Among the aristocracy, a major patron was
Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, who "employed him in her many houses" according to Earl Spencer. She had known him first as Moore's assistant at
Blenheim Palace, where Moore had succeeded
Sir John Vanbrugh in completing the interiors. She jotted down some notes 7 September 1719: "Benjamin Goodison. The name of Mr. Moore's man. Pray send for him see him hear... Mr. Wilson I desire you to pay to Benjamin Goodison the summ of five hundred pounds taking his hand for the fee received in for his master Mr. Moore your account of fourniture for the use of Blenheim." In July 1740 he was her agent in purchasing Lady Westmoreland's house in Dover Street, London, so advantageously that the Duchess made him a gift of twenty guineas. In order that the house be readied and fully furnished as a gift to the Duchess's daughter-in-law,
Henry Flitcroft was commissioned to design alterations, and Goodison was employed with fitments and furnishings. Another long-standing record of patronage was that of the first and second
Viscounts Folkestone at
Longford Castle, from 1736 to Goodison's successor in 1775. In 1739-40, the Gallery was furnished entirely by Goodison, who supplied the green damask for walls and furniture; the suite of mahogany stools and long stools, with two daybeds have gilded details and gilded fretwork applied over the upholstery. The total of Goodison's bills for the Gallery came to £1250. The candlestands in the form of therm figures with the head of Hercules supporting an Ionic capital in the Gallery are attributed to Goodison. A carved and painted side table from Longford Castle, with seated foxes at the front corners, now at the
Victoria and Albert Museum may also be by Goodison. Goodison was employed by
Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester for furnishing
Holkham, Norfolk, where surviving carved and gilded suites of chairs and tables are securely attributed to him, as well as the brass appliqués on the
porphyry sideboard in the Dining Room, which was designed by the Palladian architect
John Vardy. It is reasonable to assume that the long suite of 23 giltwood armchairs, 9 settees and 4 stools covered in crimson "Genoa" cut velvet was supplied by Goodison. Three further pieces at Holkham, a mahogany table-press "carv'd and gilt with wire doors" and a pair of card tables, perhaps recorded in a bill of 1757, and a kneehole writing- or dressing-table, were tentatively attributed to Goodison by Anthony Coleridge. He was also employed by
George Montagu, 4th Earl of Cardigan as he then was, in furnishing
Deene Park, Northamptonshire and
Dover House (Montagu House), Whitehall, London, where
Henry Flitcroft was once more the architect in charge. His accounts, which range from 1739 to 1745, include chiefly picture frames, small items and repairs. Notably he provided in 1741 "a carved and gilt dolphin table frame to match another", which may not have been his. Further patrons can be identified by their records of payments to Goodison, though they cannot be connected with surviving pieces; the
Duke of Newcastle's payment in 1740 is entered in an account book conserved at the
British Library. Other stray references instance work at
Althorp,
Chatsworth, and in London at the Mansion House and Bedford House. Like many prominent London furniture-makers, Goodison was prepared to rent grand
chandeliers for special occasions. At Holkham in 1740 he charged a large sum "for the use of three chandelier Branch to burn lights in the Greenhouse for Mr. Coke's birthday." Another London carver working in a similar Kentian idiom was
John Boson, to whom a series of half-octagon back-to-back library tables formerly attributed to Goodison or William Vile are now ascribed, based on a documented pair commissioned from Boson in 1735, together with a pair of giltwood mirrors, by Lady Burlington for 'The Garden Room' which was situated between the old and the new
Chiswick House. ==Personal life==