John Spencer inherited Cannon Hall from his father, William Spencer, in 1756. William had spent a great deal of money developing the Hall and John engaged the York-based architect John Carr to make further additions. In the 1760s the ground floor was extended to include a library and a dining room. In April 1768 John noted in his diary;
“…Mr Carr went with me to Mr Tyler the statuary paid him his Bill from thence he went with me to Cobbs, Chippendales, & several other of the most eminent cabinet makers to consider of proper Furniture for my drawing room”

The artist Benjamin Wilson was the son of a wealthy clothes manufacturer in York. He trained in London and later set up a studio there after time spent in Dublin. He was a particularly popular choice with the Yorkshire gentry visiting London.

Sir William Lowther, 1st Baronet of Swillington was educated at Cambridge before training as a lawyer. He was also the High Sheriff of Yorkshire and an MP. In 1697 his sister, Mary Lowther, married John Stanhope (1678-1736). It was agreed that Sir William (rather than his father) would pay his sister’s dowry of £50 but this didn’t happen for many years. William and his father ended up in a legal dispute over the payment with the Archbishop of York acting as an arbitrator. William was ordered to apologise to his father which he refused to do leading his father to refer to him as ‘barbarous’ and having a ‘rebellious disobedience’

Mary Winifred Pulleine was described as the greatest heiress of her day and was an intelligent and well-educated woman with an interest in current affairs and politics. She was well-suited to her husband Walter Spencer Stanhope who was a prominent MP. The couple married in 1783 and split their time between Grosvenor Square in London and Cannon Hall. Mary actively supported Walter’s political career and campaigned on his behalf but expressed her frustrations that women were not allowed to vote.

This portrait, and the one of her husband, Walter, were both by the fashionable society portraitist, John Hoppner. He also painted portraits of Queen Charlotte and the Prince of Wales (later King George IV).

Walter Spencer Stanhope was known as ‘Little Watty’ by his uncles, John Stanhope and John Spencer who often discussed their nephew. Watty was an intelligent and capable child who later studied at Oxford and became an MP for a number of constituencies. Walter, Mary and their family spent part of the year in London and part in Yorkshire. In all their residences they dined with many prominent people including the abolitionist, William Wilberforce and the Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger. Walter was known for the humanitarian nature of his politics,including being fair to tenants and opposing cruelty to animals in some sports.

Lady Elizabeth was the daughter of Thomas Coke of Holkham Hall, Norfolk. Her mother died when she was four and by the time she was eleven her elder sisters had both married. At a young age she became responsible for the management of a very large home on behalf of her father. She met John Spencer Stanhope when they were both staying at Dalmeny, near Edinburgh. She took an interest in his travels and he was very impressed by her character. They married in 1822 and had six children. This portrait of Lady Elizabeth was painted in the final year of her life
by the local artist Abel Hold. At the age of 78 she is shown as a rather severe figure but images of her in her youth show a more vivacious personality.

Abel Hold lived at Cawthorne, the village near Cannon Hall. He was a well-respected painter and showed many paintings at the Royal Academy in London. In times of financial hardship, he would encourage the Spencer Stanhope family to commission paintings from him.

Margaret Roberts Coke married Sir Henry Hunloke, 4th Baronet in 1769. They lived at Wingerworth Hall near Chesterfield and had numerous children described in a newspaper report as, ‘their beautiful and numerous progeny’.The same article reports their eldest son’s coming of age party in 1794 and describes a lavish affair. The passage was dressed with real orange trees hung with fruit and coloured lights.The pride of the parents was indicated by their; “…countenances lighted up with sweet emotion which results from parental affection”. As the sister of Thomas Coke, Margaret was aunt to Elizabeth Coke who married John Spencer Stanhope of Cannon Hall. Lady Hunloke and her sister-in-law, Jane, both had their portraits painted by Daniel Gardner

Daniel Gardner was a popular portraitist of the period and had trained with George Romney. He had an unusual technique of mixing oil and pastel and applying this to paper before attaching the painting to canvas.

Jane Dutton married Thomas Coke of Holkham Hall, Norfolk, in 1775. They had three daughters and the eldest two are included in this painting: Jane Coke, later Viscountess Andover and Anne Coke,later Viscountess Anson. In 1795 Jane and Thomas Coke had a third daughter called Elizabeth. She married John Spencer Stanhope who inherited Cannon Hall from his father, Walter in 1821.Jane and her husband, Thomas Coke oversaw the expansion of the Holkham Estate and were famed for their countryside management.Jane was a committed abolitionist as well as having a reputation for
supporting those in poverty.Jane passed away when her youngest daughter, Elizabeth was only four years old. Elizabeth’s father provided for her and supplied her with a dowry.

John Stanhope was born in London and studied law in the city at Gray’s Inn. He came from a family of lawyers and merchants with connections to Horsforth near Leeds. He practised law in London and had the reputation for being fair in his dealings with people. In 1662 John Stanhope moved to Horsforth permanently and continued his profession in Yorkshire. He also built a significant library of books and enjoyed studying his family history. In 1677 he married Hannah Horseman, a wealthy heiress 26 years younger than him.The document in the lower left of the painting is dated 1687. Unfortunately, we don’t know who the artist was but they cleverly used the paper as a way to include the date.

Sir Walter Spencer Stanhope inherited Cannon Hall after his father’s death in 1873. He had a distinguished military career as well as being a magistrate and a Conservative MP. According to his obituary he was also, ‘a fine shot and expert angler’. Sir Walter had the reputation of being fair to his tenants often subsidising those who needed financial support. He also had a strong Christian faith. The same obituary listed his involvement in many local organisations including the Oaks Colliery Explosion Fund and the West Riding Miner’s Permanent Relief Fund and said:
“The county is the poorer for the loss of such a man.”

The painting is by W W Ouless who painted formal portraits of many prominent people in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

Winifred Collingwood married Thomas Pulleine of Carlton Hall, Yorkshire in 1760. They had one child, Mary Winifred Pulleine who went on to marry Walter Spencer Stanhope of Cannon Hall. Winifred was only forty-four when she died in 1782 by which time her husband had already passed away. The estate and property of Carlton Hall passed to their daughter who was sixteen at the time. The portrait of Winifred Pulleine shows her in an informal gown that was very popular in the 1760s. Formal dresses at this time required a corset and stays to keep the wearer perfectly upright. Having less rigid clothing allowed women to have some time in a more relaxed posture. This painting has previously been described as ‘After Francis Cotes’.

Cotes was an important portraitist of the period working in both pastels and oils. He was a founder member of the Royal Academy alongside Sir Joshua Reynolds and many others.

Walter Stanhope was educated at Bradford Grammar School and, following an apprenticeship, set up his own business selling cloth from the Headrow, Leeds. In 1742 he married Mary Warde but she passed away in 1747 along with their first child. A year later he married Ann Spencer whose brother owned Cannon Hall.This marriage formally united the Spencer and Stanhope families who had known each other for many years. In 1748 John Spencer wrote to his sister congratulating her on her marriage; “…I beg leave to congratulate you upon the late change to your name which I heartily wish you may never have occasion to repent of, but through an uninterrupted series of Happyness bless the
Day on which you became a Stanhope.”