Visitors to historic country houses in Kent, Cheshire and North Yorkshire are among those set to enjoy the results of recent decisions of the Acceptance in Lieu scheme which were announced this week.
Beautiful Scotney Castle in Kent has opened its doors to the public for the first time as a result of the tax scheme that encourages the preservation of our heritage.
Decisions on which public collections will receive items previously acquired under the scheme have also been revealed. There are several items of Regional interest for the East of England. These include objects associated with Admiral Lord Nelson which are divided amongst the Royal Naval Museum, the National Maritime Museum, and the Museum of Oxford, a pair of German Renaissance portraits of Onophrius Scheit, a chamberlain to Duke Ludwig X at Munich, and his third wife Anna, which will go to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge..
The Piazza San Marco during a carnival by Luca Carlevarijs is one of twelve paintings at Kiplin Hall in Yorkshire which have recently been saved for the nation. Others include A Peasant Couple with farmyard fowl and produce by Joachim Beuckelaer, and a pair of views of Venice by a follower of Canaletto.
An English Delft Royalist sack bottle, painted with a crown above the letters CR and the date 1649, is just one of a large collection of paintings, furniture and furnishings at Scotney Castle in Kent which has also been saved. The collection has been allocated to the National Trust, which already owned the castle itself, allowing it to be opened to the public for the first time in its history.
These are just some of the £5.4m worth of treasures, settling just under £3m of tax, which have been transferred to UK public collections in lieu of inheritance tax in recent months.
The list also includes a collection of silver at Dunham Massey Hall, near Manchester, and a watercolour view of Rome by JMW Turner which goes to the Courtauld Gallery.
The Acceptance in Lieu scheme, administered by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), on behalf of the government, allows items deemed to be national treasures to be given to the nation in place of inheritance tax.
It was also announced today that many objects previously acquired through the Acceptance in Lieu scheme have now been permanently allocated to museums, galleries, country houses and heritage centres around the country, including Portsmouth, Oxford, and Lichfield in Staffordshire.
MLA Chair Mark Wood said: “The range of art works and historic artefacts which have now been made accessible to the public speaks volumes about the continuing success of the AIL scheme. The opening of Scotney Castle with much of its display secured by AIL is a particularly notable achievement.”
Jonathan Scott, Chair of the AIL Panel, said: “The AIL scheme is delighted to accept these important objects and allocate them to a wide range of public venues, to ensure that they can be enjoyed in the most suitable settings.”
Notes to Editors
1. A summary of each of the transfers and allocations is below. A selection of images is available on request for most of the items.
2. The MLA Partnership is government’s agency for museums, galleries, libraries and archives. We deliver strategic leadership in England and in each of its regions and we collaborate with partners across the UK. Our research identifies good practice, which we use to promote improvement. We offer advice, support and resources to funding bodies and other groups to incentivise innovation. Our aim is to raise professional standards and champion better services for users and readers of all ages and backgrounds, whether residents or visitors.
Summaries of the transfers
Two portraits by Bartel Beham (Nuremberg 1502-1540 Italy): Portrait of Onophrius Scheit, half-length, in a black coat and hat, a scroll in his right hand, 64 x 49 cm; and Portrait of Anna Scheit, née Mem[m]inger, half-length, in red and black costume, 62 x 47 cm, both oil on panel. Works by the German Renaissance artist Beham are rare in the UK, and this pair of portraits show an important but little known artist at his best. Once the private property of the Emperor of Austria, the portraits have only ever been on public display in the UK once before. They settled £345,272 of tax, and have been permanently allocated to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Twelve paintings at Kiplin Hall: Luca Carlevarijs The Piazza San Marco during a Carnival; Joachim Beuckelaer A Peasant Couple with farmyard fowl and produce; a pair of Venetian views by a follower of Canaletto; and various portraits by Sir William Beechey, Francis Cotes, George Frederick Watts and others. Built in Yorkshire in the early 1620s by a local gentleman, Kiplin Hall is a historic house with all its contents having belonged to the blood-related families who owned it over nearly 400 years. The paintings settled £1,417,275 of tax, and have been allocated to the Trustees of Kiplin Hall.
Scotney Castle Chattels: The collection of over 250 chattels, which includes paintings, drawings, furniture, carpets, porcelain, pottery, glass, and silver was accepted in lieu because of its historical association with Scotney Castle. The house and its contents are now open to the public for the very first time. Notable items include a painting by Francis Wheatley RA, Equestrian Portrait of an Officer and an English delft Royalist commemorative sack bottle dated 1649. The chattels settled £427,427 of tax and have been allocated to the National Trust for display at Scotney Castle.
Dunham Massey Silver: This collection of 21 silver pieces, including candelabra, wine coolers, a tea kettle and a soap box, was commissioned by George Booth, 2nd Earl of Warrington and his descendants and has been on loan to the National Trust property of Dunham Massey near Manchester for many years. It is important for the study of English silver, particularly in the context of its social setting, and for its contribution to the understanding of a historic building. The collection settled £686,000 of tax, and has been allocated to the National Trust for display at Dunham Massey.
Allocations of items recently accepted in lieu:
Four items associated with Admiral Horatio Nelson have been permanently allocated. A George III gold Freedom Box presented to Nelson by the City of Oxford goes to the Museum of Oxford, his only surviving shirt goes to the National Maritime Museum, and the Royal Naval Museum gets a gold badge presented to Nelson by the City of Syracuse following the battle of the Nile, and his armchair from HMS Victory.
The Ashmolean Museum has been allocated five pictures: Music by Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, Hamlet and Ophelia by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, The Ideal by George Frederick Watts, Figures in a Landscape by Augustus John and Portrait of Madame Sarah Bernhardt by W Graham Robertson.
Five fake medieval illuminated manuscripts by The Spanish Forger go to the V&A.
A Tournai blue-ground armorial écuelle (broth bowl) painted by Joseph Duvivier, circa 1762/3, has been allocated to the V&A.
A watercolour by JMW Turner, Rome from San Pietro in Montorio, has been allocated to the Courtauld Gallery.
Four items of early 17th century English silver which were once owned by William Bromley, Speaker of the House of Commons from 1710-1713, go to the V&A: a Queen Anne Cup and Cover by Lewis Mettayer; a Queen Anne Treasury Inkstand by Lewis Mettayer; a pair of Queen Anne Candlesticks by Lewis Mettayer; and a George I beaker by John Eckford.
A George I beaker made by Jonah Clifton from the same collection has been allocated to Lichfield Heritage Centre in Staffordshire for a period of five years. It was commissioned by Speaker Bromley to honour his recently deceased friend Jonathan Kimberley, Dean of Lichfield Cathedral, who had left Bromley “a five pound piece of Guinea gold” in his will.
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