Editing Althorp (section)

=====Wootton Hall and saloon=====
[[File:The Stair Case at Althorp House 1822.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The staircase at Althorp House]]

Wootton Hall is the grand hall entrance on the central south side of Althorp house. "Perfectly proportioned" with a two-storey high ceiling, it was cited by Sir [[Nikolaus Pevsner]] as "the noblest Georgian room in the county".{{sfn|Spencer|1998|p=13}} It takes its name from the painter [[John Wootton]] who was commissioned by the family in 1733 to paint a number of massive paintings in his Marylebone studio to reflect the family's love of equestrian pursuits, particularly fox hunting. At the time, Wootton was considered to be the finest painter of horses in the country.{{sfn|Spencer|1998|p=13}} The paintings still hang on the walls. The hall has a substantial collection of artefacts collected over the years. Aside from the hall porter's chair, there is a dozen or so lavish-looking hall chairs, one of which is a sedan chair, rediscovered in the stable block in 1911, which had once been in Spencer House.{{sfn|Spencer|1998|p=14}}

A prominent feature of the Wootton Hall is its pair of Italian black and Beschia marble blackamoor [[torchère]]s, originally given to the First Duke of Marlborough as a present from General [[Charles Churchill (British Army general)|Charles Churchill]]. In exceptionally good condition, they stand either side of the door into the saloon. These were discovered in the silt of the [[River Tiber]] and are depictions of slaves who once served in a Roman household.{{sfn|Spencer|1998|p=14}} Several flags stand above them, including the White Ensign. The ceiling is intricately made, featuring flowers in the plaster, each one different, the work of [[Colen Campbell]] in the early 18th century.{{sfn|Spencer|1998|p=14}} The black and white check marble floor is also a distinguishing feature of the room, but through most of its history this floor would have been left plain as horses and carriages would enter the hall inside.{{sfn|Spencer|1998|p=17}} In the mid-19th century Frederick, the 4th Earl, had laid down brown and blue tiles, replaced by the marble floor which was added by his son Robert in around 1910.{{sfn|Spencer|1998|pp=16, 108}} The floor gives significant depth to the hall and provides fine acoustics, so much that Diana would once practice her tap dancing in the hall as a teenager.<ref name="Wootton">{{cite web|url=http://www.spencerofalthorp.com/heritage/unique-home/the-wootton-hall |title=The Wootton Hall |publisher=Spencerofalthorp.com |access-date=20 May 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627203834/http://www.spencerofalthorp.com/heritage/unique-home/the-wootton-hall |archive-date=27 June 2015 }}</ref>

Beyond the Wootton Hall is the saloon, which was converted from an inner courtyard and roofed in 1650 by [[Dorothy Spencer, Countess of Sunderland]].{{sfn|Spencer|1986|p=21}} The saloon was the first room at Althorp to have electricity installed, and it contains an imposing oak staircase, added in the 1660s.<ref name="Saloon">{{cite web|url=http://spencerofalthorp.com/rooms/the-saloon-and-the-spencer-gallery/|title=The Saloon and the Spence Gallery|publisher=Spencerofalthorp.com|access-date=20 May 2014}}</ref>{{sfn|Spencer|1998|p=43}} Cosmo III noted Althorp's "spacious staircase of the wood of the walnut tree,{{efn|A likely error as the Spencers and other sources state the staircase is oak rather than walnut.}} stained, constructed with great magnificence; this staircase, dividing itself into two equal branches, leads to the grand saloon, from which is the passage into the chambers, all of them regularly disposed after the Italian manner, to which country the Earl was indented for a model of the design."{{sfn|Spencer|Dibdin|1822|p=34}} Historically, the staircase was painted white. It is described as being "surprisingly shallow and delightfully uneven – a physical manifestation of the long history of the house".<ref name="Saloon"/>