The Collection

The Mansion at Tatton Park houses a large and diverse collection from paintings to vehicles, furniture to ethnography. The collection reflects the evolving tastes and interests of the different generations of the family to own and inhabit the house.

Paintings

Perhaps the greatest collector of art was Wilbraham Egerton (1781 -1856). Wilbraham’s acquisition of paintings by such masters as Van Dyck, Poussin, Chardin, Carraci and Guercino provided Tatton with a world class art collection. A recent BBC TV programme - Briatin's Lost Masterpieces - worked with staff at the Mansion and filmed the fascinating process of restoring and identifying a portrait by Salviati. Click here to learn more about The Physician.

Mars by Guercino (1591-1666) c.1620-1629 is travelling to Rome on loan to the Scuderie del Quirinale, to be part of their exhibition Guercino and the Ludovisi Age in Rome. The Triumph of Painting. 

Books

The Library at Tatton Park contains 8,000 volumes, with a further 4,000 elsewhere in the collection. It is one of the largest and most important collections within the National Trust.  As successive owners have added their layer of collecting to the Library we can develop a picture of their lives and pre-occupations. Find out more.

Furniture

 It was Wilbraham and his wife Elizabeth (1777 – 1853) who oversaw the completion, decoration and furnishing of the Neo-classical Mansion. Tatton’s collection of Gillow furniture is unrivalled in this country, and it was they who commissioned many of the pieces especially for the house.

Ceramics

Fine ceramics also grace the Mansion’s interiors. Collected by successive generations, they illustrate the changing status and fortunes of the family. A beautiful Minton dessert service in the Sèvres style, purchased circa 1865 with additional pieces being acquired in the 1870s, graces the Dining Room table. Display cabinets in the Card Room and on the upper landing of the Mansion display fine examples from the collection.

In the Servants’ wing of the house a purpose built “China Closet” is situated beside the Housekeeper's Sitting Room. Here the Housekeeper would monitor the precious and expensive pieces of ceramic which were used by the servants in the preparation and serving of food to the Egerton family and their guests.

 

Tatton Park's full collection can now be viewed online through the new National Trust Collections website. Over 10,000 of Tatton Park items are included.