Richard Cooke

This set comprises four elegant George III sterling silver candlesticks, made in London in 1801 by the silversmith Richard Cooke. Each candlestick stands on a broad circular stepped base with gadrooned borders, supporting a tall, tapering stem that is partly fluted, giving the design a refined neoclassical character inspired by classical architectural columns. 

The candlesticks are engraved with the arms of Blackett quartering Douglas impaling Keene for Sir William Blackett (1759–1816) of Matfen Hall, Stamfordham, Northumberland. He was the son of Sir Edward Blackett, 4th Baronet, and his wife Anne, daughter of Oley Douglas, and succeeded his father as 5th Baronet in 1804. Educated at Trinity College, Oxford, Sir William married Mary Anne, daughter of Benjamin Keene, in 1801, the year the candlesticks were made, and the couple had five sons and two daughters. He served as High Sheriff of Northumberland from 1807 to 1808 and remained a prominent figure in the county until his death in 1816.

His son Sir Edward Blackett, 6th Baronet went onto build Maften Hall in Northumberland.