Secretaire bookcase, pair of sofas, & library steps

This bookcase is an immense piece of furniture commissioned by John Lloyd Wynne from Gillows of Lancaster during 1806 and 1807 as part of an entire suite of furniture for his library. The items are significant individually, but as a set they are of historical importance in extending our knowledge of an early nineteenth-century Welsh gentry house such as Coed Coch. Items of this type are rare in the Welsh context and, given the extent to which the pieces are documented, this set is virtually unique. Together with the bookcase and the sofas, the pieces will once again be brought together as a library to help illustrate the way of life of the Welsh gentry. Such impressive library furniture certainly reflects their cultural interests.