Christopher Smallwood founded his eponymous practice, Smallwood Architects, in 1976. He became widely recognised as one of the leading architects working in the tradition of classical and historicist design, undertaking major projects for listed English country houses alongside new commissions in the UK and internationally. Projects included restoration works at Goodwood House, Cherkley Court, Elton Hall, Newby Hall and Strancally Castle. Following the fire of 1992, he was one of four finalist architects invited to propose designs for the rebuilding of Windsor Castle, submitting an ambitious scheme featuring a Gothic roof for St George’s Hall and a classical rotunda within the former chapel. A member of both the American Institute of Architects and the Royal Institute of British Architects, Smallwood cultivated an international clientele spanning both hemispheres.

Smallwood possessed a rare ability to balance the demands of the contemporary with a deep sensitivity to tradition. Although he insisted that he was never a collector in the conventional sense, he liked to surround himself with beautiful things. As his daughter, Eleanor Ford, recalls: “My father was a true aesthete, admired by all who knew him for his taste, elegance and style. He chose everything with immaculate attention to detail. Whether it was laying a table, wrapping a present, arranging flowers or hanging a wall, no one did it better.”

This instinct is evident in his talent for blending objects and furniture which, at first glance, make unlikely bedfellows. In his West London pied-à-terre, a 20th-century Eames office chair sits next to an 18th-century architect’s desk on a late 19th-century Zeigler carpet. It is an arrangement that reflects both confidence and discernment. An interest in quality and craftsmanship is apparent throughout the collection, with a strong dedication to the pioneering designers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most notably E. W. Godwin, W. A. S. Benson and Philip Webb. As Smallwood himself observed, “I especially like strong, relatively plain furniture of the kind favoured by late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century architects.”

The collection begins in his iconic Pembroke Studio, just off Kensington High Street. Built in 1890–91, this enclave of Aesthetic Movement studios has long attracted notable British artists and designers. Smallwood undertook a sensitive restoration, reinstating its original character while introducing an interplay of Arts and Crafts detail and Japonisme. His interest in the East, informed by extensive travel, is reflected in a group of prints and watercolours by William Daniell and Henry Salt, as well as in architectural interventions such as the studio balustrade, inspired by the Japanese-inflected designs of E. W. Godwin. This dialogue extends to furniture, including a Carlo Bugatti ‘Throne Chair’, emblematic of the same cross-cultural aesthetic.

His country home, The Old School House in Dorset, is a mid-19th-century building of considerable character. Neo-Gothic furniture punctuates the interiors, harmonising with the building’s historic fabric. In the entrance hall stands a table designed by William Atkinson, who trained under James Wyatt and was commissioned to redesign Scone Palace between 1802 and 1812. There is no mistaking that the owner of these objects was an architect. A number of architect’s desks are included in the sale, most notably a mechanical desk in the manner of Seddon & Sons, with crank-operated rising compartments. The grandeur of the Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s ‘Columns’ are masterfully hung among other prints by the same artist. Pertinent architectural books cover tables in the former schoolroom.

Lifetimes in Design reflects a moment of serendipity linking Christopher Smallwood and Niall Hobhouse. In 2008, Christie’s presented Hobhouse’s ‘West to East’ sale, which Smallwood was inspired by and acquired several works, including a George IV mahogany sofa attributed to the cabinet-maker and upholsterer John Taylor, distinguished by its lotus-wrapped lion-paw feet.

Many of the objects offered here accompanied Smallwood throughout his life and across multiple residences, including his New York apartment, which was a converted library in Manhattan, featured in Architectural Digest in 2000. Each piece has been selected with deliberation and care, reflecting a lifetime’s engagement with design and the impeccable taste of this conscientious collector.

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Auction Details

Wednesday 13 May 2026, 10.30am BST
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

The Collection of Christopher Smallwood | Lots 400-567
The Collection of Niall Hobhouse | Lots 575-691

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