dukes of Cleveland as hosts
The Dukes of Cleveland were known for exceptional hospitality, both at Raby Castle and Cleveland House. William Harry Vane, 1st Duke of Cleveland and his three sons who inherited after his death all spent time at Cleveland House hosting important guests.
Click over the paintings for more details.
Ernest Augustus; King of Hanover.
The King of Hanover (Ernest Augustus): “His Majesty, attended by the Baron de Reitseustein, honored the Duke of Cleveland with his company at dinner in the evening, at his residence in St. James’s-Square.
-- The Illustrated London News 1843-07-15: Vol 3 Iss 63
Adolphus Frederick and Augusta Wilhelmina Louisa, Dukes of Cambridge.
The Duchess had an evening party after the banquet. The noble Duke and Duchess will give a grand entertainment to their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the 26th.
-- The Illustrated London News 1846-06-13: Vol 8 Iss 215
Mary, Duchess of Gloucester.
The Duke and Duchess of Cleveland gave an elegant entertainment on Wednesday evening to her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester, at their mansion in St. James’s-square.
-- The Illustrated London News 1846-06-13: Vol 8 Iss 215
George William Frederick Charles; Duke of Cambridge.
The Duke of Cambridge dined with the Duke and Duchess of Cleveland on Saturday last at Cleveland House.
-- The Illustrated London News 1877-05-19: Vol 70 Iss 1975
Marie Wilhelmine Friederike von Hessen-Kassel; Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.
The Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz dined with the Duke and Duchess of Cleveland at their residence in St. James's Square on Saturday.
-- The Illustrated London News 1880-05-29: Vol 76 Iss 2139
About the project
This website is the result of a research project that delves into the history and significance of the Dining Hall at Cleveland House. The project was made possible with the support and guidance of Raby Castle, The Furniture History Society and British and Irish Furniture Makers Online. Two postgraduate students, Yan and Daniela, collaborated on the research, content creation, 3D modeling and website design. Yan Leung is a postgraduate student at University of Leeds at Leeds focusing on art galleries and museum studies. She also has an undergraduate degree in Fine Art. Daniela Díaz Blancarte is a second year MA student in Decorative Arts, Design History and Material Culture at Bard Graduate Center in New York City. She also has an undergraduate and a Master’s degree in Architecture, both obtained in Mexico City, from Universidad Iberoamericana and Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México respectively. Both Yan and Daniela are thrilled to present their research to the public through this interactive platform, and they hope that you find the project inspiring and gain a deeper understanding of Cleveland House as they have.
Acknowledgements
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the following experts for their invaluable contributions and insights, listed in no particular order.:
Judith Goodison, James Lomax, Sarah Medlam, Lucy Wood,
and Susan Stuart.