Author Archives: countryhousereader
Celebrating the Jubilee … in 1809!
To mark 60 years of the Queen’s reign, 2012 is the year of the Diamond Jubilee! There will be hundreds of thousands of parties and festivals, picnics, music and feasting across Britain and the Commonwealth (Nations and Realms). The Central Weekend is … Continue reading
Filed under Parks and Gardens, Recommended Literature, Food and Dining
The Country House and the Motor Car
This post is based on a brilliant piece of research undertaken in 2010 by Pete Smith for English Heritage, presumably as part of The Car Project. The Motor Car and the Country House is a great read, and I would … Continue reading
Country House Amenities; Part IV, Cleaning.
Finally, and after several weeks of attending to the ‘day job’, here is the fourth and last installment of my peep into country house amenities. This post is to do with the upkeep of interiors and the supplies and resources … Continue reading
Montacute House and Blog
I can sit at my computer and trawl the internet for facts and interesting stories all day and everyday when it comes to country houses and anything related to them. Sometimes I need to have something pointed out to … Continue reading
Filed under Collections
The Eighteenth-Century Common.
I’m not all that fond of doing massive copy and paste exercises for my blog, but I felt that this was a great opportunity for advertising this admirable project. I have been following the Enfilade blog for some time, not because … Continue reading
Filed under Architecture and Design
The East India at Home Project – The University of Warwick 2011-2014
As I mentioned in my post on Thinking About the Country House, there has been a great deal of interest in this subject area over the last two years or so. Present excitement is reflected in television shows like … Continue reading
Women’s History Month.
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of women whose … Continue reading
Filed under Servants, Women and the Country House
Thinking about the Country House in 2012.
I started this blog in March 2011 after failing in yet another job application with an academic institution. You see, academic institutions like you to be ‘active’ and attend conferences, give seminar papers, publish, publish and publish some more. I’ve done all … Continue reading
Country House Amenities; Part III, Heating.
‘ … to remove the fireplace from the English home would be to remove the soul from the body.’ (Hermann Muthesius, The English House. Part III. 1904-05 ) Often when I visit country houses, it’s the fireplaces which hold little interest to me. … Continue reading
Country House Amenities; Part II, Lighting with Oil, Gas and Electricity.
In the first part on country house amenities, I offered a glimpse into how these buildings would have been lit by candle. In the era before channelled resources such as gas or electricity, the humble candle offered a brief glow … Continue reading
