Even items as humble as linen airers were supplied by the Chippendale firm to Paxton House – the 1774 bill lists ‘2 mahogany linen Airers on feet £1. 4. O.’ The linen airer was a piece of dressing room furniture, the leaves of which were designed to hang clothes that had been removed from a press.

The linen hung on this would have been made by the Scottish linen industry which thrived on exporting coarse linen to be used as clothing for enslaved people in the Colonies. Finer quality linen would have been purchased for wear by Ninian and Penelope Home.

‘6 linnen [sic] shirts and 5 nightcaps’ were amongst the clothing listed in the 1796 inventory of Ninian’s effects, taken after Ninian was killed in Grenada. Other items included were 55 pairs of silk / cotton stockings, 34 calico shirts, 15 waistcoats, 7 coats, and so on. (NRS GD267/5/19/10).