Category: Stately Homes

Staying With Friends – Part Two

Continuing in our quest for Stately Homes at which to stay, we bring you some of the more impressive –



Stapleford Park


Surrounded by the magnificent 500 acres of Capability Brown landscaped grounds Stapleford Park is the perfect country sporting estate and sits in the heart of Leicestershire, near Melton Mowbray, minutes from Rutland Water. The Hall was the seat of the Sherard family, later the Earls of Harborough and from 1894, of Baron Gretton. Today, guests sleep in rooms decorated by Wedgwood, Turnbull and Asser and Crabtree and Evelyn.



Cliveden House

Located on the River Thames just outside London in Berkshire, Cliveden House is one of those stately homes where one wishes the walls could talk. According to their website: The first house was built in 1666 by the 2nd Duke of Buckingham. A notorious rake, schemer and wit, he created Cliveden as a hunting lodge where he could entertain his friends and mistress. Since then it has twice been destroyed by fire, only to emerge, phoenix-like, more stunning than before. The house has played host to virtually every British Monarch since George I and has been home to three Dukes, an Earl and Frederick Prince of Wales.

Queen Victoria, a frequent guest, was not amused in 1893 when the house was bought by William Waldorf Astor, America’s richest citizen. When he gave it to his son and daughter-in-law in 1906 Cliveden became the hub of a hectic social whirl where guests included everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Winston Churchill, and President Roosevelt to George Bernard Shaw.



Bibury Court

 Bibury Court Hotel is set in a stunning Jacobean Mansion built in 1633. It dates from the late 16th Century, and was then extended in 1633 by Sir Thomas Sackville, the illegitimate son of the 1st Earl of Dorset who was ‘Knight and gentleman-usher in dailie waiting on the King’ (James I). Charles II is reputed to have visited the Court when he attended Bibury Races, as did the Prince Regent during the reign of George III.

The house remained in the Sackville family for several generations and through the female line passed to the Cresswells. It was them who, owing to a disputed will and years of litigation, sold the house in the last century to Lord Sherbourne. Charles Dickens is said to have written ‘Bleak House’ with this court case in mind. The interior was remodelled for Estcourt Cresswell in 1759. Later it fell into disrepair in the 1920s being refurbished for the Clark family in 1922 in whose ownership it remained until 1968 when it was sold after the death of Lady Clark, and turned into a hotel.  It is situated in the beautiful Cotswolds area which is sprinkled with historic market towns, charming villages and centuries old country manors.

Leeds Castle

Well, really, what can one say about Leeds Castle? All you really need to know is that they have 14 bedrooms and three cottages on the estate that you can book by contacting them in advance. History? You want the history of the Castle? Click here.

Of course, we personally think the pentultimate place to stay at is Walmer Castle, once home to the Duke of Wellington as Walmer Castle was the official residence of the Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports – a title previously held by both the Duke of Wellington (23 years) and the Queen Mother. The Duke used Walmer often and preferred it to any other home, inviting a stellar line-up of guests to stay for extended periods. The Duke’s great good friend, the widowed Charles Arbuthnot, lived with Wellington at Walmer and they regularly walked the grounds together, often strolling the battlements of the Castle. Wellington’s housekeeper at Walmer fondly called the elderly pair, “our two dear old gentlemen.” Arbuthnot died in 1850 at Apsley House, the Duke of Wellington died in 1852 at Walmer Castle. Today, guests can stay in either the Greenhouse Apartment overlooking the kitchen garden which has supplied the castle for more than 300 years or the Garden Cottage with a master bedroom overlooking the Castle. For a look at all properties available to rent from English Heritage, click here.

Staying With Friends

Alas, there are very few ways in which we British History afficianados can truly recreate and experience what life was like in centuries past. However, it is possible to get the flavor of what it must have been like to travel down to the country and stay with friends at their Stately Pile for a few days. We’ve found a few magnificent estates that are now hotels. True, they have modern day conveniences and you most likely won’t be greeted at the door by the family butler or offered a candelabra to light your way to your room, but it’s the closest we can come to experiencing true country house hospitality.

Oatlands Park Hotel

Located 18 miles outside of London in Surrey, Oatlands has a royal pedigree and strong Regency connections – Brummell and Alvanley were both frequent guests of the owners, the Duke and Duchess of York, who leased the property from the Crown in 1790. In 1794 the mansion was burnt down and was then rebuilt in the Gothic style of the period. After the death of the Duchess of York in 1820, the whole property was sold. It was bought by Edward Hughes (Golden) Ball Hughes in 1824 (although it was not until after the Duke’s death in 1827 that the sale was finally concluded) and again remodelled in 1830. Hughes had actually tried to dispose of the estate by public auction in 1829 but this part did not sell. He let the Mansion and the adjoining parkland to Lord Francis Egerton for a seven-year period in 1832 and renewed for a similar period in 1839. The arrival of the London and South Western Railway in 1838 made the area ripe for ‘a daily commute to town’ and in 1846 the estate was broken up into lots for building development and sold at three public auctions in May, August and September of that year. Following a period of private ownership by James Watts Peppercorne, the house became a hotel in 1856 known as the South Western (later Oatlands Park) Hotel. The present day Oatlands Park Hotel occupies the site where the Oatlands Mansion (Oatlands House) once stood and no doubt so long as you’re paying for your room, management will allow you to bring your Fat Friend along.



Armathwaite Hall

Located in the Lake District, Armathwaite Hall stands on the previous site of the Manor of Bassenthwaite, given to the illegitimate brother of Allan, the Second Lord of Allerdale and Gospatrick took on the name de Bassenthwaite. Another family, the Highmore family, who owned the Hall 1540 to 1748, offered hospitality to the infamous Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Duke of Cumberland during the 1745 uprising at their other residence in Carlisle. In 1748 James Spedding, Squire to Lord Egremont of Cockermouth Castle acquired the Hall and it stayed in his family for three generations until it was sold to Sir Frederick Fletcher-Vane in 1796. This family extended the Hall in 1817 by building a courtyard, a chapel and partially extending the building towards the lake. Four generations of the Fletcher-Vane family resided here until 1850 when it was sold to Mr. Boustead. Hotel guests can book in for a spot of clay shooting or archery.

Thornbury Castle

When Henry VIII came to the throne, the Duke of Buckingham, owner of Thornbury Castle in Gloucestershire, stood in high favour with his Royal Master. He was the most affluent and most honoured nobleman in the country – Constable of England. He was the King’s Lieutenant and commanded in his absence. He was with his Sovereign in 1513 at the Battle of the Spurs in Picardy, and in 1520 whilst on his way to France to take part in the campaign of the Field of the Cloth of Gold, he visited Tonbridge where he had a large estate and had cause to dismiss a steward called Kynvett. To avenge himself the steward passed on to Cardinal Wolsey certain indiscreet words uttered by the Duke. It is not known for certain whether Buckingham had serious thought regarding the throne, but he was the great grandson of Edward III’s youngest son, Thomas of Woodstock, and if Mary Tudor’s succession at that time was denied he thought he stood heir to the throne. Henry VIII certainly seems to have thought there was some danger because on the Duke’s return from France he was arrested and taken to London, where he was found guilty of high treason and executed on Tower Hill.

Henry VIII appropriated the castle and for 33 years it remained a royal demesne, and in 1533 he and Anne Boleyn spent 10 days here. Mary Tudor also spent some years here as a princess, and upon her death in 1554 she returned the Castle to the descendants of the late Duke. For the next two centuries the castle was unoccupied and fell into ruin. In the 1850s the Castle became once more a family residence, being home to the Howards, then the Clifford family, Kenneth Bell MBE, The Baron and Baroness of Portlethen, and now forms part of the von Essen private collection of country house hotels.

Ickworth House

Ickworth House, now the Ickworth Hotel , is simply steeped in scandal. This from Wikipedia: Ickworth House is a country house outside Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England. It is a neoclassical structure topped by a giant rotunda in a park laid out by Capability Brown. Ickworth had been in the ownership of the Hervey family from the 15th century. The house, park, and a large endowment were given to the National Trust in 1956 in lieu of death duties. As part of the handover agreement, a 99-year lease on the 60-room East Wing was given to the Marquess of Bristol. The Letter of Wishes of the 4th Marquess of Bristol stated that accommodation should always be available for the head of the Hervey family (the Marques of Bristol) at Ickworth. However, in 1998 the 7th Marquess of Bristol, partly for financial reasons, and partly in response to an eviction suit stemming from his behaviour on the property, sold the remaining lease on the East Wing to the National Trust. The Trust subsequently refused to re-sell the leasehold to the 8th Marquess of Bristol on his succeeding to the title in 1999. There is now a 27-bedroom hotel in the East Wing.

Part Two Coming Soon!

Knebworth House Visit

Knebworth House in Hertfordshire, just north of London, was the home of Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873), politician, statesman, and author of dozens of novels. Our tastes in literature have left poor B-L far, far behind.  But his house is often a star in its own right, currently as the home of Logan Mountstuart’s wife, Lottie (Lady Laeticia) and her father, the earl of Edgefield, in the series Any Human Heart on PBS’s Masterpiece.

Any Human Heart is based onWilliam Boyd’s 2002 novel, subtitled The Intimate Journals of Logan Mountstuart. The story goes from Logan’s coming of age through his lifetime. Though the novel is said to be a literary attempt to put political and social events into a personal context, the television version seems more to be an amazingly frequent set of encounters with famous persons, such as Miro, Hemingway, Wallis Simpson, James Joyce, et. al., while Logan has a series of life crises in which he usually turns out to be a cad.
But the point of this post is the house, Knebworth, playing the role of fictional Thorpe Hall. Knebworth has been in many films and tv shows, including The King’s Speech, and Batman, where it purports to be David Wayne’s elegant manor. Kristine and Victoria, with a group of their friends, visited Knebworth on cloudy day a few years ago. The grey skies seemed a perfect background for the ornately gothic pile of yellowish sandstone. Take a look at the Knebworth website here.

A mere thirty miles north of London, Knebworth House raises its ornate turrets, decorative crenellated chimneys and fanciful columns topped with heraldic beasts to the Hertfortshire sky. The Lytton family has occupied the property for more than 500 years.


Although every stately home in England has a fascinating history peopled with interesting inhabitants, Knebworth is particularly well endowed with eccentric, even tragic, characters. The medieval era house, with assorted changes, stood until the early 19th century. Freed from an unhappy marriage by the death of her husband, the redoubtable heiress, Elizabeth Lytton (1773-1843), made the first of extensive architectural changes in the early 19th century.









She and General William Bulwer (1757-1807), had several children, the youngest of whom became Sir Edward Bulwer-Lytton, (1803-1873), probably the most famous family member, immortalized by Snoopy’s efforts to begin his novel, “It was a dark and stormy night.”

Elizabeth had three sides of the sprawling old structure demolished. The remaining side, preserving the ancient Banqueting Hall with its carved screen, was remodeled in the fashionable gothic style, with a medieval style towers and battlements.

Bulwer-Lytton, a budding poet, had a love affair with Lady Caroline Lamb (known particularly for her pursuit of Lord Byron, the poet) in the 1820’s. A copy of her notorious novel Glenarvon (1816) is on display at Knebworth inscribed by Bulwer-Lytton: “Poor Lady Caroline . . . she could not but inspire deep pity that was heightened by admirations for talents and qualities that well trained, might have made her one of the first women of her time.”

Soon after the affair concluded and against the wishes of his mother, Bulwer-Lytton married Rosina Doyle Wheeler in 1827, one of the most disastrous mismatches of the era. Always short of funds, nevertheless they lived extravagantly. Their two children, a daughter, Emily, and a son, Teddy (later first Earl of Lytton), both suffered from the constant battles between their parents.

At times Rosina was banished from her husband’s presence. Once, after she interrupted a political campaign meeting to denounce him, she was placed in a mental institution until public outrage brought her release. Rosina published thirteen novels and many other works on women’s issues. Quoting the guidebook to the house (p. 11), “Ostracised (sic) by the family for a century, Rosina has now been readopted. Her contribution to the struggle for women’s rights has been recognized . . . and the present Lord Cobbold (David Lytton Cobbald) named his daughter after her.”

Bulwer-Lytton, a member of parliament, a journalist and playwright, as well as th
e author of seventy novels, did not live at Knebworth until after his mother’s death in 1843. When he took over the estate, he began further changes to enhance Gothic elements of the house. Separated permanently from Rosina, he entertained frequently, often staging amateur and professional theatricals with his friend and fellow writer, Charles Dickens. In the sober library of the house, some of Bulwer-Lytton’s novels are on display, the most famous of which is probably Last Days of Pompeii (1834).
Additional changes to the house were made by his grandson, Victor, second earl of Lytton, with the help of his brother-in- law, the renowned architect Sir Edwin Lutyens. In addition to the fine ancient banqueting hall, today’s visitors will enjoy the army’s many suits of armor, the High Gothic State Drawing Room, and Elizabeth’s regency-era bedroom, preserved as it was in her day at the request of her son. All the afore-mentioned persons are pictured in the extensive family portrait collection. The house gave me a rather melancholy impression, only partially offset by the handsome Knebworth gardens. Below are views of Knebworth, inside and out.

Entrance Hall

The Amoury

Two pictures above, the adventure playground woods

Like so many stately homes in Britain, Knebworth House must pay its own way, and thus is not only a fascinating historical site and a rich source of settings for films.  There are a variety of attractions for children, frequent corporate events and weddings, charity fetes and shows is all kinds (antiques, cars etc etec.) and many, many concerts, mostly rock music, with audiences upwards of 50,000.  Dark and stormy it was not!

Spencer House

All of us are familiar with the name Spencer in the British aristocracy, e.g. Lady Diana Spencer, aka Diana, Princess of Wales;  Winston Spencer Churchill; Georgiana Spencer Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire;  the Earls Spencer. It’s an old and historic name and family.  Spencer House was the London town house built in the 1750’s by the 1st Earl Spencer; it is now owned by a corporation (headed by Lord Rothschild, to whom we must give thanks for its preservation and  care). In the BBCTwo series by Amanda Vickery on Georgian Taste, the house and its principle rooms and furnishings were described as the epitome of Georgian style and elegance. The Spencer House website is here.


It isn’t always easy to find the entrance. Though the west facade faces Green Park (above), you must wander around in the cluster of streets west of St. James’s Street.   There are several little twists or turns to take, but don’t despair if you don’t  find it right away. The scenery is delicious — and though there are few pedestrians or autos, the people watching CAN be excellent.  Watch for top hats– these will be the doormen  at the hotel!


One day, on my way to Spencer House, I took this picture of a perfect
house in a row of 18th century buildings.  It shows the torch snuffers on the lamp poles, for the footmen to extinguish their guiding torches after travel at night. Also, the fan light above the door would serve as an address before there were numbers on the houses.  The picture of the unique fan light would be shown on your invitation to identify the proper venue!

Also nearby, The Stafford Hotel

Someday, I want to stay at the Stafford, a truly elegant establishment now part of the international Kempinski chain. I admit to entering its portals once to have a drink in the bar. Delicious.

Here’s a floor plan of the house. According to the guidebook, the house retains its essential Georgian neo-classical bones though it has been remodeled, renovated, updated and conserved many times over its many years.  The basic layout was the design of John Vardy(1718-1765), a pupil of William Kent (1685-1748). The west façade facing into Green Park is almost entirely his work (as restored), and as such, it is one of the finest, most authentic examples of Imperial Roman architecture and one of the first built in 18th century England.

The ground floor contains the Entrance Hall, a morning room, library, and the principle dining room.  The entrance hall is described as austere, in muted colors, with classical decorations based on Greek or Roman foundations.  The relief over the fireplace portrays Antonius, a favorite of the emperor Hadrian, and one of the first pieces the 1st Earl Spencer purchased.  Vardy is suppposed to have been responsible for most of the ground floor, with James “Athenian” Stuart taking over for the design and decoration of the first floor.



The ante room, left.  Many of the furnishings and architectural details of Spencer House, such as fireplace surrounds,  were removed to the Spencer country estate of Althorp during times of war or when the family leased out all or part of the building.  Thus, some of the present furnishings are original, others exact copies of the originals, others similar to the originals, some purchased for the renovation, completed in 1989, and many more pieces on loan  from the royal collection, the National Trust, the VandA, or other sources.

The Palm Room with its gilded columns and palm fronds is thought to be much as Vardy designed it, although many others have worked on the house. The chairs and benches are exact copies of Vardy’s; the originals are now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The Medici Venus, in the central apse, was a very popular sculpture in the 18th and 19th centuries, one of the most graceful and beautiful statues copied or based on the Greek original, thought to be by 4th century B.C. master sculptor Praxiteles. Replicas can be found in stately homes, palaces, gardens, and museums worldwide. This copy was made by in white marble by Francis Harwood in 1765.

On the first floor, or piano nobile, the main rooms were meant to be impressive, yet welcoming; elaborate, yet comfortable; stunning, yet comprehensible to those who had enjoyed a classical education (as one might expect all who qualified to enter here to have had).  The imposing Great Room is used for balls, for dining, or receptions. One can hardly imagine what luminaries of British politics and  society  graced it.  Again, if only walls could speak. What did the Duke whisper to the Countess? And what did the Prime Minister confide to the Prince? And was that the dowager over there, winking at the handsome footman? My, my.
Great Room Ceiling medallion detail, right. The first floor and many of the details of the building were turned over by  1st Earl Spencer to James “Athenian” Stuart (1713-1788) well before the house was finished.  And just a few years later, Henry Holland (1745-1806), who also was responsible for Brooks Club, various versions of Carlton House and the Marine Pavilion, redid some of the rooms.  Both of them, as well as subsequent architects, basically respected the neo-classic character of the building, never resorting to Gothic or Oriental fads.

The Painted Room is the piece de resistance of the entire structure, executed by Athenian Stuart and fully restored to his designs. One of the most celebrated 18th C. interiors in Europe, the Painted Room actually changes according to variations in the light, both natural and artificial. The work took Stuart six years to complete; the designs celebrate the triumph of love, in honor of the happy marriage of the 1st Earl Spencer and his wife, Georgiana, nee Poyntz (parents of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire). On one panel, Venus is supposedly a portrait of the 1st Countess.

Here is another view of the Painted Room with different lighting and an angle which shows the ceiling, one of its most attractive features.  Many of the paintings and sculptural features of the room are based on themes related to love and marriage from ancient Greece and Rome. Intertwining  circles and vines are related to wedding rings, for example.  Roses, wreathes and flower garlands relate to the same premises.

Another view of a detail of the Painted Room, showing the figures of loving couples from mythology and the elaborate decoration which covers the walls and ceilings.


Needless to say, this would be the perfect setting for a wedding, and the current owners would be delighted to arrange one.  Just be sure the groom is a billionaire.


Now all you have to do, to prove your excellent Georgian taste, is to plan your special event, such as a grand ball, at Spencer House. Please don’t forget to invite Kristine and Victoria. We’ll be sure to attend!
And put the pictures right here.

The Elegant Taste of the Georgians

Victoria here. I subscribe to a number of British publications — and always save them until I can sit down with a cuppa — and enjoy them without pressure. Needless to say, they pile up. The BBC History magazine for December 2010 had to wait until last weekend when my DH was immersed in football games. I had much more fun reading “All in the best possible Taste” on p. 42, which was written to accompany the BBC Two series At Home with the Georgians, presented by Amanda Vickery. Her book, Behind Closed Doors: At Home in Georgian England, was published in the U.S. by the Yale University Press in 2010.

Amanda Vickery is a professor of history at Queen Mary, University of London. While investigating the subject of taste, she discusses Lady Shelburne.  Faithful readers of this blog will already be familiar with Lady Shelburne’s taste, as shown in her homes.  Lansdowne House, London, and Bowood, in Wiltshire, were the topics here last March 29 and 31 and April 4, 2010.   As Earl and Countess of Shelburne, William and Sophia established prominence in Georgian social and political circles. Later, after Lady Shelburne’s early death at age 25, the earl was named first Marquess of Lansdowne.

Amanda Vickery has specialized in matters domestic in her latest book as well as in her earlier work,The Gentleman’s Daughter: Women’s Lives in Georgian England, winner of the Longman History Today Prize in 1998. Marriage, child-bearing and housekeeping are described based on Vickery’s research into the letters and diaries of 18th and early 19th century women.


I am sorry to report that the BBC Two website does not have a replay available for the three-part series At Home with the Georgians.  Why not, I’d like to know?  Perhaps it will show up in one of those catalogues or PBS will run it.

Vickery, in the brief article in the December BBC History magazine, tells of the arranged marriage of William, Earl of Shelburne, and Lady Sophia Carteret in 1765 which blossomed into a true love match. Together they chose furnishings for their households, including paintings, decor, statuary and carpets.

Taste, in the prevailing view of their time and class, was based on classical themes, evidence of knowlege of the Greek and Roman civilizations. At right is the Adam Room in London’s Lansdowne Club, part of the former mansion belonging to the Shelburne/Lansdownes, as recently restored. Note particularly the elaborate ceiling design.

At left is the Shelburne/Lansdowne dining room as it was reconstructed in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art after the partial demolition in the 1930’s of the London house just off Berkeley Square.  Shelburne was a rising Whig politician and the family homes were important arenas of social and political life in those days. 

After the sad death of Lady Sophia (1745-1771), he married again. I suppose it was necessary to have a hostess to preside over these fine rooms!

The drawing room from Lansdowne House can be seen in the

Philadelphia Museum of Art.  It is a fine example of Adam’s
Etruscan/Pompeiian designs.   It was in rooms such as these that members of Britain’s ruling circles combined their discussions of pending legislation with the enjoyment of fine wines and elaborate meals, dancing, concerts, and cards.

The Shelburne/Lansdowne family also entertained at the Wiltshire property of Bowood, their principle country home not far from Bath.  At left is the dining room from Bowood which is now the Board Room in the venerable Lloyds of London, occupying a place of honor in the otherwise extremely modern building in the City of London
.
The taste of the furnishings provided the proper setting for the establishment of national policy and thus had an important effect upon them.

Above are two editions of Amanda Vickery’s The Gentleman’s Daughter, highly recommended.

The BBC History magazine article also suggests visits to two other houses to study the taste of the Georgians: Spencer House, in St.  James, and Syon House, on the outskirts of London. This blog will take you to both soon.  Stay tuned.