A George III carved pine chimneypiece with integral overmantel by a Mr. Tousey, 1775

Incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1772, The Marine Society is the world’s oldest public maritime charity and was the brainchild of Jonas Hanway (1712-1786). In 1755, reports of a French invasion led Hanway to publish Thoughts on Invasion, through which he sought to tackle the issue of a woefully ill-equipped and undermanned body of seamen. On 25 June 1756, Jonas met with fifty-two other London merchants and gentlemen at the King's Arms Tavern, Cornhill to discuss plans to supply clothing to several thousand seafarers for the navy. The Marine Society was founded shortly thereafter with advertisements published promising volunteers ‘with a view to learn the duty of seaman…shall be handsomely clothed and provided with bedding, and their charges born down to the ports where His Majesty’s Ships lye with all other proper encouragement.’ During the ensuing Seven Year’s War (1756-1763) the Marine Society, under the direction of Hanway, John Thornton of The Russia Company as Treasurer and Lord Romney as Chairman, raised funds to equip 5140 men and 4787 boys for the Navy. At the time of the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, at least fifteen percent of British manpower was being supplied, trained and equipped by the Marine Society.

By 1774, the Society had outgrown its offices in the Royal Exchange and took up new premises at 54 Bishopsgate Street. Detailed minutes of the weekly Committee meetings describe the furnishing of the Society's new Committee Room. ‘Green Maureen Curtains’ were purchased for the Committee Room which was to have a finely moulded ceiling and a stove ‘similar to the new one in Lloyds Coffee Room’. In September 1774, Hanway presented the President's chair and his extraordinary mausoleum bookcase to honour the memory of his brother, Captain Thomas Hanway (1715-1772) (sold Sotheby's London, Treasures, 6 July 2021, lot 13). In April 1775, the present lot - 'a carved chimneypiece' - was ordered, ‘the cost not to exceed £36’ for which a Mr. Tousey was eventually paid £30. 15s. 6d. This most likely refers to the carver and gilder John Tousey, or Touzey, of The Golden Head, Bow St (1763-1781) and a member of a Huguenot family of carvers recorded active in London in the second half of the 18^th century.

The chimneypiece is centred with a finely carved limewood portrait of Robert Marsham, 2nd Baron Romney (1712-1793) – the Society’s long serving President (1756-1793) – and the three trophies to the mantel embody the Society’s philanthropical goals of equipping young mariners with all the skills necessary for a life at sea. The Society’s objectives to facilitate and to provide practical and financial support for the education, training and well-being of all professional seafarers continues to this day, and in 2004 it merged with Sea Cadet Corps and remains the UK’s largest not for profit maritime organization as the Marine Society and Sea Cadets.