Nothing is known of John Luke Nichol, or for what house he commissioned Robert Adam to make designs for mirrors in 1766. Moreover, it is not known if these designs were executed.

It is possible that John Luke Nichol is in fact John Nicholls (1744/5-1832), the son of Francis Nicholls, physician to King George II, a lawyer who served as MP for Bletchingley in 1783-87, and Tregony in 1796-1802. Nicholls was a friend and ally of Henry Fox, Lord Holland, another of Adam’s patrons, and it may have been through this connection that Robert Adam came to Nicholls’s attention.

Literature:
A.T. Bolton, The architecture of Robert Adam, 1922, Volume II, Index pp. 56, 82; E. Harris, The furniture of Robert Adam, 1963, Index p. 59; E. Harris, The genius of Robert Adam: his interiors, 2001, p. 341; J.A. Cannon, 'Nicholls, John (?1745-1832), of Goring, Oxon. and Ockley, Surr.', R.G. Thorne, 'Nicholls, John (1744-1832), of Goring, Oxon. and Ockley, Surr', History of Parliament online, 2012

Frances Sands, 2012