THE BILSON-LEGGE FREEDOM BOX SIDEBOARD DISHES
Commissioned by John Dutton, 2^nd Baron Sherborne (1779-1862) and his wife Mary, daughter of Henry Bilson-Legge, 2^nd Baron Stawell (1757-1820). These dishes commemorate the achievements of Mary’s grandfather, the statesman Henry Bilson-Legge (1708-1764). The numerous freedom boxes he received in 1757 following his resignation from the post of Chancellor of the Exchequer, in sympathy with Pitt the Elder’s dismissal from office, were exchanged for the two impressive sideboard dishes adorned with the arms of the donor cities and a long dedicatory inscription.

JOHN DUTTON, 2ND BARON SHERBORNE
The 2nd Baron Sherborne, the son of James Dutton, 1st Baron Sherborne (1744-1820) and his wife Elizabeth Coke, daughter of Wenman Coke of Holkham, Norfolk, played a significant role in the architectural development of Sherborne House. Park. His marriage to Mary Legge in 1803 later brought a considerable inheritance on the death of her father Henry Bilson-Legge, 2nd Baron Stawell of Somerton in 1820. Lord Stawell’s father had been Lord Chancellor and a younger son of the Earl of Dartmouth.

It can be no coincidence that Lord Sherborne started to correspond with various architects around 1820, looking to complete his father’s intention of rebuilding the family seat. Sir Robert Smirke (1780-1867) was involved briefly, but it was not until the late 1820s that work started under the architect Lewis Wyatt (1777-1853), son of Benjamin Wyatt. Wyatt was noticeably absent for much of the time and numerous problems later emerged include dry rot in a number of the ground floor room. Remedial work was carried out by Anthony Salvin (1799-1881), who designed many of the ornate ceilings. The firm of Morant and Son finished in the interiors with work commencing in 1838.

Lord Sherborne enlarged and aggrandised his grandfather’s dinner service, using the services of Paul Storr to create dish covers and more utilitarian pieces such as the knife tray, lot 458.