'A casket to enclose pictorial gems': in 1838 James Morrison, one of the richest men in England commissioned the architect J.B. Papworth to complete, decorate and furnish Basildon Park in Berkshire as a setting for his art collection. It was the culmination of a long relationship between architect and patron, but, as Caroline Dakers explains, it ended unhappily

Apollo, April, 2004 by Caroline Dakers

The palette of pink, green and gold was continued in the central staircase hall, with a green and gold Wilton carpet covering the hall and stairs. (37) The difficulty of finding a location for Turner's Thomson's Aeolian harp forced Papworth to cover part of Carr's plasterwork (Fig. 6). As Papworth explained to Morrison, 'A fine picture is a fine thing but all other matters should not be obliged to yield to it'. (38)

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The Octagon Room was designed specifically for Morrison's 'English pictures' and was the most lavish and ornate of Papworth's interiors. The ornate frieze and heavy ceiling with recessed panels painted in polychrome on paper were designed in the Italian sixteenth-century style and completed by W.B. Simpson (Fig. 7). Papworth carefully explained the cost of the work, knowing Morrison always demanded detailed accounts of money and time spent, and would often dispute mere shillings and pence:

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Gilding to the Ceiling & Cornice of Octagon Room Eighty Pounds--the woodwork of doorcases & caps--also the WindOw dressings & the Skirtings Twenty Pounds--Fourl panels (No X) which are called decorations 12:10 each of 50 [pounds sterling]--The 4 others instead of the decoration merely--seventy pounds. (39)

Simpson's total bill for all the decorative painting and gilding at Basildon was 2,101 [pounds sterling].

The walls of the Octagon Room were covered in purple fabric specially dyed at Fore Street to match the ceiling. There were two large sofas, a centre ottoman and five carved ebony chairs all covered in purple Utrecht velvet (Seddon called it 'violet'). The curtains designed by Papworth (Fig. 8) and made by Seddon incorporated a tapestry fabric bought by Morrison. 'Two pair of curtains of your tapestry cloth, lined with merino, and trimmed with gold silk & worsted gymp, looped up with rich tassel'd embraces, with deep twine fringe valans with silk trimmings'. (40) Papworth also designed the marble chimney-piece carved by W.G. Nicholl, and an elaborate steel and ormolu fire-grate made by W. Slark & Son. The 'window table' was a tour de force. The top was made of a slab of Breccia marble called 'sea green polyeverra' from a quarry near Mount Cenis, Italy, supported on a structure of 'wood carving gilt and with parts burnished' (41) with silvered glass beneath (Fig. 7).

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On 8 January 1844, Morrison sent Papworth an encouraging note: 'we are in full operation. My navigator is already calling out for directions, and does not know what he shall do if the Ar-che-tect is not here--Monday or Tuesday'. (42) However, a few days before he had asked Papworth to send an account of all his work up to the end of 1843. Various works at Basildon and at Fonthill were progressing too slowly for Morrison, also he had apparently received information questioning the amount of time Papworth was spending on site.

Papworth's responsibilities were considerable. A long letter he wrote to Morrison on 27 January listed some of his tasks. At Basildon alone, he was negotiating with the Great Western Railway; completing work on the ice well, lodges, farm buildings, cottages and gates; planning a new approach to the house and a new stable block; arranging the carriage of works of art from London and decorating the Dining Room and Library: