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George I's coronation throne: Adam Bowett describes a major new discovery: the throne made by the royal joiner Richard Roberts for the coronation in 1714 of George I, one of only a handful of English coronation thrones to have survived

Apollo, Jan, 2005 by Adam Bowet

Coronations are still the greatest set-piece events of English court life, involving massive financial and physical resources and meticulous planning. From medieval times onwards, the key officer for the occasion was the Lord Chamberlain and his deputy, the Master of the Great Wardrobe. It was the Great Wardrobe's responsibility to supply all the costume, fabric and furniture necessary for the event, even to the velvet-seated close stools for the monarch's exclusive use. And yet all this work and expenditure was purely transitory, being required for one day only. Until the accession of William IV in 1830, each coronation required the Wardrobe to supply everything anew, and all was disposed of almost immediately afterwards. Thus it is that with the exception of the ancient throne of Edward II, which still plays its part in coronations at Westminster Abbey, the thrones used at the coronations of English monarchs have been dispersed and most are now lost.

In 1989 Hugh Roberts published an account of the coronation thrones of George III, George IV, William IV and Queen Victoria, which located and identified several hitherto unrecognised thrones, and at the same time threw light on the manner of their departure from royal possession. (1) Most were acquired as perquisites of office, either by the Lord Great Chamberlain or by the Lord Chamberlain. Of the thrones made for George III and Queen Charlotte, those from the Abbey were acquired by the Duke of Devonshire, the King's Lord Chamberlain, and are now at Chatsworth. Those used within the Palace of Westminster went to Grimsthorpe Castle, home of the Duke of Ancaster, the Lord Great Chamberlain. The distribution of perquisites for earlier coronations is less clear, and the fate of the thrones of Charles II, James II, William III and Mary II is unknown. The throne used by Queen Anne in Westminster Abbey is now at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, but how it came there is a mystery)

A similar paucity of information surrounds the Coronation throne of George I, identified here for the first time (Figs. 1 and 7). Although its immediate provenance before being placed on the London art market in 1987 is known, it throws no light on the history of the chair since 1714. The chair has spent at least part of its life in Germany, and it is conceivable that it was removed there as a perquisite by a Hanoverian courtier or possible by George I himself. (3)

[FIGURE 1-7 OMITTED]

Arrangements for the coronation of George, Elector of Hanover, as George I of England were set in train at a meeting of the Lord Justices in Council on 10 September 1714, at which their lordships approved a report from the Great Wardrobe detailing the furniture, furnishings and regalia needed for the ceremony. The Duke of Montagu, Master of the Great Wardrobe, was enjoined 'to Give the Necessary Orders to the Respective Officers and Offices under his Grace's Direction, to make such provision and preparation against the Day of his Majesty's Coronation as were made for the last Coronation'. (4) The reference to the previous coronation was for two reasons. First, it emphasised continuity and tradition, which was more than usually desirable now that a Hanoverian with a contested claim to the throne was to be crowned. Second, it was only by reference to the records of previous coronations that the manifold and complex arrangements of the event could be mastered. Hence the form of the ceremony, the costumes, regalia and accessories, even the wording of the warrants, was almost identical to that used for the coronations of Charles II (1661), James II (1685), William and Mary (1689) and Queen Anne (1702). (5)

After the meeting in Council, warrants to craftsmen and suppliers quickly flowed from Montagu's office. That for the coronation throne and other chairs of state used in Westminster Abbey is dated 13 September:

   A Canopy of Cloth of Gold to be
   born over the King with a Silver Bell
   at each corner of the Said Canopy
   being 4 in all. A Pall of Cloth of
   Gold for the King to Offer. Another
   pall to be held over the King during
   the Anointing by four Knights of the
   Garter. Cloth of Gold to cover the
   Throne. A rich Chair with a
   Cushion and footstool to be placed
   upon the Throne. Another below
   the East Side Opposite the Altar. A
   rich Chair & Traverse (6) with a
   footstool & Cusheon for the King
   on the South Side below the Altar to
   Sit in during the Sermon. Another
   Chair for the King placed before the
   Altar when he is Anointed & then
   Cloathed. St Edward's Chair to be
   covered with Cloth of Gold &
   placed in the midst over against the
   Altar towards the Throne in which
   his Matie is to be Crowned ... Two
   Chairs of purple velvet for the
   Archbishop or Bishops to Sit in on
   the North Side of the Altar'. (7)

This was the furniture required for the concluding part of the coronation, when the King, having been enthroned and received homage from the Lords temporal in Westminster Hall, walked beneath his golden canopy to be crowned in Westminster Abbey. As the King processed slowly up the church from the west door he was accompanied by singing and shouts of acclamation. Having passed through the choir he entered and ascended what John Ogilby called on an earlier occasion 'the great Theatre'--a stage covered in red cloth which filled the entire chancel of the church from the choir to the altar. (8)

George I's coronation throne: Adam Bowett describes a major new discovery: the throne made by the royal joiner Richard Roberts for the coronation in 1714 of George I, one of only a handful of English coronation thrones to have survived

Apollo, Jan, 2005 by Adam Bowet

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