THE Heritage Council is seeking an urgent meeting with the Knight of Glin, Desmond FitzGerald, in the hope of averting the sale at Christie's in London on Thursday of original 18th century furniture from Headfort House in Co Meath. The Knight is the Irish agent of Christie's.
Mr Peter Pearson, a member of the council, told The Irish Times it seemed ironic that Headfort School, which occupies and owns the house, was planning to "use the funds from selling off part of its fabric to restore another part of the fabric".
A note in the Christie's catalogue for Thursday's sale of "important English furniture" says that the 11 lots from Headfort are being sold "by order of the board of governors to benefit the restoration of Headfort House and its Adam interiors". Altogether, the items could raise £138,000.
The furniture for sale includes a number of items which are regarded by architectural historians as "essential" to the house, including a pair of giltwood pier glasses, based on a Robert Adam design, which are expected to fetch up to £50,000.
The sale also includes a pair of George III giltwood pier tables which could make £15,000 or more; an Irish Regency giltwood (side table with an inlaid marble (top (£15,000-£25,000) and an Irish George III mahogany side table (£10,000-£15,000).
Another architectural historian, who did not wish to be named, said it was "the equivalent of selling off the family silver"?. It was "a shame" that the school had taken this step, as there were so few houses left in Ireland with their original contents intact.
"The grand rooms at Headfort, designed by Adam, need decent furniture to look right. And Headfort itself is so important that there was a London exhibition in the 1960s devoted entirely to the house, while Adam's original drawings are in the Mellon collection (in the USA)".
Headfort House, dating from the 1760s, was built as the country seat of the Marquess of Headfort. Some years ago, it was bought by a Canadian millionaire, who leased it for use by a fee paying prep school established by Mr Lingard Goulding. The school recently bought the house.
Mr Goulding said last night that the school was "just selling items which were not being used" to raise money to deal with "quite a bit of dampness" in the Adam designed ballroom. Otherwise, it was entirely dependent on the fees paid by parents, as there was no State subsidy.
Mr Pearson said that the first he had heard of the proposed sale was in The Irish Times last Saturday, and this suggested that the furniture was already in London.
