Continuing our run of exceptional single-owner sales, Sworders will sell the principal contents of the Cheshire country house Boden Hall in March of this year. The carefully curated selection of period furniture, objects and fine paintings were assembled for the Georgian home by its most recent custodians, Victoria Wrather and her late husband William.
With its long sweeping drive, manicured formal garden and intricate neoclassical plasterwork, Boden Hall is the textbook Georgian manor. Set in almost 70 acres of land, it was once home to the renowned H & R Johnson Tile family from Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire from 1919 to 1997.
William, a Manchester surveyor and developer, and his wife Victoria, a successful decorator and interior designer, purchased the estate 27 years ago. Together, they embarked on a major restoration project that returned the house, garden and outbuildings to their former glory.
It is now nearly 40 years since I first experienced the thrill of driving up the front drive at Boden Hall.
As you enter the estate through the entrance off the Knutsford Road near Rode Heath in the ancient parish of Astbury and drive in beside a very pretty Gate House in the Cottage Orne tradition, you immediately sense that you are entering a very special and cherished corner of England.
Sitting comfortably today in its 70 acres of farm and parkland and extensive exquisitely tended gardens it is totally secluded from the road and only gradually does it reveal itself. The drive splits as you approach going left towards the service cottages, domestic offices and coach house and sweeping to the right to reveal the piece de resistance the West elevation of Boden Hall itself and the dramatic expanse of the lake and charmingly snug Boat House.
My first visit all those years ago was a professional one. I had been invited to the house to prepare a valuation for the then owner Mrs Johnson of the famed Johnson Tiles business in Stoke on Trent. Little did I know that this was to be the first of many visits spanning nearly 40 years.
In 1996, I was thrilled when my friends Bill and Vicky Wrather bought Boden Hall at the end of Mrs Johnson's tenure and began restoring it to its original state. I first met Bill and Vicky in the late 1980s, at that time, they lived in the elegant Old Rectory in Siddington. Bill's eclectic passion for collecting - from vintage cars and bicycles to steam engines, Victorian and Modern British Paintings, furniture, and objects - brought us together, sparking a warm friendship.
In those days Vicky owned and ran a successful textiles and decorating business Minshull Archives in Knutsford. She was renowned for her great eye for colour and texture and ability to “layer” the look of an interior. For them, Boden was a dream come true. A blank canvas onto which they could project their vision and enhance and place their growing collections. I count myself lucky to have been around at the right time and the right place to see it all happen.
Although I’ve lived in the South of England for nigh on 25 years, my friendship with Bill and Vicky endured, highlighted by memorable experiences such as joining them on the London to Brighton Run in their 1904 Panhard et Levassor. After Bill’s sad passing in 2023 following a long illness, and the subsequent sale of Boden Hall, Vicky has entrusted Sworders with the sale of its principal contents. Helping her navigate this process has been a privilege. Downsizing is never easy, especially given the care and precision Bill and Vicky invested in creating the near-perfect interiors at Boden Hall. The catalogue for this sale beautifully captures the essence of their home.
Both William and Victoria were dyed in the wool collectors. Victoria collected teapots (finishing with close to 400) while William had a particular love for walking sticks, corkscrews, vintage cars and vintage bicycles. They bought together and built many friendships with the dealers and collectors who shared their singular passions.
However, as evidenced by the curated selection of period furniture, objects and fine paintings that feature in this sale, the décor at Boden Hall was a carefully studied blend of timeless elegance and modern comfort. This was the fruit of natural flair, a deep knowledge of period architecture and the function of buildings and an admiration for the work of renowned 20th-century British decorator and antiques dealer Geoffrey Bennison (1921-84) – master of the ‘layered’ look.
Although Victoria had semi-retired from her busy career as an interior decorator, she embraced the challenge of renovating Boden. She enlisted the help of her trusted team, including curtain makers, carpet fitters, upholsterers, kitchen and bathroom installers, and tilers, while also reaching out to the antiques trade for pieces to furnish the property. Notably, she collaborated with Cheshire dealers Michael Wisehall and David Bedale, acquiring numerous items from them over the years.
A George IV mahogany console table
c.1825, the veined marble top raised on boldly carved scrolled front legs terminating in paw feet,
137cm wide, 69cm deep, 91.5cm high
£2,000-4,000
Sir John Lavery RA RSA RHA (Irish, 1856-1941)
'La Belle Mère' - portrait of the artist's wife Hazel and his daughter Eileen
signed 'J Lavery' u.l., also signed, inscribed with title and dated 1911 verso, oil on canvas
128 x 90cm
£180,000-250,000
A Regency mahogany peat chest
early 19th century, Irish, probably Dublin, of sarcophagus shape with a half hinged top over faux panelled sides within boldly turned rope twist borders and paw feet,
116cm wide, 84cm high
£2,000-3,000
Edward Atkinson Hornel (1864-1933)
'The Swan Pond' signed and dated 'E. A. Hornel/1911' l.r., oil on canvas
78 x 106cm
£10,000-15,000
A pair of William IV rosewood folio stands,
adjustable sides, on gadrooned moulded feet and castors
67cm wide, 76cm deep, 106cm high (2)
£3,000-5,000
Harold Harvey (1874-1941)
'Morning Sunshine' signed and dated 'Harold Harvey 1911' l.r., oil on canvas
96 x 76cm
£25,000-35,000
London (Selected Highlights) | Monday 10 - Friday 21 February (weekdays only 11.00-18.00)
Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers | 15 Cecil Court | London | WC2N 4EZ
Stansted (Full Preview) | 28 February, 2 & 3 March (weekdays 10.00 - 16.00, Saturday Closed, Sunday 10.00 - 13.00)
Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers | Cambridge Road | Stansted Mountfitchet | Essex | CM24 8GE
privatecollections@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778
Exterior building images © John Perry
