Object of the Month - The Lancaster Table
1st April 2024
Nancy Astor described them as "the most unhappy, unmarried couple in England".
Although their personalities clashed, the partnership between John Fowler and American socialite, Nancy Lancaster, was enormously creative and credited with defining the ‘English Country House Style’ as it is known today.
In 1947, Nancy purchased the decorating business, Colefax & Fowler, at a time when the business was struggling due to wartime privations. John Fowler was skilled in paint decoration effects such as marbling and graining and took an academic approach to decorating, drawing inspiration from 18th century design books and collections in the V&A. Nancy’s style was more irreverent, freely combining colour with attractive, decorative pieces from different eras to create a harmonious scheme. In an age of shortages, the pair employed inventive techniques from re-dying and adding new trim to old fabrics, to ageing and weathering new chintzes for an overall worn-in look of comfort and elegance.
In 1954, Nancy embarked on the renovation and redecoration of her home, Haseley Court near Oxford, helped by John Fowler. This rare, green-painted ‘faux marble’ draw-leaf dining table was reputedly made for Nancy Lancaster by John Fowler at around this time. An enduring design, the iconic ‘Lancaster’ pedestal table can still be ordered from Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler today, to bespoke size and finish.
Nancy Lancaster’s London residence in the heart of Mayfair was located behind the shop front of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler and built in the second half of the 18th century. The splendidly proportioned drawing room, known as the ‘yellow room’, at Brook Street was photographed by Anthony Denney in 1960 and featured in an article for House and Garden by Loelia, Duchess of Westminster, where a very similar marbled pedestal table by John Fowler can be seen.
This historic example was included in the collection of renowned decorators Derek Parker and Peter Wynne Morris, who enjoyed a very close relationship the Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler firm throughout their careers. The Parker & Morris: Art of Decorating sale took place on Wednesday 17th April and the Lancaster table sold for a premium-inclusive £3,780.
