Work at Woolley Hall for Sir Godfrey Wentworth 
by Agostino Aglio 
in 1821 and 1947

Thanks to the Brotherton Library Archive Leeds University
Accompanied by documentation  Link to decoration designs Link to letters
 

Aglio's biographical timeline    suggests that in 1807 Agostino decorated the Banqueting rooms for Sir Godfrey Wentworth. and then in 1814 he decorated the Drawing room. He did seem to specialise in this type of work and his move into this field may have been influenced by his earlier work in the theatre world. 
We have not records of this early work at Woolley Hall however in 1921 Agostino produced a set of 20 etchings of the house and grounds and 3 copies of these, in book form, exist in the Brotherton Library Archive Leeds University.

The book - Woolley Hall - drawn painted and etched by A Aglio
In one copy of the book there was this handwritten personal dedication to Sir Godfrey from Agostino himself.

This book was produced within a year of  the book of 6 prints of Bolton Abbey and its Environs, lithographs based on the drawings of C.Cope. It seems likely that Aglio knew Charles Cope, an art teacher in Leeds and a watercolour artist who was the father of Charles West Cope, 1811-1890, whom he named after his friend Benjamin West 1738-1820, second President of the Royal Academy. Charles Cope named his daughter Ellen as Ellen Turner after his friend J M W Turner, 1775-1851. Sadly C.Cope died in a stage coach accident in 1827.

A brief glance at the life and work of Charles West Cope indicates that he and Aglio were in some respects working along similar lines.

In 1845 Aglio took on the task of redecorating the Drawing room and in 1847, at the age of 60, he decorated 2 ceilings for the Library and Dining Room. There is a serious possibility that he was helped with this work by his son Augustine as happened in 1848 when he did his last major decoration work at the Olympic Theatre, a year before he was paralysed with a stroke.

Decorations for Woolley Hall done in Encaustic similar to that done in the Pompeian Room at Buckingham Palace, in 1844.

A painting found loose in one copy of the Woolley Hall book.

 
This portrait is stuck in the front of the book and is open to considerable interpretation.
This picture is referred to in a book in the British Museum book, and the name P.Strochling seem to crop up in an album of picture in the Aglio Archive. There may be some  confusion over  the c as an e and it appears that he and others varied his name.
 
He, at some time, may have lived in Charles Street St James Square. which is near Pall Mall and married Louisa Sheldon.
It is highly likely that he would have met up with Aglio.

 
 
Below are links to the pictures that may be relevant in so far as they may be by Stroeling.
 
 
 
 
With regard to the heraldry, It may be that Agostino was a bit of a showman and he liked to refer to such heraldry, but we must accept that his father did know the Holy Roman Emperors.

See also The Aglio Homepage for more about the Aelius Heraldry

In one copy of the book, there was found this painting with no artist signature that may have been done by Aglio.

 

There are three copies of the book of prints in the Brotherton Archive Library each from different archive sources.

The copies of the book were found in the following archives

MS/DEP/Wentworth Woolley Hall/144

It was this Woolley Hall archive that contained the decoration drawing for the work done in 1845-7 and letters referring to the contract as well as two letters relation to the research done by Alfred Yockney in 1938. 
Link to the Yockney article.

Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society YAS1890

Yorkshire Archaeological and Historical Society YAS1959