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While a student (1898), John Ireland composed a sextet for the combination of Clarinet, Horn and String Quartet, I've always wondered what (if any) precedent there was for that combination, and if any works using that combination were composed after 1898 (Bearing in mind the Ireland Sextet was kept in a drawer until the 1960's.)?

I see mention of: Sir Lennox Berkeley, Sextet for clarinet, horn & string quartet, Op. 47...

Berkeley was born in 1903, so this wasn't a precedent to the Ireland. It was written in 1954 for the Melos Ensemble. But it is still interesting that there is at least one other piece for this combination available.

I'm not sure there is an exact precedent to the Ireland, but there is something close but not exact -- the very beautiful Fibich Quintet for violin, clarinet, horn, cello, piano. Because of its unusual instrumentation, it gets played more often in the arrangement for string quartet and piano. But then you don't get the wonderful play of colours between the pairs of strings/winds.

It still could have been a sort of precedent, though -- the combination of clarinet and horn with strings would have been striking, with a beautiful blend. (I'm not counting the few clarinet/horn/piano trios, though I suppose even those might have sparked an idea . . .)

I've found that Anton Eberl (1765-1807) composed a Sextet for the combination String Trio, Clarinet, Horn & Piano towards the end of his life (Published as Op. 47), but in that case the Piano seems to have been the focal instrument.