The Billiards Room

There are several pictures of interest in this room. The four large panels are attributed to Jacques-Charles Oudry. Between the windows hangs an interesting caricature by  Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-92), the first President of the Royal Academy, of four English visitors in Rome. They are Sir Charles Turner in regimentals, Sir William Lowther, who owned Holker, in blue, Lord Miltown in brown and Mr Huet. Of particular regional interest are the paintings of Whitehaven, including Old Whitehaven Docks by Jan Wyck. The pictures to the right of the fireplace are by Matthias Reed, the upper one of Lowther and the lower depicting the town-planning of Whitehaven port.

The graniteware balls on the mantel-piece are part of a set of carpet bowls, a popular indoor game particularly in the North Country during the second half of the nineteenth century; it was played in the galleries of large country houses. The billiard table is of English oak and was carved locally.