The Countess of Pomfret’s Gothic revival furniture

Henrietta Louisa Fermor (1698–1761), the Countess of Pomfret, was particularly interested in medieval architecture and commissioned the only Gothic Revival town house in mid eighteenth-century London. The house, 18 Arlington Street, otherwise styled Pomfret Castle, has recently been the subject of two articles in The Georgian Group Journal by Sarah Freeman (2012) and Will Hawkes (2013). While these studies present the known evidence regarding the architects involved at 18 Arlington Street, the Countess’s Gothic Revival furniture has received less attention. This article examines the Countess’s furniture and suggests that the majority predate the construction and furnishing of 18 Arlington Street. It concludes by questioning how the Countess’ ‘Gothic passion’ fits within the Gothic Revival’s current interpretation as a masculine and homosocial taste