Saltram, Devon

Saltram (picture 1), in Devon near Plymouth, stars in the opening scenes of Emma Thompson's film of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. With its pale stucco Georgian exterior appearing in a ghostly twilight, Saltram plays the role of Norland, the estate in Sussex inherited by John Dashwood and his avaricious wife, Fanny, thus causing Elinor, Marianne, Margaret and their mother to move to a cottage in Devon.       The National Trust administers Saltram with its inimitable grace and good taste. Several volunteer guides shared their stories of the filming, telling me how the vast saloon rug was rolled up and temporarily replaced by a painted floor cloth and how the priceless Chippendale furniture was removed except for the oversize sofas, each of which received careful guarding to ensure its protection from tons of cables, cameras and sound equipment, not to mention the small army of technical personnel. In her diary of the filming, Thompson tells several stories of the difficulties of shooting scenes at Saltram, always under the vigilant scrutiny of the NT volunteers.       The saloon plays the role of the music room, home of Marianne's pianoforte. The entrance hall, staircase, drawing rooms, dining room, library and the grounds play themselves. You will see each within the first half hour of the film. (picture 2)       Saltram's first records indicate the Bagg family built a large house on the site in the 16th century. After the Civil War, the Carteret family acquired the property and did some remodeling before Parliament allowed them to sell a Crown-granted property to George Parker in 1712.       His daughter-in-law, Lady Catherine Parker and her husband John rebuilt sections of the house and filled their addition with decorations in the rococo style. The architect and artisans are unknown though Lady Catherine herself is said to have been the primary designer. A central staircase (see Fanny peering disapprovingly down at Edward and Elinor in the film) with a glass ceiling was created from the Tudor courtyard, a relatively new idea at the time, providing bright light to the center of the house.       John II, who became Lord Boringdon in 1784, brought in Robert Adam to re-design unfinished rooms, particularly the Saloon, even now virtually unchanged from the master's touch.       Lord Boringdon was a close friend of Sir Joshua Reynolds, who assisted in the acquisition of Saltram's fine collection of art, including ten of Reynolds' works. (picture 3)       Also from this period is the design of the gardens, woods and lawns, which today shield the property from the invasion of modern-day Plymouth. Except for a few spots in which recent storms have toppled great trees, now replanted, the visitor would never know she strolled in the center of a suburban/industrial environment.       John Parker III, at age 16, became Lord Boringdon upon the death of his father in 1788; he was named first Earl of Morley in 1815. After some years on the Grand Tour, he followed his forefathers by representing the area in Parliament and as a leader in local affairs. He married twice (see accompanying mystery article). His costly engineering properties for the surrounding region brought debts requiring the family to let the house from 1861 to 1894.       The third Earl, also a politician and statesman, and his son lived at Saltram until 1951 when the house, its contents and 290 acres of park were given to the nation in lieu of death taxes and taken over by the National Trust.       The Red Velvet Drawing Room, from which Elinor weepily watches Marianne playing the pianoforte in the Saloon and is comforted by Edward, has several noteworthy features. Many of the gilded chairs retain their original red velvet seats. The guidebook compliments the care of the housekeepers, who kept extra covers in place when the family was not entertaining. An old inventory lists a red and white feather duster as part of the room's furnishings, and indicates that at least one of the Countesses dusted her precious porcelains herself. A pierced gilded fillet surrounds the fireplace and doors, running horizontally along the chair rail, quite evident in the film. While very elegant, this is a comfortable room that would put its occupants at their ease. (picture 4)       The saloon was used for balls, concerts and receptions, a necessary feature of great country houses. Its Adam-designed formality is as grand as the family rooms are intimate. Walls are covered in pale blue damask, as is the suite of eighteen armchairs and two sofas by Chippendale. Several of Adam's intricately-detailed drawings for the woodwork, mirrors and fittings hang in the hallway and many others are in Sir John Soane's Museum in London. Joseph Rose executed the elegant ceiling plasterwork and was paid 434 pounds in 1772. As so often in Adam rooms, the roundels featuring the goddesses Diana and Venus, were painted by Antonio Zucchi, and some perhaps by Angelica Kauffmann, whose set of large history paintings and various portraits also hang in the house.       The first Countess of Morley wrote of a ball at Saltram in 1810, "We lighted it by putting a quantity of candles over the doors, the places in which they were fixed being concealed by large wreaths and festoons of leaves and flowers beautiful to behold...round the room we had two rows of seats affording comfortable anchorage for about 200 persons." Two elaborate 19th century chandeliers now hanging in the saloon were tied out of view for the film.       Several rooms upstairs are fitted with exotic hand-painted Chinese wallpaper from the early 18th century, amusingly known as India paper since it was shipped from China to England by the East India Company. Though presently known as the Chinese Chippendale bedroom, one of these first floor rooms was described in 1811 as "the Room in which we (the family) breakfast, dine, drink tea and sup." One assumes that unencumbered by guests, the family had those chairs downstairs most definitely covered.       Always of interest to the modern visitor is the Great Kitchen containing an open range dating from 1810. A collection of more than 600 cooper pans and utensils is on display. In 1788, the kitchen staff included a cook, kitchen maid, scullery maid and still-room maid, in addition to other indoor servants: a governess, the housekeeper, two housemaids and the butler's staff of an underbutler, two footmen and a brewer. In 1811, each bedroom was provided with a copper can of hot water at least twice a day.       The grounds contain several gardens, an orangery, follies, stables and a chapel. Parts of the estate are being preserved as wildflower and wildlife habitats. While wandering the lawns admiring the view of the river Plym or the sheep and cattle across the ha-ha, only the faint sounds of the nearby motorway might remind the visitor of the 20th century. But a careful reading of the guide book reveals that the ha-ha was constructed in 1963; until then, the cattle grazed right up to the buildings. And, as always in NT properties, the fascinations of the well-stocked gift shop and the delights of the tea room are features I love, though they weren't available to early 19th century guests.

An Addendum ...

A Mysterious Relationship

Much of the pleasure of visiting country houses in Britain is learning about the families who lived in them. I always read first about those from 1800-1820, and in the case of Saltram, I found that reading between the lines was most intriguing.       The family at Saltram House was involved with several of the leading families of Regency-era Britain.       In a non-bylined article entitled "Scandal and Society," the anonymous author discusses the Paget family and how they provided "sport for the scandalmongers."       He reports that Lady Augusta Boringdon was seen at Portsmouth walking about with Sir Arthur Paget (1771-1840) in 1808. After her divorce from Lord Boringdon, she married Sir Arthur in 1809. But their disgrace was overshadowed at the time by the elopement of Paget's older brother Henry, Earl of Uxbridge (later 1st Marquess of Anglesey) with Lady Charlotte Wellesley, sister in law of the future Duke of Wellington. Henry left Lady Caroline (nee Villiers) and their eight children; Carline found comfort with the Duke of Argyll and married him soon after her divorce. Charlotte nee Cadogan) left Henry Wellesley and their several children to marry Henry, with whom she had another six sons and four daughters.       One of the Regency's most famous ladies was Sally Jersey, a patroness of Almack's. Her sister, Augusta, is the lady of mystery of Saltram. Let me rehash a bit of history.       John Fane, the 10th Earl of Westmorland (1759-1841), eloped with Sarah Anne Child (whose father owned Osterley Park) in 1782; Sarah's father, an immensely wealthy banker, was broken hearted at the match. Child left his entire fortune to Sarah's second child, preventing the money from going to the Westmorland family. In 1793 both Sarah and her mother (now Lady Dulcie) died and all Child properties went to 8-yr-old Lady Sarah Sophia "Sally" Fane, who married Lord Jersey in 1804 (son of the Lady Jersey who was the Prince Regent's special friend). Sally later became the dreaded Almack's patroness dubbed variously "Queen Sarah" and "Silence." She lived at the Jersey family seat, Middleton Park, in Oxfordshire, and in London at the refurbished Child residence, 38 Berkeley Square.       Lady Sally Jersey's older brother, John, (1784-1859) succeeded his father as the 11th Earl of Westmorland in 1841. According to Creevey, Lady Maria Fane, a younger daughter of the 10th Earl of Westmorland, married John William Duncannon, later the 4th Earl of Bessborough, and had thirteen children.       Another sister, Lady Augusta, was married in 1804 to John Parker (1772-1840), 2nd Lord Boringdon, and in 1815, 1st Earl of Morley, of Saltram House. They were divorced in 1809 after having one child, Henry, Lord Boringdon, born in 1806. This heir to Saltram died at age eleven.       Parker's second wife was Frances Talbot (1782-1857) with whom he had two children, Edmund, born 1810, and Caroline, born in 1814. All three children lived at Saltram with their father and Frances. Henry and Caroline died on a family vacation in France in 1817-18. Edmund became the 2nd Earl of Morley, who served both Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, but fell into debt over development schemes and eventually leased Saltram out in 1842.       So, who knows what terrible tragedy occurred in France on that family vacation that claimed two young lives? If anyone has any sources for the answers to these or similar questions, please e-mail me and I will post your answers.       And if my sources are correct, what do you suppose Sally Jersey made of her sister Augusta?

Sources: Saltram, The National Trust; Osterley Park, The National Trust; The Creevey Papers, edited by John Gore, London: Batsford, 1963

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