Russell-Cotes

East Cliff Hall was the home of Merton (1835-1921) and Annie Russell-Cotes (1835-1920). The building of East Cliff Hall was begun in 1897 and was completed in its first form in 1901. On this page, you can find out more about the House, Galleries & Garden of East Cliff Hall, which is now the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum

The house was designed by the architect, John Frederick Fogerty, but Merton and Annie had a great deal of input into the design. It was designed so that Merton and Annie could live in style and comfort and to house their growing collections. The house was to be a showcase, not simply for their own enjoyment, but also for the people of Bournemouth to whom it was given.

On 15 July 1901, Merton presented East Cliff Hall to his wife as a gift on her 66th birthday. This was the same year that Queen Victoria died, making the house one of the last Victorian buildings ever built.

The Main Hall & Stairs

The exquisite main hall with its plush staircase encapsulates the grandeur of the late-Victorian era.

Originally the Main Hall was divided into two sections; a hall and a gallery. The original inglenook fireplace now serves as an entrance to the Galleries, which were added on from 1916. The ceiling is decorated with Japanese mon (family crests) and the pillars are made of scagliola (plaster imitating marble). The coving is decorated with birds and plants. In the floor is an ornamental pond, believed to have been inspired by Merton and Annie’s trip to Japan in 1885. Motifs of the heavens can be spotted throughout East Cliff Hall.

The glass dome above the Main Hall’s staircase depicts a wonderful extravaganza of the night sky, with bats, owls, stars and comets. The frieze around the top of the staircase is a gilded plaster rendition of the Parthenon Frieze from the Athenian Acropolis, also known as the ‘Elgin Marbles’. It was designed by William Scott Morton, in 1893, for the Tynecastle Company.

The Dining Room & Conservatory

The Dining Room is one of the principal showrooms of the house and contains some of the finest decoration to be found in East Cliff Hall. The peacocks and fruit on the coving were painted by John Thomas.

The inglenook fireplace and ceiling are of an early English design, and reflect the Russell-Cotes’ ambition to create a stylish historic family seat.

The stained glass in the Dining Room also reveals the patriotism and imperialism of the Russell-Cotes’. The four corner windows depict the four saints of the British Union, whilst the single panes in the window bay represent countries of the British Empire.

A door from the Dining Room leads into the Conservatory. This room provided Merton and Annie with stunning views of their garden and Bournemouth beach, as well as a space to nurture their potting plants.

The Morning Room

The Morning Room was used by Merton as his study, despite the provision of a Study upstairs. He used an octagonal table that once belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte to work on.

The room was originally filled with paintings, ceramics and part of their Japanese collection. Portions of the ceiling came down in 1928 and is believed to remain underneath the present design. War damage to the building brought down the remainder of the ceiling, destroying much of the original decoration in the room. A new ceiling was designed and installed in 1949 by the artist, Anna Zinkheisen, (famous for her decorations for the luxury liner RMS Queen Mary and her design for a Quality Street tin).

The Drawing Room

The Drawing Room was used as a spectacular showcase for Merton and Annie’s fine and decorative art collection. The unifying theme to the room and its contents appeared to be anything delicate, refined or gilded. Even a plaster bust of Annie was gilded!

The design of the room is based upona pair of doors from an 18th Century Florentine palace. The torch and quiver design featured in the doors are reflected in the Drawing Room’s stained glass, furniture, fretwork screen, coving and even the doorplates.

The suite of sofa and chairs are recorded as once having belonged to Queen Victoria, while the impressive large French cabinet once belonged to the Empress Eugénie.

The Galleries

Galleries I – III

From 1916 to 1919, Annie paid for the building of three additional art galleries to East Cliff Hall. Galleries I, II and III, which are accessed through the Main Hall, enabled many of the largest works of the founding fine art collection to be displayed.

Annie made a second gift to the town – the freehold of the site and the art galleries. These were formally opened by Princess Beatrice on 1 February 1919 – Merton and Annie’s 59th wedding anniversary.

Unfortunately, Annie was unable to attend the formal opening due to ill health, but she did, however,have tea with Princess Beatrice after the ceremony in her Boudoir.

The galleries were opened to visitors, who had purchased advance tickets, for two hours on the first Wednesday of each month.

Gallery IV

In 1926, in order to fulfil their parents’ wishes, an additional, and unique-shaped art gallery – Gallery IV – was opened and given to the town by Herbert Russell-Cotes and Ella Stebbing (née Russell-Cotes). It was originally planned to be built at the same time as the other Galleries and was to include an observatory. By 1926, however, hanging space was at a premium and there may have been objections from neighbours about the proposed observatory.

Unfortunately the Upper Floor of the historic house is only accessible by stairs. Click here or see a above for a Video Tour of the Upper Floor with our curator, Duncan Walker.

The Green Room

This room was originally used as guest bedroom throughout Merton and Annie’s residence, most probably by their grandchildren when they came to stay as a treat.  When Annie became ill in 1919, her nurse, Miss Newboult, moved into the guest bedroom permanently. Annie moved into Merton’s bedroom, the Red Room, just opposite, to be close to her nurse.

Around this time the room was redecorated: the joinery painted and the walls papered. The evidence of this redecoration can be seen on the West Wall behind the door.

The Green Room is currently displaying an A-Z of all things Russell-Cotes, a snapshot of their lives and travels.

The Mikado’s Room

Based on the grand Japanese Drawing Room in the Royal Bath Hotel, The Mikado’s Room was originally the Blue Bedroom but was converted to a room devoted to displaying the Russell-Cotes’ Japanese collection. The room was probably chosen by Merton because it overlooked the couple’s Japanese garden.

“Mr Russell-Cotes has travelled a great deal in the East, and the result of his explorations is manifested in what he calls the ‘Mikado Room’. Here are miniature temples, gold lacquered vases with dainty flowers inlaid with mother-of-pearl of the loveliest tints, delicious cabinets of rarest finish, images of Buddha … lanterns of brilliant hues… I know of no such private collection of Japanese curios…”

– Westminster Gazette (c1915)

The objects originate from Annie and Merton’s six week trip to Japan in 1885 trip. They collected over one hundred packing cases of objects which included lacquer, metalwork, ceramics, as well as arms and armour.

The Red Room

This room was originally Merton’s bedroom, decorated in his favourite colour.

He and Annie had separate bedrooms with single beds (a common practice amongst middle-class couples of the time).

The room was originally separated by a fretwork screen which created a sitting area in the room’s bay window.

The ceiling mural depicts the birth of the Roman goddess, Venus, and was intended to be viewed whilst lying in bed.

Around 1919, Annie became ill and swapped rooms with her husband. This meant she could be nearer to her nurse, Miss Newboult, who resided in the Green Room (opposite the Red Room).  Annie died here on 17 April 1920, aged 84.

The Yellow Room

The Yellow Room was originally Annie Russell-Cotes’ bedroom. Unfortunately, we have no original plans or photographs of the bedroom and its furniture.

John Thomas’ coving murals feature British flora and fauna and reflect Annie’s passion for natural history. The bright fresh colours used in this room are a stark contrast to the dark sombre tones of Merton’s bedroom.

The room  contains a number of objects collected by them from their extensive travels around the world.

The Moorish Alcove

In February 1910, Merton and Annie visited Spain. Their trip to the Moorish Palace of Alhambra in Granada inspired them to build a Moorish Alcove in their home on their return to Bournemouth.

On the lip of the magnificient dome is a quote taken from the Koran which reads “There is no conqueror but God”.

The bonze and marble sculpture on display in the alcove depicts Othello, the Moor of Venice, by Pietro Calvi (1883 -1884).

Originally the fully glazed dome was not intended to house a central light. Although a table lamp was situated on the ledge outside the Yellow Room, it would have given very little light to the main area. It may well be that the dome was completed during the summer when the sun lit the area. At night or on dark winter days the Russell-Cotes may have realised that this area was too dismal and added a Moorish style lantern.

The Boudoir

The Boudoir was Annie’s private room. A sanctuary away from the rest of the world, where she could come to read, sew or take in the magnificient view.

Annie also received visitors and friends in this room. Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria’s youngest daughter, took tea with Annie in the Boudoir after formally opening the Galleries in 1919.

The room features a generous bay window with prime sea views and the original fireplace. It retained its original decoration until 1966 when the joinery, door, frieze, and screen were painted with white gloss and the walls papered over.

Paint analysis and work by conservators have enabled us to recreate the strong pink scheme and the stencils on the screen.

The Irving Room

“In loving memory of our dear friend Sir Henry Irving”.

This room was originally designed as a bedroom, but was converted into a library before becoming a museum dedicated to the famous Victorian tragic actor, Sir Henry Irving, after his death in 1905.

Irving was a frequent visitor to Bournemouth and stayed at the Royal Bath Hotel on his tours of the provinces and, in later years, in aid of his health.

The Russell-Cotes were great friends and admirers of Sir Henry Irving’s work, describing the actor’s performance as Shakespeare’s Othello as: “So realistic and terribly intense that it almost made our hair stand on end: and in the scene where he smothers Desdemona he left such a terrible impression on our minds that we could not possibly sleep during the night.”

A large proportion of the collection exhibited in this room was obtained from Christie’s sale of ‘theatrical relics’ in 1905. When it became known that Merton had dedicated a room to the memory of Sir Henry Irving more objects were donated by members of the public and the theatrical profession.

The Garden

The Garden of East Cliff Hall was conceived as a private space for Merton, Annie and their family.

Merton describes how he resolved to create “a tropical garden” out of the wild sand dunes and “a beauty spot that any English garden lover would desire. ”

The garden was originally filled with marble and bronze sculptures, as well as a secluded summerhouse. The Victorian stone grotto and fountain still survive, as does the Japanese garden with gold-fish ponds, bridges and fountain.