French, probably 19th century

By repute acquired from Tong Castle, Shropshire in 1913

Tong Castle was an extraordinary Gothic Revival country house, near Wolverhampton in Shropshire, which was finally demolished in 1954 after a destructive fire in 1911. The 12th century castle was completely renovated in 1765 shortly after George Durant acquired the estate from the Duke of Kingston. He commissioned Capability Brown to design and build a new house and garden. The new house was in the style of Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill House that was being built contemporaneously. In 1854 Durant sold the house to the Earl of Bradford who was solely interested in developing the estate and let the house to the Hartley family until 1909.

Tong Castle was an extraordinary Gothic Revival country house, near Wolverhampton in Shropshire, which was finally demolished in 1954 after a destructive fire in 1911. The 12th century castle was completely renovated in 1765 shortly after George Durant acquired the estate from the Duke of Kingston. He commissioned Capability Brown to design and build a new house and garden. The new house was in the style of Horace Walpole’s Strawberry Hill House that was being built contemporaneously. In 1854 Durant sold the house to the Earl of Bradford who was solely interested in developing the estate and let the house to the Hartley family until 1909.