Red Drawing Room Click for a larger version (opens in a new window) - 109kb

This vivid room marks the fourth act of Adam's "spectacular" with Cipriani's incredible painted ceiling of 239 medallions. This room houses a very rare survival, an Adam designed carpet, signed and dated by the maker Thomas Moore in 1769. The walls hung with crimson Spitalfields silk make a rich backdrop for the sequence of oil paintings depicting the Stuart royal family.

The most significant painting by Sir Peter Lely, shows King Charles I and his second son, the Duke of York. This was bought by the 10th Earl of Northumberland in 1647 as a memento to commemorate the time when he was given charge of some of the royal children at Syon House, when Charles I was imprisoned at Hampton Court Palace. The painting has hung at Syon House ever since.

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