Things to do in Montacute House

The Tournai Tapestry

The knight, with his gleaming armour and red wolf or tiger flag held aloft, parades his elegantly decorated horse through a dense meadow of flowers. The design of this type of tapestry is described as millefleurs (a thousand flowers).

The knight appears fearless and triumphant, the epitome of bravery depicted in French tales that were sometimes known as chansons de geste (epic poems or songs of heroic deeds). The knight holds the coat of arms of Jean de Daillon, Seigneur de Laude or Lude (1413–81), who was governor of Dauphiné, a province in south-eastern France.

Daillon commissioned the tapestry in 1477–9, but it was paid for by the town of Tournai as a gift. It was made in Tournai as part of a set by the master craftsman Guillaume Desremaulx (d.1482/3), but only this example survives. It is the earliest tapestry in the care of the National Trust.

The Hunter Tapestry

This tapestry was designed by Francois Desportes c.1731 but based on an earlier set woven for Louis XIV at the Gobelins factory in Paris. It was woven by Scottish master weaver James Neilson, who introduced many innovations at the Gobelins factory.

Chicheley Collection

The tables and cabinets in the Parlour once belonged to the Chester family of Chicheley Hall in Buckinghamshire. The settee, screen and chairs in the Dining Room are individually lit so the detail of the embroidery can be seen.