Appeal To Restore Valuable Painting Collection
13th October 2022
If you have visited the When Spencer Met Stanhope exhibition at Cannon Hall Museum, you may have noticed a painting of Jane Dutton and her daughters by Daniel Gardiner. This painting was recently conserved thanks to supporters of Barnsley Museums and Heritage Trust.
We would now – with your help – like to conserve the sister painting, also by Daniel Gardiner, of Margaret Roberts Hunloke. We have been given an estimated cost of £1,500 to preserve this wonderful painting for future generations.
This fascinating video of the conservation of the Jane Dutton painting shows just how much work went into restoring it to its former glory.
Cannon Hall Conservation Video
The Margaret Roberts Hunloke painting is currently on display as part of the exhibition until Sunday 30th October, and it would be amazing news if we could raise the funds for its conservation by the time the exhibition closes.
If you would like to donate, please text MARGARET followed by the amount you wish to donate to 70085. Alternatively, you can donate via our website bmht.org
Margaret Roberts Hunloke (nee Coke) 1751-1821
Margaret Roberts Coke married Sir Henry Hunloke, 4th Baronet, in 1769. They lived at Wingerworth Hall near Chesterfield and had numerous children described in a newspaper report as ‘their beautiful and numerous progeny.’ The same article reports their eldest son’s coming-of-age party in 1794 and describes a lavish affair. The passage was dressed with real orange trees hung with fruit and coloured lights.
The parents’ pride was indicated by their ‘countenances lighted up with sweet emotion which results from parental affection.’
As the sister of Thomas Coke, Margaret was an aunt to Elizabeth Coke, who married John Spencer-Stanhope of Cannon Hall. Lady Hunloke and her sister-in-law, Jane, both had their portraits painted by Daniel Gardiner in the early 1780s. He was a popular portraitist of the period and had trained with George Romney. He had an unusual technique of mixing oil and pastel and applying this to paper before attaching the portrait to canvas. Elizabeth Spencer Stanhope likely brought these portraits to Cannon Hall to remember her mother and aunt.
When Spencer Met Stanhope exhibition
Cannon Hall was the home of the Spencer Stanhopes from the 17th century until the 1950s. For the first time, portraits of the family are on display, making connections between the different members of this fascinating extended family.
Stories from the archives shine a light on individual characters and explore familial relationships and daily life at Cannon Hall in the 18th and 19th centuries. The role of the Spencer Stanhopes in both historical events and their local community will also be explored through a series of remarkable objects.
The portraits and objects have been gifted in recent years by a descendant of the family to enrich the Cannon Hall Museum collections, with some being on the show to the public for the first time in many years.
The exhibition runs until 30th October 2022.
