The Home of a Collection

Kerfield’s statuary-dotted lawns and salons became the backdrop for weddings, parties and family gatherings.  It is also where Holly acquired her eye for the distinctive, one-off antiques she sells to clients like Eddie Redmayne or Richard E Grant. Now, however, it is time to move on. John and Elaine, both in their 80s, have sold Kerfield. Its mainly 18^th and 19^th century contents will be up for sale at Bonhams on the 11^th September.  "They have always bought what they like, pieces that give them enjoyment and happiness," says Holly.

But her parents also have a collector’s appreciation of provenance and history. The sale includes many notable pieces: the 19^th century, Adams-style curved satinwood, sycamore and gilt-bronze embellished cabinet made by Wright & Mansfield, or the drama-infused painting of dashing French revolutionaries by 19^th century artist Émile Betsellère, that would not look out of place in a museum.

Kerfield’s history is equally interesting. In 1912, its owner Sidney Goldschmidt commissioned the prolific local architect Percy Worthington to give the non-descript Victorian property a Georgian makeover. He designed the grand hall, sweeping staircase and neo-classical portico. All this appealed to subsequent, well-heeled owners like Sebastian de Ferranti, scion of the electrical-engineering family, who bought Kerfield in the 1970s.  

De Ferranti’s houseguests included the late Queen, her husband Prince Phillip and King Charles, then Prince of Wales. A dumb waiter whisked breakfast trays from the kitchen to the main bedrooms. Another owner, the Pears soap heiress Natalie Shrigley-Fiegal, installed the indulgently large round tub in the main bathroom.

Kerfield provided the space which John and Elaine needed to expand their expanding antiques collection. Holly accompanied them on trips to influential antiques dealers like Lumbs in Harrogate. At the "strait-laced" Grosvenor antiques fair in London they shopped for Georgian commodes, giltwood mirrors or bronze chandeliers.  By comparison, "the less-revered" Olympia Antiques Fair was "crazy – and eclectic." For Holly, who founded her business in 1995. Both were formative experiences. The antique’s world of "fantastic characters and fascinating stories," cast "an enduring spell."

"She would say: I will bid
whatever it takes..."

In the late 1980s, the saleroom was still the domain of dealers and serious collectors. That did not deter Elaine from bidding at auctions, much to the chagrin of the professionals vying for the same lot. "She’d say; I’ll bid whatever it takes," says Holly, who began her career at Phillips.

Art and Object

This was also the era of the country-house sale, when dynastic treasures were auctioned off in marquees on smooth lawns. The 19^th century marble bust of Pericles, which greeted visitors arriving in the hallway, originally came from Rudding Park, in Yorkshire. Her parents bought it from the dealer and television presenter David Dickinson, another of Holly’s early employers whose diligent approach to research was equally influential.  

Kerfield leant itself to large artworks. Henri-George-Jacques Chartier’s Napoleonic battle scene – heroic cavalry charging through smoke – was discovered rolled up in a London gentlemen’s club. It might have been painted to fit the expansive convex wall in the dining room. Other pieces were chosen for entertaining.

A pair of unusual Sedan-shaped chairs originally designed to exclude draughts, or the exquisite shagreen-covered drinks cabinet, made for Asprey’s in London. The decorative, rose and tulipwood baby grand piano came from France where it had to be gingerly craned out of a chateau window because it was too large to be hauled downstairs.

Like the antiques, Elaine decorated the interior in the opulent, swag-and-tail-strewn country-house manner then in fashion (and which is now back again).  She chose a glowing yellow, hand painted wallpaper from De Gournay for the dining room.  

The floor-grazing, fringed curtains and elaborate blinds, based on 19^th century pattern books, were made locally and hung from gilt and gesso pelmets (also included in the sale) for swaggering effect.  Guests slumbered in four-posts or cocooned by luxurious half-testers of silk or damask. No Habitat, John Lewis or posters for Holly’s bedroom either: instead, a towering mahogany wardrobe, walnut dressing table – and copious drapery.

"The decorative, rose and tulipwood baby grand piano had to be craned out of a chateau window because it was too large to be hauled downstairs"

Spanning Eras into the Modern Age

But over time Holly also persuaded her parents to broaden their collecting remit. The sale includes several pieces of furniture by the 20^th century Italian designer Piero Fornasetti: a rare ‘Boomerang’ chair, a trompe l’oeil screen and covetable ‘Architettura’ cabinet, in collaboration with Gio Ponti, the graphic design a foil to the soft gilt and ormolu of older pieces.

When her parents were away in the early 1990s, Holly would bring friends home after a night of clubbing in Manchester. Even during those bleary-eyed, post-Hacienda mornings, her guests would tiptoe around the antiquities, though "Miraculously, nothing was broken."  Kerfield had cast its spell on them too. Holly explains: "Everyone knew it was a special place."