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Recently, Victoria Hinshaw and I were fortunate enough to take in the Portraits of Dogs Exhibition at the Wallace Collection in London. From The Wallace Collection website:

“The exhibition explores our devotion to four-legged friends across the centuries. Through carefully selected paintings, sculptures, drawings, works of art and even taxidermy, the exhibition highlights the unique bond between humans and their canine companions.

“Dog portraiture developed as an artistic genre contemporaneously with its human counterpart – dogs are represented in the earliest cave paintings alongside humans – and it flourished, particularly in Britain, from the 17th century onwards. More than any other nationality perhaps, the British have both commissioned and collected portraits of dogs.”

The remarkable sculpture above is known as The Townley Greyhounds. Roman, by an unknown artist. Discovered by archaeologist Gavin Hamilton at Monte Cagnolo, outside Rome. Sold to antiquarian Charles Townley, whose decendants offered it to the British Museum in 1805.

Ah Cum, a Pekinese Dog – One of two dogs smuggled out of China in 1896 by explorer Douglas Murray, these dogs established the breed in Britain. Murray donated Ah Cum’s body after death to the Natural History Museum.

Hogarth’s dog, Trump – Produced by the Chelsea Porcelain Factory after a model by French sculptor Louis-Francois Roubiliac.

Dog of the Havana Breed by Jean Jacques Bachelier 1768. Here, the dog, obviously a favourite, seems to ask forgiveness after having played with its owner’s slippers, ribbon and coins.

Tristram and Fox by Thomas Gainesborough, circa 1775-85. While most canine portraits were produced for their owners, this is apparently a personal one, for Tristram and Fox were the artist’s own pets.

A Saluki Dog by Edwin Landseer, 1840-44. Landseer is known for his skill with canine portraits. Here, he breathes life into the subject via the dog’s curled lips and the flipped ear. It’s easy to imagine that the Saluki pounced just seconds later.

King Charles Spaniels (The Cavalier’s Pets) by Edwin Landseer 1845. Landseer painted this scene in two days for his patron, businessman Robert Vernon.

Hector, Nero and Dash with the Parrot, Lory by Landseer 1838. Here, Landseer portrays Queen Victoria’s favourite pets. The Queen pronounced the painting to be “the most beautiful thing imaginable.”

The Old Shepherd’s Chief Mourner by Landseer 1837. Admittedly one of two of my favourite Landseer paintings, the other being the portrait of Prince Albert’s greyhound, Eos, which was strangely missing from this exhibit. Landseer beautifully captures the collies’ heartbreak and devotion, the simple life of the shepherd is summed up in the few possessions depicted in the room. Contemporary art critic John Ruskin remarked on the painting’s “utter hopelessness.” Only the coldest heart could remain unmoved upon viewing the painting.

Doubtful Crumbs by Edwin Landseer 1858. A mastiff dozes with a bone while the terrier salivates with hunger – illustrating the Parable of Luke, in which Lazarus longed to “eat what fell from the rich man’s table.”

Laying Down the Law or Trial by Jury by Landseer c. 1840. One of the artist’s most successful works, it satirises the legal profession and its long and costly procedures. Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1840, it was purchased by the 6th Duke of Devonshire, who asked Landseer to add his Blenheim spaniel, Bony, to the scene behind the greyhound on the left. Usually, visitors to Chatsworth House will see the painting hanging in the entry hall.

The Exhibition runs at the Wallace Collection, London, until 15 October 2023.

Wow. On a recent trip to Lisbon, I made a point of visiting the National Coach Museum, as I’d run out of time to do so on a prior trip. Again, wow. I knew it was one of the largest and most comprehensive coaching museums in the world, yet I was still bowled over by the massive collection. So impressed was I that I suggested to my fellow guide, Gareth Glover, that we add it to the itinerary of Number One London’s Peninsular War Tour in May 2024. And so we have.

The National Coach Museum (Museu Nacional dos Coches) houses an important horse-drawn carriage collection of vehicles from the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including coaches, berlins, sedan chairs and carriages of all kinds. Over one hundred of them, in fact. The photo below will give you a rough idea of the space that houses this amazing collection and the following carriages just a taste of the vast collection that is on show.

Here is a rare example of the “Carrosse Moderne,” that appeared first in Paris. It belonged to Queen Maria Francisca of Savoy-Nemours, cousin to King Louis XIV of France. It was brought to Portugal as part of her wedding dowry in 1666.

Below, a fold out camp bed used on long journeys.

Below, a Dutch carriage commissioned by Emperor Joseph I of Austria in 1798 for the marriage of his sister, Maria Ana, to the King of Portugal D. Joao V. The carriage body is covered with fine gold leaf and decorated with crowned lions, monograms and the Portuguese Coat of Arms. The wheel spokes are shaped like sceptres.

Above and below, an Italian built coach paying homage to the maritime history of Portugal. On the rear, Apollo is flanked by two female figures representing Spring and Summer. In front, two elderly men, representing the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, shake hands.

Above and below, a Portuguese procession coach built in 1729. The table inside could be used for meals during long journeys or when in procession.

Above, an Eyeglass Chaise, allowing the occupants to stay dry in wet weather.

Italian made promenade vehicles, used by the Royal Family on their estates and in the palace gardens. There is a seat at the back for the groom.

Litters, or sedan chairs.

Above, an Empire style state carriage commissioned in 1824 in London by King Joao VI. The coachman’s seat is very high and the roof displays a royal crown. Used for the coronation of King Carlos I.

An English state coach commissioned by Queen Maria II. The Portuguese Coat of Arms decorate the doors, access to the interior is made via folding steps. A rounded box sits at the rear to carry weapons.  Manufactured at J.R. Pearce’s workshop, London.

Above and below, a long distance coach built in 1854 by the Jones Freres workshop, Brussels. The body has two separate compartments for passengers and one for offical mail. Travel between Lisbon and Oporto took 34 hours, with 23 stops along the way.

Above and below, a Portuguese prisoner carriage. The metallic box body has eight fake windows surmounted by respirators. Inside are six individual cells, three on each side. Two prison guards locked the cells and remained seated at each end of the corridor, front and back. The rear fold down seat can be seen in the photo below.

If you’d like to visit Lisbon’s National Coach Museum, we hope you’ll consider joining us on Number One London’s Peninsular War Tour, May 2024. You’ll find complete itinerary and further details here.

Recently, I stayed at Hartwell House, an historic stately home hotel nestled in the Vale of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Being made to feel like the Lady of the Manor for a week was a unique experience. Given the choice of several beautifully decorated drawing rooms in which to relax and acres of grounds to explore, I truly felt as though I had the entire house to myself, although there were certainly other guests in the hotel.

Hartwell House is rich in both Jacobean and Georgian archtectural elements, though the property was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The present Grade I listed House was built between 1570 and 1617 by Sir Alexander Hampden, but Hartwell and its grounds have been shaped over the years by the hands of reknowned architects and designers, including James Gibbs, James Wyatt and  Richard Woods, a well-known follower of Capability Brown.

Hartwell House has a remarkable history, with it’s most famous resident being Louis XVIII, exiled King of France (above), who held court here from 1809 to 1814.

Portraits of Louis XVIII and his wife, Marie Josephine of Savoy, hang over Hartwell’s grand staircase.

Following Napoleon’s defeat in Russia in 1812, Louis XVIII issued a proclamation to the people of France, dated Hartwell, Feb 1, 1813. The Declaration of Hartwell stated that those who had served Napoleon or the Republic would not suffer repercussions for their acts, and that those who’d had lands confiscated during the Revolution would be compensated for their losses.

While the Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh denied any British participation in the proclamation, the British government provided Louis with the financial means to print the declaration, and copies were sent on board British ships for distribution on the coast of France, and dispatches to European capitals were carried by British couriers.

Allied troops entered Paris on 31 March 1814. On April 6, 1814, the French Senate invited Louis to resume the throne of France and Louis signed the accession papers at Hartwell. Five days later Napoleon abdicated.

A bust of the Duke of Wellington stands in a niche outside the dining room

The Royal Meteorological Society was founded at (1850) and regularly met at Hartwell House. In 1938 the house and estate were purchased by millionaire recluse Ernest Cook, an early hero of the conservation movement and grandson and co-heir of the Victorian travel tycoon Thomas Cook. During the Second World War, Hartwell served as an Army billet for British and American troops. From 1956 until 1983, Hartwell was let to finishing school and secretarial college and was afterwards purchased by Historic House Hotels Ltd, when the fine Georgian interiors were painstakingly restored alongside extensive restoration of the historic gardens and parkland. Hartwell House opened as an hotel in July 1989 – with a whole lot of history behind it and much panache.

Each of the spacious bedrooms are unique and feature outstanding decorative ceilings and panelling, fine paintings and antique furniture. The beautifully appointed drawing rooms are no less impressive.

Guests are free to lounge, read or have a drink in any of the drawing rooms; staff are always discreetly on hand to attend to your wishes, though you’d do well to rouse yourself occasionally and explore the extensive grounds.

Hartwell House sits in over 90 acres of glorious landscaped gardens and parkland. The garden was designed at the start of the 18th century, probably by James Gibbs, in the formal style with allées and garden buildings. By the middle of the 18th century, most of the formality had been swept away and the garden landscaped by a follower of Lancelot (Capability) Brown, one Richard Woods.

Today, guests are encouraged to stroll the many paths, explore the follies and woods and commune with the resident cows. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of the deer who typically make an appearance in the grounds around dusk.

The picturesque bridge over the lake was originally the central span of the old Kew Bridge, built over the Thames in the 18th century but dismantled in 1898 and its sections sold at auction.

Hartwell House also boasts a full service spa, offering a wide range of treatments. Hotel guests are free to use the swimming pool whenever they like.

Back at the House, be sure to indulge in a very special afternoon tea, served when and wherever you like.

Breakfasts at Hartwell House are also a treat. Enjoy a leisurely meal as you read the newspapers or simply gaze out at the beautiful grounds and enjoy a second cup of tea or coffee.

Is it any wonder that I’ve added a stay at Hartwell House to Number One London’s upcoming Town & Country House tour? An added bonus is that there is a private drive from Hartwell House to nearby Waddesdon Manor, also on the tour. You can find the complete tour itinerary and further details here.