Entrance Hall
Fine furniture and family portraits greet visitors to Preston Manor, in a spacious Entrance Hall that was designed to make an impression.
Once part of the 18th-century manor house, Preston Manor’s Entrance Hall was remodelled and enlarged in 1905.
Status, wealth and taste
Arriving in style was important to the Thomas-Stanfords. They may have furnished the Entrance Hall with easy chairs and used it as an informal sitting room, but they also placed their best 17th and 18th-century furniture here, so visitors’ first impressions would be of their wealth and taste. Family portraits are also on display, highlighting the Stanfords’ status and ancestry.
A warm welcome for guests
Two chimneypieces, both with 17th-century Sussex firebacks, flank the walls. Andirons – metal supports for burning firewood – were installed in 1916. A warm welcome was desirable in the early 20th century, and these arrangements meant guests were greeted by an open fire in winter.
Other interesting features include a French gilt bronze and copper chandelier made in 1810, a clever mahogany revolving bookcase, and a Victorian plaster figure of a Yorkshire terrier, looking expectantly towards the front door.