Victoria's Regencies
  • Welcome
  • About Me
  • News and Events
  • Victoria's Vibes -- a blog
  • My Books
    • An Ideal Match
    • Ask Jane
    • Cordelia's Corinthian
    • Miss Milford's Mistake
    • Miss Parker's Ponies
    • The Eligible Miss Elliott
    • The Fontainebleau Fan
    • The Tables Turned
    • BirthRights: a Dangerous Brew, Chapter One

Apuldurcombe, on the Isle of Wight

10/27/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Recently I have visited a couple of houses which illustrate dramatically the decline and ruination of many English Country Houses.  Here is the first of several posts on these spots. For many years, I have wanted to visit this site, a preserved ruin of a lovely country house fallen into the fate of so many of its fellows among stately homes.
Picture
Kristine Hughes Patrone and I had come to the Isle of Wight primarily to visit Osborne House, a residence of Queen Victoria and her family. But we decided we must see this famous ruin, so we set off on a bus ride around the Isle, driving through picturesque towns, villages, and the countryside.  When the driver told us we had reached the proper stop after an hour or so, we got off and followed the signpost toward English Heritage's site.
Off we trudged up the road, past a farm or two, empty fields and lots of friendly cows. Remember to click on the photos above for full size versions.  It was a long hike, in my opinion, but worth it.
Picture
Eventually, after several hills and amidst lovely bluebells in the woods, we saw it. There wasn't a soul around.  A small carpark was empty and a closed building that apparently held an office stood at the edge of the premises, but no evidence of human company showed.
Picture
Picture
The silence seemed suitable, correct for the shattered elegance of the noble structure, stripped of almost all its accouterments. It was not spooky, but merely sad, with the world having passed it by. Once, it seemed to say, I was magnificent. 
Picture
Originally a priory, the property was the home of the Leigh family in the Elizabethan era. In 1702, Sir Robert Worsley began a new building on the site which was extended in the 1770's by his heir, Sir Richard Worsley.
Picture
You can see from the photo above that it has been stripped of all furnishings except for one room.
Picture
Here a room was enclosed and roofed; these portraits and a text panel told the sad story of the house and its ill-fated occupants. On the left is Sir Richard Worsley,  (1751-1805). 7th Baronet of Appuldurcombe, copy of a portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1775. On the right is Seymour Dorothy Fleming, his wife Lady Worsley (1758-1818),  a reproduction of the painting by Reynolds, now hanging in Harwood House, Yorkshire. They married in 1775.
Picture
The very unhappy marriage led to a Crim. Con. case in court, and wild stories resulting in such caricatures as this 1782 Gillray cartoon titled "Sir Richard Worse-than-sly, exposing his wife's bottom, o fye!" Eventually they separated permanently and took up with others. 
Picture
The beautiful house remained until after World War II during which it was used by the military. A German explosive destroyed the roof and it was never repaired. After the hostilities ended the interiors were removed, leaving only a shell. And so it remains.
Picture
Picture
Supposedly it is haunted but on the beautiful May day we visited, all we met were blossoms.
Picture
Picture
If you are in the market for a fixer-upper, English Heritage might be willing to deal!
0 Comments

English Art in Kansas City

10/21/2018

0 Comments

 
      The Nelson Atkins Museum of Art was a treat to visit, a treasure-house full of objects from many centuries worldwide. It has two adjacent buildings. The columned original was opened in 1933; the Bloch Building, housing contemporary art opened in 2007.
       For my purpose here on this blog, I will look primarily at British Art from the 19th and 19th centuries.  But first....the exterior. Below, left the original building combining neo-classic and art deco styles; at right, the white structure of the Bloch building.    
Picture

Within there is a wide contrast in styles; in this court, the pillars frame fine Brussels tapestries from the 17th century. 

Picture
You can see the back of The Thinker by Rodin in the middle overlooking the broad lawn and sculpture park.
Picture
The classical urn is a perfecct foil for the shuttlecock by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje von Bruggen, one of four in various positions in the park. 
Picture
The stairwell in the "old" building, which dates from 1934.
Picture
Kim Wilson and I prepared to wear our feet to bluddy stubs as we tried to cover every gallery.
Picture
The Courtyard houses a lovely cafe where we refreshed our energy. 
Picture
Among the N-A's treasures is this marble lion from Greece, 325 B.C.E. And now, as promised to some of the British  works.
Picture
John Hoppner (1758-1810) painted Portrait of Lady Emily St. Clare as a Bacchante in 1806-07. She was an actress and the mistress of Sir John Flemming Leicester who commissioned many artists to paint her.  Hoppner painted many aristocrats including all of George III's daughters.
Picture
Sir Thomas Lawrence (1769-1830) painted Mrs. William Lock of Norbury in 1829. Lawrence was the best known portraitist in Europe in the early 19th century. His subject here, Frederica Augusta Lock is obviously prosperous and a credit to her husband, whose portrait hangs int he Boston Museum of Fine Art, also executed by Lawrence. The Locks had numerous children, and most were both amateur painters and collectors of art.
Picture
Among the Nelson-Atkins collection of miniatures is this portrait of King George IV in 1821 by Henry Bone (1755-1834), enamel on copper.
Picture
Repose, c.1777, by Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) shows a rustic landscape. The text panel says,"Thomas Gainsborough evoked the hard labor of the rural poor while also representing the landscape that provided a source of prosperity for the painting's wealthy audience." Gainsborough is probably best known for his elegant portraits of the aristocracy.
Picture
Among the many portraits is Henry Raeburn's (1756-1803) image of Master Alexander Mackenzie, 1822.
Picture
Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) was a master of the play of light. In Fish Market, 1810, he portrays the beach in Hastings where the fishermen display their wares for shoppers.
Picture
John Constable (1776-1837) was moving towards Romanticism with his work, The Dell at Helmingham Park, 1830.
Picture
Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797) pictures a scene in the Lake District, Outlet of Wyburne Lake, 1796. This is Wright's last known painting.
0 Comments

Visiting Beaulieu Palace

10/6/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Stately Home on the site was formerly the Great Gatehouse of Beaulieu Abbey, founded in 1204 on land gifted to the Cistercian order by King John. 
Picture
The springtime blooms of the rhododendrons and other flowers were spectacular.
Please click on the pictures for full-size versions.
Above, in the Topiary Garden, the Mad Hatter's Tea Party and the Cheshire Cat.
​       
​The Portrait Gallery, below, exhibits portraits of the various dukes and barons whose families owned the estate from the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII in the 16th century. In actuality, the estate has been in the hands of one or another branch of the same family since 1538.
Picture
Below, Walter Francis Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch (1806-1884), who presented the Beaulieu estate to his second son, Henry John Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 1st Baron Montagu of Beaulieu (1832-1905), ancestor of the present family in residence.
Picture
Below, the Lower Drawing Room, added in the Gothick style  the 19th century, reflecting the monastic origins of the building. 
Picture
Below, the Dining Hall, also a Victorian remodeling.
Picture
Picture
At one end of the Dining Room, the children's table was visited by someone's favorite mount.
Above. views of the Victorian kitchen, where treats for visitors were in the oven.
Picture
The Upper Drawing Room carried on the Gothick origins and style. Formerly it was a chapel for visitors to the Abbey. The piano is an English-made Broadwood.
Picture
The family Dining Room.
Picture
The Family Library aka The Late Lord Montague's sitting room ...comfortable in all respects.
Miniature stage set and enviable shelves of book. Let me at 'em.
Picture
Picture
The hallways are often the sites of a familiar scene in stately homes -- trophies of past conquests, which often do not appeal to my tastes in sport. Nevertheless, it was a lovely adaptation of an abbey turned family home.
Picture
0 Comments

    Victoria Hinshaw, Author


    Here I will share some of my articles on favorite topics, such as English Country Houses, the Regency Royals, Jane Austen, and the like. Some of these articles have been published elsewhere, probably on the blog I share with Kristine Hughes and Louisa
    ​Cornell:  numberonelondon.net

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    June 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    June 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Photo used under Creative Commons from amandabhslater