Goodwood's Salvage Team makes history

Goodwood’s salvage team made history in September by taking down one of the precious 18^th century tapestries that usually hangs in the Tapestry Drawing Room. The tapestry, which got damp due to flash flooding in the House, has only ever been taken down twice since being first installed in the 1770s. It was first taken down during the Second World War, when it was moved to the Ice House on the Estate for safety, and more recently it was taken down again due to flooding. The damage this time was, thankfully, minimal and the tapestry will be going back up as soon as the wall it hangs on has fully dried out.

The tapestry is part of a suite of four gifted by Louis XV of France to the 3^rd Duke of Richmond. The 3^rd Duke spent nine months at the French court in 1765 acting as George III’s ambassador. Louis XV’s monogram appears in each top corner, and peacocks symbolise the French monarchy. The tapestries were enormously expensive, costing the King 15,483 livres and were made at the famous Gobelins factory, which was renowned for making French royal tapestries. The Tapestry Drawing Room was commissioned by the 3^rd Duke to specifically house the tapestries. The entire scheme of the room, including the ceiling, was designed to complement the tapestries which were framed in the French fashion.