FIND YOUR 6 THE OFFICIAL M AGAZINE BRITAIN HISTORY HERITAGE TRAVEL CULTURE Fall for the KING OF THE Lake District CASTLES Romantic landscapes & quaint villages WIN Edward I’s a week on mighty legacy the beautiful Yorkshire coast HIGH FLIERS Behind the scenes with the Red Arrows TiOtnatnheic trail VICTORIAN SCANDAL Love and betrayal in the Cotswolds SEPT/OCT 2022 £4.95 Discover the story of the doomed ship in Belfast www.britain-magazine.com
EDITOR'S LETTER 61 48 Coastal views, healthful St Michael’s Mount air and magnificent mountains: the CONTENTS Victorians knew what they liked from their VOLUME 90 ISSUE 5 holidays, and the destinations featured this issue were firm favourites. The genteel towns of Devon’s south coast (The English Riviera, p14) ooze the charm of a bygone era, and the beauty of the Lake District (Romancing the Lakes, p64) drew Victorian city-dwellers in droves. The best historic houses are full of the stories of their former occupants. Polesden Lacey in Surrey was once home to a rags-to-riches society hostess (Mrs Greville’s Treasures, p24); while Kelmscott Manor in the Cotswolds, owned by the designer William Morris, played host to a scandalous love triangle (Life’s rich tapestry, p48). We also profile castle-builder extraordinaire Edward I (The Warrior King, p33), revisit the Titanic 110 years after its sinking (Belfast’s Titanic legacy, p75) and follow Paddington Bear’s journey, from darkest Peru to tea with the Queen (Paws for thought, p56). Enjoy the issue! PHOTOS: © MKGOLDER/ISTOCK/ SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES LONDON (KELMSCOTT MANOR)/TOURISM IRELAND/CHRIS HILL Natasha Foges FEATURES Editor 14 THE ENGLISH RIVIERA For the best articles straight to your inbox, sign up to our free BRITAIN newsletter at Dotted with quaint little towns, this stunning stretch www.britain-magazine.com/newsletter of South Devon coastline comes into its own once the summer crowds have departed @BRITAINMAGAZINE FACEBOOK/BRITAINMAGAZINE 24 MRS GREVILLE’S TREASURES @BRITAIN_MAGAZINE One of the most celebrated hostesses of the THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE Edwardian era, Margaret Greville amassed many collectibles at her Surrey manor, Polesden Lacey BRITAIN HISTORY HERITAGE TRAVEL CULTURE 33 THE WARRIOR KING Fall for the KING From Flower of Chivalry to Hammer of the Scots, OF THE Edward I has had more nicknames than any other Lake District CASTLES monarch, but how did he measure up to them? Romantic landscapes & quaint villages WIN Edward I’s 40 THE REAL JAMES HERRIOT a week on mighty legacy the beautiful The All Creatures Great and Small author and vet Yorkshire tended to animals on the Yorkshire Dales, but coast how much truth was there in his much-loved tales? HIGH FLIERS 48 LIFE’S RICH TAPESTRY Behind the scenes As Kelmscott Manor reopens after a three-year with the Red Arrows renovation, we explore the stories and scandals behind William Morris’s idyllic Cotswold retreat TiOtnatnheic trail VICTORIAN Cover image: An autumnal 75 SCANDAL view of the Lake District Love and betrayal in the Cotswolds National Park © Ed Rhodes/Robert Harding Discover the story of the doomed ship in Belfast www.britain-magazine.com
FEATURES THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE 14 56 PAWS FOR THOUGHT www.britain-magazine.com Having arrived in London with just the bear BRITAIN is the official magazine of necessities, Paddington has been a popular figure for VisitBritain, the national tourism agency. 64 years – what’s the key to his lasting success? BRITAIN is published by 61 ST IVES The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd, Artists have long been drawn to this breathtaking Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, harbour town in West Cornwall London SW3 3TQ Tel: 020 7349 3700 64 ROMANCING THE LAKES Email: [email protected] Follow a literary trail around Windermere and Grasmere, jewels in the crown of the magnificent Editorial Lake District Editor Natasha Foges Art Editor Rhian Colley REGULARS Assistant Editor Henrietta Easton 6 LETTERS 24 Advertising Group Sales Director Catherine Chapman Share your stories and memories of Britain Head of Sales Operations Jodie Green 9 THE BULLETIN Advertising Manager Daisy Welch Egyptian exhibitions, pretty handmade Senior Sales Executive Melissa Arancio pottery and water voles Publishing 46 COMPETITION Chairman Paul Dobson Managing Director James Dobson Win a seven-night getaway to Yorkshire Publisher Simon Temlett Chief Financial Officer Vicki Gavin 75 CITY GUIDE: BELFAST EA to Chairman Sophie Easton Subs Marketing Executive Bret Weekes Steeped in history, Northern Ireland’s capital For VisitBritain Sarah Wagner now celebrates its maritime heritage Printed in England by William Gibbons Ltd 80 A DAY WITH... Production All Points Media The Red Arrows’ Wing Commander, SUBSCRIPTION ENQUIRIES David Montenegro USA and Canada: 82 THE GREAT BRITISH QUIZ www.britsubs.com/britain Tel: 1-888-321-6378 (toll free) Test your knowledge of Britain’s tastiest pudding, pies and snacks in our new quiz Email: [email protected] Post: BRITAIN, PO Box 37518, IN THIS ISSUE Boone, IA 50037-0518 (USA only); OR 64 BRITAIN, 1415 Janette Avenue, Windsor, SCOTLAND Ontario N8X 1Z1 (Canada only) NORTHERN BELFAST p75 UK and Rest of World: YORKSHIRE DALES p40 www.subscription.co.uk/chelsea/help LAKE DISTRICT p64 I R E L A N D Tel: +44 (0) 1858 438 878 EIRE ENGLAND Email: [email protected] PHOTOS: © NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES Post: BRITAIN, CDS Global, Sovereign Park, WA L E S TORQUAY p14 Market Harborough, LE16 9EF, UK KELMSCOTT MANOR p48 Did you know you can manage your POLESDEN LACEY p24 subscription online? ST IVES p61 Oversee your print and digital subscriptions online today simply by signing up at https://www. subscription.co.uk/chelsea/solo/. Stay up to date with the latest issues, update your personal details, and even renew your subscription with just a click. Annual subscription rates (6 issues) UK – £35; Europe – £45 USA and Canada – US $75 Australia – AUD $105 Rest of World – £55 www.britain-magazine/subscribe Back issues www.chelseamagazines.com/shop News distribution USA and Canada: NPS Media Group, 2 Enterprise Drive, Suite 420, Shelton, CT 06484. UK and Rest of World: Seymour, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7429 4000 BRITAIN (ISSN 1757-9732) (USPS 004-335) is published bi-monthly by The Chelsea Magazine Company, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London SW3 3TQ , UK Distributed in the US by NPS Media Group, 2 Enterprise Drive, Suite 420, Shelton, CT 06484. Periodicals postage paid at Shelton, CT and other mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to BRITAIN, PO Box 37518, Boone, IA 50037-0518 Publications Mail Agreement Number 41599077, 1415 Janette Ave, Windsor, ON N8X 1Z1. Canadian GST Registered Number 834045627 RT0001 © The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd., 2022. All rights reserved. Text and pictures are copyright restricted and must not be reproduced without permission of the publishers The information contained in BRITAIN has been published in good faith and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. However, where appropriate, you are strongly advised to check prices, opening times, dates, etc, before making final arrangements. All liability for loss, disappointment, negligence ordamagecausedbyrelianceonthe informationcontained within this publication is hereby excluded. The opinions expressed by contributors to BRITAIN are not necessarily those of the publisher or VisitBritain. 4 BRITAIN www.britain-magazine.com
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YOUR LETTERS Write to us with your thoughts on the magazine and memories of Britain STAR LETTER MAGICAL CORNWALL QUEEN VICTORIA RECONSIDERED I loved your recent article about King Our star letter wins a Arthur’s Cornwall [Vol 90 Issue 4] as it copy of Gilded City, a A recent documentary about King George reminded me of many happy holidays from fascinating journey III opined (via current medical experts) that my childhood. We went every year and I he likely suffered from bipolar disorder, loved clambering over the ruins of Tintagel through London’s while not taking into account that Queen and visiting the mystical St Nectan’s medieval and early Victoria’s famous temper tantrums were waterfall, when not exploring the caves modern architecture akin to that. She was never meant to be and rock pools of the area’s wonderful Queen and wasn’t in line for the throne but beaches. A magical place indeed! (Unicorn, £25). her uncle had no heirs, so she was thrust Stephen Morrissey, Montreal, Canada into the job unexpectedly. I’d guess that the burden of being Queen at a very young age BIG BEN’S BACK was overwhelming for her at times – and she PHOTOS: © ENGLISH HERITAGE/JIM HOLDEN/ISTOCK/PICTORE/CHRIS MOUYIARIS had nine children! She could also have had Thank you so much for your insightful some long-term after-effects: gynaecology article The Time Machine [Vol 90 Issue 4]. and mental Every summer holiday, each of my three healthcare wasn’t children pick a topic to learn more about as sophisticated during their time away from school. This as they are today, year my middle daughter, Erin, chose Big so she may have Ben, after hearing her classmates discussing been suffering the famous tower. Your article covered with undiagnosed pretty much everything we needed to know, disorders. and we all learnt lots of new facts about the Pamela Towart, infamous bell. A particular favourite was via Facebook that the tower once contained a prison cell for unruly MPs! We’re planning a trip to LOVE FOR LANCASHIRE London soon to see (and hear) the newly restored clock tower in all its glory. I was very glad to see that the map in the Nicola Richardson, East Sussex, UK Lancashire article [Vol 90 Issue 3] included my hometown of Southport. When I was WRITE TO US! By post: Letters, BRITAIN, The Chelsea Magazine Company, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 3TQ born there it was in Lancashire, but has now Via email: [email protected] FOLLOW US! Twitter: @BritainMagazine Instagram: @britain_magazine been redrawn into Merseyside. However, Facebook: www.facebook.com/BritainMagazine Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/britainmagazine those of us born there, way back then, still think of ourselves as Lancastrians! It was so 6 BRITAIN nice to see an article about my old stomping grounds and places I’ve visited over the years when back seeing family. One of my oldest memories from my first trip back was seeing Blackpool Tower from the top of the rollercoaster at Pleasureland in Southport. On my last trip home, I went to Lancaster for the first time and learned about the Pendle Witches on a tour of the castle and prison. Somewhere I haven’t been is Helmshore Textile Museum or Queen Street Mill near Burnley. There’s always somewhere else to add to the list of places to go. Denise Bridge, Ontario, Canada www.britain-magazine.com
Tour of English Castles # *0-DŽ) -. and Mansions *!DŽ)2 ǃ A magnificent journey through the South East A Historic County in the Southwest of England and the Heart of England of England © LOUISE WEST Join us on a small group tour unlike any other 2, 5, or 8 day pre-organized, custom-built A 9 day tour in the South East of England and private tours. Including Poldark and with the option to extend to 14 days Book now Doc. Martin locations plus ask for to include the Heart of England. more information on our Cornwall Custom built and Private tours for 2022 & 2023 available for your preferred date. For more info and Gardeners Paradise Tour. Transfers from anywhere in Britain plus international flights if needed. Be sure to use Promo Code brochures email Be sure to use Promo Code PREPCO22TF barrydevo@ PREPCO22LW .' .*! $ǃ4 prepcotravel.com The English or call Barry Devo */.2*' . Great beaches, family run hotels 330 284 4709 and B&B’s (EDT) A magnificent journey of Gardens, Islands owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, Castles, Mansions, Quaint Villages and Scenery His Royal Highness Prince Charles. © EINAR REYNIS-UNSPLASH The Caribbean of England with temperatures Leave your luggage at the hotel and enjoy warmed by the close proximity of the ocean 7 separate day excursions in and around Gulf Stream to support sub-tropical plants and the Cotswolds. marine life not seen elsewhere in the UK. Extend your visit and take a private tour to the A group of islands just a 20 minute flight from the Four Corners of Cornwall or to English Castles mainland of Cornwall or a 21/2 hour ferry trip. and Mansions. Like all our tours, no daily packing and unpacking, just leisurely daily excursions from a base hotel Your specialist for Vacations and Tours in Britain Experience you can trust www.prepcotravel.com
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HISTORY / NEWS / REVIEWS / INSPIRATION The BULLETIN Egyptian mysteries, Roman ingenuity and a very British country-house escape ANNIVERSARY 1,900 years later This year Hadrian’s Wall, Britain’s ancient Roman frontier in UNESCO World Heritage Site, a year-long festival is taking PHOTO: © ALAN COPSON/AWL IMAGES the north, celebrates its 1,900th birthday. Built at the request place, with a packed programme of events and activities. of Emperor Hadrian in 122 AD, it marked the border between Whether you want to experience life as a Roman soldier, Britain and unconquered Caledonia in the north and is the understand how and why the wall was built, or take part in a largest Roman archaeological feature in Britain, running a total creative writing workshop, the 1900 Festival (until 23 of 73 miles from Wallsend in the east to Bowness-on-Solway December) has something for everyone. in the west. To mark the momentous birthday of this 1900.hadrianswallcountry.co.uk
HISTORY / NEWS / REVIEWS / INSPIRATION SHOPPING Hedgerow happy PL ACES TO STAY The end of summer in Britain is, arguably, EXHIBITION the most beautiful time of the whole season, Rural retreat with leaves on the cusp of autumn colour, Egyptian intrigue woodland animals getting themselves ready for the winter, and the hedgerows bursting with berries just waiting to be made into a delicious pudding. British pottery brand Emma Bridgewater has encapsulated all of this in its new collection. Our pick is the pretty Hedgerow set (from £14), which features colourful rosehip and elderberry motifs on plates, jugs, teacups and more. www.emmabridgewater.co.uk Just opened in Berkshire, The Retreat at N AT U R E In 1922, British archaeologist Howard Elcot Park is an exemplary country-house Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun hotel. A winding drive leads to a fine Waterside wildlife in the Valley of the Kings: the first intact red-brick manor house overlooking the pharaoh’s tomb to be found. A century later, rolling North Wessex Downs. The rooms Water voles, an endangered species in it’s still one of the most important have bags of rustic charm – William Morris Britain, are being reintroduced on the archaeological discoveries of all time. wallpaper, comfy armchairs, canopied beds 725-acre Trentham Estate in Staffordshire as Tutankhamun: Excavating the Archive (until and antique prints set the tone. The standout part of a UK-wide project to boost the vole 5 Feb 2023) at Oxford’s Bodleian Library is the Percy Shelley Suite, named after the population. More than 200 water voles have uses photographs, letters and diaries to paint Romantic poet, whose family moved here been released into Trentham Lake, which a vivid picture of the events. Continuing the after he died in Italy. There are tennis courts, was designed by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown theme, the British Museum’s Hieroglyphs: an infinity pool and a croquet lawn, as well at the heart of the estate, in the hope that Unlocking Ancient Egypt (13 Oct until 19 as two excellent restaurants and a swish spa, they will establish a self-sustaining Feb 2023) will celebrate 200 years since but make time to explore the local area too population. To help them on their way, hieroglyphs were first deciphered after the – Highclere Castle of Downton Abbey fame, thousands of native marginal wildflowers discovery of the Rosetta Stone, expanding Newbury racecourse and the antiques shops and reeds have been planted, alongside our understanding of human history by of Hungerford are among the local draws. meadows, feeder brooks and watercourses to 3,000 years. visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk; www.retreatelcotpark.com create their perfect habitat. Look out for www.britishmuseum.org these fluffy creatures on your next visit. www.trentham.co.uk PHOTOS: © TOM GREENLY/ASTRID TEMPLIER/TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM/ HARRY BURTON/WILL PRYCE 10 BRITAIN www.britain-magazine.com
HISTORY / NEWS / REVIEWS / INSPIRATION In the 18th century, READING CORNER custards were served Take inspiration for your in delicate glasses, British adventures from alongside jellies and these great reads syllabubs The BBC Puzzle Book RECIPE by Ian Smith & Dr Gareth Moore (£14.99, Custard Creams Frances Lincoln). Celebrate 100 years of An insight into the Great British pudding in its various forms, Pride and Pudding by Regula this British Institution Ysewijn (Murdoch Books, £30) contains over 80 recipes, using documents dating back to the by testing your 14th century. From well-known desserts like bread-and-butter pudding to the more obscure, knowledge of its most but equally delicious snake fritters, this is a cookbook for history buffs and foodies alike. famous programmes. Ingredients: 20 g (3/4 oz) raw sugar Devil-Land: England 4 egg yolks 1 cinnamon stick Under Siege, 1 teaspoon orange flower water 1588-1688 by Clare 425 ml (15 fl oz) thick (double) cream Jackson (£35, Allen Lane). The winner of Method: the Wolfson History prize explores Britain’s Whisk the egg yolks with the orange flower water in a large bowl. In a medium saucepan, turbulent century bring the cream, sugar and cinnamon to a simmer. Remove the cinnamon stick. Pour a under Stuart rule. little of the hot cream mixture into the egg yolks and whisk thoroughly. Continue to add the hot cream in batches, whisking constantly, until you get a smooth custard. Homecoming: The Scottish Years of Mary, Pour the mixture back into the saucepan, put it over low heat and stir with a spatula Queen of Scots by until just thickened, ensuring the eggs don’t scramble. Remove from the heat and allow to Rosemary Goring cool in the saucepan until the custard is cold enough to scoop into glasses or teacups. (£22, Birlinn). The dramatic story of the Dust some mace or nutmeg on the custards before serving. ill-fated queen’s lichildhood years in Almond custard her homeland. To make this into an almond custard, omit the orange flower water and whisk the egg Queen of the Savoy: yolks. Crush 50g (1¾ oz) blanched almonds with 1 teaspoon of rosewater using a mortar The extraordinary Life and pestle and mix with the cream before bringing it to a simmer with the sugar and of Helen D’Oyly Carte cinnamon. Remove from the heat, strain and mix the hot cream with the eggs as above. by Elisabeth Kehoe For a stronger marzipan flavour, add a few blanched apricot kernels to the mix. (£25, Unicorn). A lively account of the life of 12 BRITAIN the Victorian businesswoman and founder of the Gilbert & Sullivan franchise. The Flower of all Cities by Robert Wynn Jones (10.99, Amberley Publishing). An exciting account of London’s early history, from the Romans to the Stuarts. www.britain-magazine.com
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PHOTO: © DAVID CHAPMAN/ALAMY ENGLISH RIVIERA
EnTghliesh Riviera This stunning stretch of South Devon coastline, dotted with quaint little towns, comes into its own once the summer crowds have departed WORDS CLARE STRONG
Previous page: Brixham harbour at sunset Top right: Torquay’s attractive harbour is a real haven for boat lovers Bottom right: The Dartmouth Steam Railway passes Goodrington sands beach, a favourite with holidaymakers uel bon pays!”, exclaimed the It’s no surprise that summers here are busy, but the Frenchman on first sighting this area’s balmy climate makes a visit in the autumn or spring stretch of the English coastline: just as appealing, allowing you to explore the Riviera’s “What a beautiful country!” The picturesque harbours and quaint villages in relative peace. foreigner was Napoleon Bonaparte. A quartet of delightful towns is threaded along the After his disastrous defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the coastline. ‘Queen of the Riviera’ is Torquay, which has military leader was held captive in a ship called the HMS been attracting visitors to “take the cure” – also known Bellerophon, which dropped anchor for a couple of days as swimming in the sea – since Victorian times. Once near the Devon fishing village of Brixham. Like many Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s railway had snaked its way before and after him, Napoleon was captivated by the to the edge of the town, it boomed – to the consternation particular light and beauty of this stretch of coast, with its of some. In the early 19th century one local vicar steep wooded cliffs declared that “two hotels in PHOTO: © MARK L AKEMAN PHOTOGR APHY 2015. ILLUSTR ATION: © MICHAEL A HILL plummeting down to the Napoleon was captivated by the the town would be detrimental to its moral sparkling English Channel. health”. He would blanch to Though Bonaparte didn’t light and beauty of this stretch of visit Torquay today, with its actually set foot in Devon, large wedding cake-like the resorts along Torbay’s coast, with its steep wooded cliffs coastline have much to plummeting down to the Channel hotels staring boldly out to thank him for. In the early sea, its swanky restaurants 19th century the Napoleonic (one boasting a Michelin Wars convulsed the continent, making it difficult for rich star) and jolly, hospitable air. elites to escape for their ‘grand tours’ of Paris, Venice and The same delights that attracted the Victorians lure Rome. With the sunny pleasures of France and Italy out of millions to Torquay each year: “healthful” air, a rare reach, the well-heeled of England looked closer to home amount of English sun, and wide, breathtaking views of – and the gaze of many fell on Torbay, an area of South the Channel. On sunny days, when Torquay’s harbour is a Devon covering 22 miles of coastline. Its mild winters and forest of yacht masts, you could easily mistake the sweep long hours of sunlight meant the stretch was soon of blue before you for the Mediterranean Sea. nicknamed ‘the English Riviera’, with palm tree-lined Just east of Torquay is Babbacombe, which boasts the boulevards cultivated to rival the Croisette at Cannes. highest clifftop promenade in England. This genteel spot 16 BRITAIN www.britain-magazine.com
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Clockwise, PHOTO: © PHOTO.ECCLES/ALAMY/MATT AUSTIN from top left: The Babbacombe Cliff www.britain-magazine.com Railway has shuttled passengers for almost a century; a replica of the Golden Hind sits in Brixham Harbour; local seafood is served at some of Europe’s best restaurants; a quaint cottage in Cockington is furnished with bright flowers, welcoming benches and a telescope through which – when the skies are clear – you can see the Portland Bill lighthouse in Dorset. Running from the promenade down to Oddicombe beach is the Babbacombe Cliff Railway, a cream-and-burgundy- coloured funicular which was built in 1926. Many a weary traveller has been thankful for its existence, for the forest-covered cliffs are too steep for many to scramble down and the beach too charming to miss. In 1846, Queen Victoria declared it “a beautiful spot... red cliffs and rocks with wooded hills like Italy and reminding one of a ballet or play where nymphs appear – such rocks and grottoes, with the deepest sea on which there was no ripple.” Today the eagle-eyed may spot one of the local dolphins frolicking in the waves. Fifteen minutes down the coast is Paignton, which proudly offers all the elements of a traditional English Brixham is an impossibly pretty fishing town where pastel-hued cottages jostle for space on a steep hillside overlooking the harbour seaside holiday: beach huts painted all the colours of the rainbow, a broad sweep of sandy beach and a majestic pier stretching 250 metres into the sea. To the south of Paignton Sands, tucked behind a harbour wall is one of the area’s most enchanting beaches, Fairy Cove, a bay of clear water sheltered by russet cliffs. Completing the quartet is Brixham, an impossibly pretty fishing town where pastel-coloured cottages jostle for space on a steep hillside overlooking the harbour. Known locally as ‘fishtown’, Brixham is defined by the industry that has sustained it for centuries. Early-bird visitors can book a tour of the local fish market and watch the day’s catch of bream and sole being auctioned off, destined for dinner service at some of Europe’s finest restaurants. Those rising at a more civilised hour can enjoy a coffee at the Breakwater Bistro, a waterfront café which offers the perfect perch to watch the trawlers, rowing boats and yachts coming and going. Brixham’s most famous boat doesn’t go anywhere. For 50 years the harbour has been home to the Golden Hind, a replica of the galleon in which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe in the 16th century. Visitors 18 BRITAIN
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can explore its five levels, inspect the rigging and gaze out Above: The library at to sea from its prow, marvelling at how this small vessel Greenway House, made it through the stormy Atlantic and vast Pacific and the former holiday returned in one piece. Try not be alarmed if you find home of author yourself eye to eye-patched eye with a cutlass-bearing Agatha Christie, now character; each spring Brixham holds a Pirate Festival at owned by the which locals dress up, sing sea shanties and enjoy displays National Trust of naval firepower along the sea front. Right: Thatcher Point at Torbay, which Four miles inland from Brixham you’ll find “the loveliest provides views out place in the world”, the title bestowed on Greenway House towards the island of by its former owner, Agatha Christie. The wildly Thatcher Rock successful crime novelist is the English Riviera’s most famous daughter. Born in Torquay, she worked in its The rooms are just as Agatha Christie left them; on a quiet day you can almost hear the clack of the typewriter keys military hospital during World War One, honeymooned in PHOTO: © NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL the Grand Hotel, and spent holidays in her estate overlooking the banks of the River Dart. It is easy to see www.britain-magazine.com why Christie adored Greenway, a large white Georgian villa which with its perfect symmetry might be mistaken for a doll’s house. Sunlight pours through its huge sash windows onto the faded sofas in the cosy library and drawing room, which are just as the Queen of Crime left them; on a quiet day you can almost hear the clack of the typewriter keys. Greenway has its own railway station – Greenway Halt – on the Dartmouth Steam Railway, a heritage line that allows visitors to travel back in time onboard lovingly maintained steam engines as they puff along the coast 20 BRITAIN
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ENGLISH RIVIERA For more on beautiful Devon, see www.britain- magazine.com from Kingswear to Paignton. The same company operates Above: Paignton Pier THE PLANNER boat trips and vintage paddle steamers, with the popular first opened to the Round Robin excursion taking in towns along the coast by public in 1879 and is GETTING THERE splash in the summer months. steam train, ferry and river cruise. one of the most Trains from London www.caryarms.co.uk; www. popular attractions Paddington to Torquay take richardsonhotels.co.uk Not all of the English Riviera’s treasures are found on on the English Riviera around three hours. The area is the coast. A few miles inland is Cockington, which could well served by the Dartmouth WHERE TO EAT stake a claim for being the prettiest village in Devon. Steam Railway and River Boat AND DRINK Dating back beyond the Domesday Book, the village is Company and by an efficient As well as the Cary Arms rich with exceedingly old buildings, from a thousand- local bus network. restaurant, the area offers year-old church to a 14th century blacksmith’s forge, www.thetrainline.com; several seriously good which might have sprung out of the pages of a Brothers www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk restaurants, often – unsurprisingly – with an In pretty Cockington, cob-and- WHERE TO STAY emphasis on local seafood. In thatch cottages line narrow streets, The Cary Arms Hotel and Brixham, Rockfish is a local giving the impression that the Spa is the last word in luxury favourite, offering spectacular clock stopped here centuries ago accommodation on the Riviera, harbourside views and the situated under Babbacombe freshest catch. Serious foodies Grimm storybook. Cob-and-thatch cottages line narrow Downs and near a shingle bay will want to check out The streets, giving the impression that the clock stopped here with its own resident seal. Its Elephant overlooking Torquay over a couple of centuries ago. Weavers Cottage Tea charming inn serves exemplary harbour, recipient of the town’s Shoppe offers the perfect spot to sample the must-eat seafood caught a stone’s throw first Michelin star, which excels local delicacy: warm scones with clotted cream and from the hotel, sometimes to in imaginative dishes such as strawberry jam. Remember, though, that this being the accompaniment of a live monkfish grilled over embers. Devon and not Cornwall it is essential that the cream is pianist. Rooms are decorated in Those looking for the perfect spread before the jam… fresh, contemporary style, while platter of old-fashioned fish, the spa offers all the modern chips and mushy peas should No trip to the English Riviera would be complete treatments you could wish for. head to the hugely popular without a visit to the Berry Head National Nature In Torquay, the Grand Hotel is a Hanbury’s in Babbacombe. Reserve, a promontory at the southern end of the bay much-loved favourite right next www.therockfish.co.uk; offering spectacular views of the sea on three sides. to the town’s railway station. Its www.elephantrestaurant.co.uk; Visitors can wander among the ruins of several 19th seafront bar and lounge offers www.hanburys.net century military forts, remnants of the days when the spectacular views of the bay threat of French invasion menaced the British Isles. Today through floor-to-ceiling i FURTHER children scamper along their walls and sit astride windows, while the outdoor INFORMATION cannons that point out to sea – and to the ghost of pool is a perfect place for a www.visitdevon.co.uk Napoleon himself. 22 BRITAIN www.britain-magazine.com
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24 BRITAIN STATELY HOMES www.britain-magazine.com PHOTOS: © NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL/NICK MEERS
Mrs Greville’s Margaret Greville rose from humble origins to become one of the most celebrated hostesses of the Edwardian era, amassing an extraordinary collection of treasures at her Surrey retreat, Polesden Lacey WORDS SANDRA LAWRENCE
STATELY HOMES
STATELY HOMES “ I would rather be a beeress than a peeress.” Mrs her papers burned on her death,” admits Richard Previous spread, left to Margaret Greville, society hostess par Ashbourne, the National Trust’s Assistant Curator for right: The iconic excellence, not only admitted but celebrated London and the South East. “This limits our portrait of Margaret her humble beginnings. She was born in 1863, understanding of her in her own words.” by Carolus-Duran, in the picture corridor; the illegitimate daughter of a cook at McEwan’s brewery in Ashbourne has been working with the team at Polesden a view of the east front of the house Edinburgh. The brewery owner, multimillionaire William Lacey, the Edwardian house in Surrey that was Margaret This page, clockwise from far left: McEwan, was Margaret’s rumoured true father, and he Greville’s weekend retreat for over three decades, on a Polesden Lacey was built in 1824; a eventually married his mistress when Margaret was 21, new way of trying to appreciate and understand her. A photograph of Margaret Greville; making her the heiress to an astonishing fortune. McEwan, new exhibition, Treasured Possessions: Riches of brooches on display at the exhibition, set a ‘disruptor’ himself, famously refused a title, saying “I Polesden Lacey, attempts to portray Mrs Greville from with the cipher of Edward VII; a would rather be first in my own order than at the tail end her point of view. porcelain vase and a crystal dog from the of another”. He’d made his money himself; he needed no “We wanted to look at her through her love of exhibition airs and graces to spend it. Like father, like daughter. collecting,” says Ashbourne, “asking what those objects PHOTO:© NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/CHRIS DAVIES/JAMES DOBSON/DAVID BRUNETTI/BRIDGEMAN IMAGES This attitude did not endear say and trying to find a new Margaret to the aristocracy The society hostess Mrs narrative. In the past there and the reputation she has Margaret Greville not only have been certain views about attracted down the decades has Mrs Greville. Some there is often not been kind. She has admitted but celebrated her evidence for, but some is been decried as social-climbing, based on the way she was meddling and, worse, trivial. humble beginnings perceived by her friends – When writer Harold Nicolson and her enemies. Some of noted “the harm which these the criticism by her silly, selfish hostesses do is really immense” he was writing contemporaries was inspired by envy and generally, but he was implying Margaret. The resentment for her success.” photographer and diarist Sir Cecil Beaton described her as Mrs Greville’s ‘success’ lay in her “a galumphing, greedy, snobbish old toad who watered at capacity for lavish entertaining, one her chops at the sight of royalty.” Even her marriage to the of the great upper-class Hon. Ronald Hulk Greville in 1891 is likened by the accomplishments of the Edwardian National Dictionary of Biography to a “grappling hook age. She began hosting grand dinners onto society”. Sir Oswald Mosley, hardly a paragon of and parties in the 1890s but upped the virtue himself, described her as a “blousy old barmaid”. grandeur after her husband’s premature Was she really that bad? The truth is, we can’t know. death in 1906. Instead of marrying “One of our real challenges is that Mrs Greville had all again, she devoted herself – and www.britain-magazine.com BRITAIN 27
STATELY HOMES Clockwise from above: Polesden Lacey – to what became known as ‘Fridays to invite. One of the pieces in the exhibition is a shagreen box A Johann Zoffany portrait of the Mondays’. The staggeringly beautiful mansion, with its presented to her by King Edward VII at her very first Viennese dancer Eva Maria Veigel being distinctive yellow render and elegant setting – the view house party. She also entertained Queen Alexandra and hung as part of the exhibition; the across the valley was described by one visitor as “a peep of Queen Mary, who shared her love of expensive objets d’art house is well-known for its extravagant beautiful distance” – was remodelled as the ultimate house and would turn up unannounced for tea. The future King gilding and opulent decor; a decorative party retreat. George VI and his bride box in the shape of a folded letter is on Charles Mewès and She entertained Queen Alexandra Elizabeth Bowes Lyon spent display at the house Arthur Joseph Davis, famed their honeymoon at Polesden PHOTO: © NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/JAMES DOBSON/DAVID BRUNETTI/ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL architects of the Ritz, were and Queen Mary, who shared her Lacey in 1923: “So shrewd, brought in to create opulent so kind and so amusingly rooms that would be, as love of expensive objets d’art and unkind, so sharp, such fun, Margaret put it, “fit to would turn up unannounced for tea so naughty,” the Queen later entertain maharajas”. Her described her. Where royalty home was transformed into went, so followed the what could be mistaken for a top-class hotel. “After a aristocracy, and Mrs Greville became one of Britain’s most little antechamber to build excitement, you would have famous – and polarizing – society hostesses. passed into the main hall, much like a hotel lounge,” Those receiving that coveted envelope could look explains Ashbourne. Over drinks, anticipation forward to a weekend of unrivalled opulence. The Daily would build via a gigantic painting of a lifesize Telegraph reported in 1930 that the food at Polesden Mrs Greville set at the top of the staircase. Lacey was “unsurpassed anywhere”, and guests were Then the hostess herself would descend, treated to lavish dinners, strolls round the rose garden, tea making a dramatic, theatrical entrance. in the loggia and evenings full of society chatter and gossip “You’d see the painting and then you’d in the Saloon. National Trust volunteers have nicknamed see the woman.” this extraordinary confection the Gold Room. Every ‘Maggie’ Greville knew who to surface not deep red or ornate plasterwork is gilded to 28 BRITAIN www.britain-magazine.com
STATELY HOMES For more stories of stately homes, see www.britain- magazine.com
STATELY HOMES Top to bottom: Three within an inch of its life, lit by a 4,000-piece chandelier. sticking postage stamps), a well-used bookmark set with items from Naturally, their hostess would have booked a famous seed pearls and a rose-cut diamond, and six tiny, Margaret Greville's music hall act or two for a private performance. intricately carved animals. Someone clearly knew that Mrs ten-piece Fabergé Greville had a weakness for pets. She is even buried near collection: a pink egg The pièce de resistance of the weekend was, however, to her beloved dogs, which lie in a special dog cemetery in with a diamond- something far smaller. Advised by the best art historians the grounds. studded clasp, a and dealers, Mrs Greville was a true art connoisseur but bookmark with her world-class collection was, perhaps, outshone by a Even after her death in 1942 Margaret Greville has been pearls and diamonds fabulous array of exquisite objets d’art, made by the finest castigated for leaving her jewellery to Queen Elizabeth the and an ornamental craftsmen of the age. While much was purchased Queen Mother, rather than to ‘worthy causes’. Nobody frog; Princess personally, many of the best items were presents, the really knows the full extent of the famous Greville bequest Eugenie wearing the giving and receiving of which was an important social (see box, below) but it does include treasures such as Greville emerald ritual among the upper classes. Marie Antoinette’s diamond necklace, Catherine the Kokoshnik Tiara at Great’s diamond ring and Empress Josephine’s emeralds. her wedding in 2018 “Gift-giving was the thing and Mrs Greville was adept at that social game,” explains Richard Ashbourne. There Yet Mrs Greville did leave something very special to are gifts from Queen Mary in the exhibition, including a ‘the people’. She bequeathed Polseden Lacey to the beautiful blue and gold box. Most were displayed for National Trust, along with its priceless collection of art, guests to see and comment on, so that Mrs Greville could the entire collection from her Mayfair home and a say, ‘Oh, yes that was a gift from King Edward, isn’t it generous endowment. She specifically stated that lovely? So generous…’ Polesden Lacey should be enjoyed by as many people as possible, displayed as an art gallery, a wish the Trust has Her Fabergé collection is particularly interesting in that fulfilled ever since. respect. “You wouldn’t buy something for yourself at Fabergé,” notes Ashbourne. “You bought gifts. You see The new exhibition places specific emphasis on Mrs that in the ledgers, with spikes in the sales Greville’s ‘treasures’, yet possibly the most around social occasions such as extraordinary item on display is not a weddings, birthdays and Christmas. Fabergé egg, nor the ruby and diamond Vita Sackville West once said if you’re brooch worn to Edward VII’s coronation. given a Fabergé gift, it means that a It is in fact Mrs Greville herself, staring relationship is in danger of becoming triumphantly down from her portrait’s serious”. There are ten Fabergé pieces in ornate frame, reminding us all of opulent the Greville collection, the classic times past and a formidable ‘Fabergé egg’ being the most woman who knew exactly spectacular. Pink what she liked. with a diamond- Treasured Possessions: studded clasp in the Riches of Polesden Lacey shape of a runs until 30 October 2022, snowflake, it is and from 1 March until 29 breathtaking, but equally October 2023. telling are a Fabergé gum pot (for www.nationaltrust.org.uk THE MYSTERY OF THE GREVILLE JEWELS PHOTO: © NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/DAVID BRUNETTI/POOL/MAX MUMBY/GETTY When Margaret Greville died in 1942, she of Cambridge at a state banquet. bequeathed her jewellery “with my loving Another prized piece is the Greville emerald thoughts” to the Queen Mother. Only the royal family knows the full inventory of the Kokoshnik Tiara, admired globally when Princess bequest, but it is thought to amount to more Eugenie chose it for her 2018 wedding to Jack than 60 pieces. One of the most precious is Brooksbank (left) – the first time it had been the Greville tiara, made by Boucheron in a seen since Margaret Greville was photographed towering honeycomb formation, now worn by wearing it in 1937. the Duchess of Cornwall. The Greville jewels made an appearance Five years after receiving the Greville in the Platinum Jubilee portraits, when Her bequest, Queen Elizabeth gave her daughter Majesty wore diamond and platinum Greville Princess Elizabeth a distinctive V-shaped Ivy Leaf Clips given to her by her mother. Many diamond and ruby necklace, also by more pieces in the collection have never been Boucheron, as one of her wedding gifts. She seen, but with a new generation of married wore the necklace regularly in the early years princesses and duchesses in the royal ranks of her reign, and it was recently spotted for the (since tradition dictates only married women first time in many years, worn by the Duchess wear tiaras), who knows what treasures might yet appear for the first time? 30 BRITAIN www.britain-magazine.com
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<RXUQXPEHURQHZHEVLWHWRGLVFRYHUDOOWKDW'DUWPRXWKKDVWRRIIHU Maenordy Llancaiach Fawr 6WD\\'LQH6KRS ([SORUH . . . ymgollwch eich hunan ym 1645 Drwy ganiatâd caredig Banbury Photography • Image by kind permission of Banbury Photography ZZZGLVFRYHUGDUWPRXWKFRP Llancaiach Fawr Manor . . . immerse yourself in 1645 www.llancaiachfawr.co.uk [email protected] • 01443 412248 Heol Gelligaer / Gelligaer Road, Nelson, CF46 6ER @meetyouatsix www.britain-magazine.com [email protected] www.meetyouatsix.com 32 BRITAIN
HISTORY WORDS NEIL JONES
34 BRITAIN www.britain-magazine.com
Opening page: A wedding of Edward HISTORY statue of King and Eleanor in 1254; Edward I in Cumbria Simon de Montfort is BRITAIN 35 Opposite, clockwise killed at the Battle of from top left: The Evesham; Eleanor's great gatehouse at tomb at Westminster Denbigh Castle; the Abbey Coronation Chair This page: a painting was made for of Edward I at Edward I; the Westminster Abbey PHOTOS: © STAN PRITCHARD/ALAMY/FLORILEGIUS/GRANGER/HISTORICAL PICTURE ARCHIVE/CHRONICLE/ANGELO HORNAK/ALAMY/CADW/WELSH T he medieval chronicler Peter Langtoft, a ASSEMBLY GOVERNMENT (CROWN COPYRIGHT)/JIM DYSON/DEAN AND CHAPTER OF WESTMINSTER contemporary of King Edward I, forecast that people would talk about the ‘handsome and great’ monarch for as long as the world lasts, ‘For he had no equal as a knight in armour / For vigour and valour, neither present nor future.’ Edward certainly has a long-lived reputation, resonating down the centuries through his many famous nicknames: the English Justinian, the Lawgiver, the Father of the Mother of Parliaments, Flower of Chivalry, Hammer of the Scots and, more informally, Longshanks – at six-feet two-inches tall he towered over his subjects, both physically and metaphorically. In the 750th anniversary year of his accession to the English throne in 1272, it’s the perfect time to ‘speak of King Edward and of his memory’ to consider how his deeds measure up to his dazzling image. Born in 1239, the eldest son of Henry III and Eleanor of Provence, Edward was a hot-headed, arrogant youth, whose violence on one occasion resulted in him paying a fine to a servant he had struck and injured. Yet, it was also claimed the young prince was protected by angels, miraculously escaping harm; for example, when lightning struck his entourage killing two other people. When Henry, accused of misgovernment, fell out with his barons, Edward at first supported his charismatic uncle, Simon de Montfort, who led the baronial clique against the Crown. But by the time civil war erupted in 1264, father and son were reconciled and fought together at the Battle of Lewes, which ended with both of them being captured. The Song of Lewes (c.1264) unflatteringly noted of Edward: ‘A lion by pride and fierceness, he is by inconstancy and changeableness a pard [leopard]’. After Edward escaped and killed de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham (1265), Henry was once again free to reign, but for the next seven years until his death in 1272, he effectively left his son in control of government. Edward was on crusade abroad when he heard of his father’s demise, but with the barons dutifully swearing fealty to him, and with England in the hands of regents like his trusted clerk Robert Burnell, he felt sufficiently secure to return at a leisurely pace, only arriving back for his magnificent coronation at Westminster Abbey in 1274. By now Edward was 35 years old and much matured. His marriage, aged 15, to 13-year-old Eleanor of www.britain-magazine.com
HISTORY Left: A statue of Robert the Bruce in Stirling, Scotland, who crowned himself King of Scotland in 1306 Right: A 14th century manuscript of King Edward I presiding over his Parliament, with Alexander III, King of the Scots on his right, and Llywelyn, Prince of Wales on his left PHOTOS: © MEDIA WORLD IMAGES/GRANGER/HISTORICAL PICTURE ARCHIVE/ALAMY Castile in 1254, may have been a political match to help protect Gascony, England’s only remaining land in France, but the union had flourished into a deep love that would produce 16 children (five reached adulthood). Also by Edward’s side providing a stabilising influence was Burnell, who became his chancellor. The new king was tested early in his reign by the repeated refusal of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, to pay him due homage and, losing patience, Edward invaded Wales with ruthless effect in 1277. Llywelyn’s later death in a skirmish in 1282 and his brother Dafydd’s brutal execution in 1283 dealt Welsh dreams of an independent country a crushing blow. Edward, meanwhile, romanticised his adventures with Arthurian-style Round Table court celebrations at Nefyn in North Wales. An ace soldier and military leader, Edward was also a shrewd strategist, consolidating his conquests in Wales through a no-expenses-spared programme of castle building: most notably the bristling fortresses of Conwy, Caernarfon, Beaumaris and Harlech in his ‘Iron Ring’ around the mountains of Snowdonia, the fountainhead of Welsh resistance. Today boasting World Heritage Site status, the mighty quartet embody the genius of the top military architect, Master James of St George, whose cutting-edge ‘walls-within-walls’ designs culminated in the imposing sophistication of Beaumaris. Edward established new towns and trading centres populated with English settlers in his conquered land, most linked to his castles and surrounded by walls. Officials were appointed to administer the principality, the English shire system was introduced, and according BRITAIN 37
HISTORY we do not cease to love,” the king had 12 ornamental crosses built to mark the route of her funeral procession from Nottinghamshire to London. For more than a century, relations between England and Scotland had been remarkably peaceable but that, too, was about to change. Edward had hoped the infant queen of Scotland, Margaret, ‘Maid of Norway’, would marry his heir Edward, leading in time to the union of the two countries. But Margaret died in 1290, prompting Scottish magnates to call upon Edward to adjudicate between candidates vying for the succession. He nominated John Balliol, soon to be viewed by the Scots as a spineless pawn of the English king. A series of Scottish rebellions and ferocious counter strikes by Edward followed, during which the latter seized the Stone of Scone, the ancient symbol of Scotland’s monarchy used for centuries in the inauguration of Scottish kings. Stresses mounted as Edward now found himself having to campaign in France to regain Gascony, as well as in Scotland, where control proved elusive. No sooner had he overcome and executed the Scottish Above: An Eleanor to legend, Edward even schmoozed recalcitrant native ‘Braveheart’ William Wallace, than Robert the Bruce had cross in Cheapside, London, erected by nobles by promising them a Prince of Wales born on Welsh himself crowned King of Scotland in 1306 and the fight Edward I in memory of his wife, is pulled soil and speaking no word of English – then promptly continued. Hastening north again to do battle in 1307, down in 1643 after its Catholic imagery presented them with his babbling baby son, born at Edward was struck down by dysentery and died aged 68. caused resentment Opposite: Conwy Caernarfon Castle. In fact, Edward junior was 16 when he The Hammer had failed in his ambition to subjugate Castle was built by Edward I between was formally made Prince of Scotland, and his actions 1283 and 1287 Wales, a title reserved ever Deeply grieving, the king had 12 bedevilled relations between since for the heir apparent ornamental crosses built to mark the England and Scotland for of the British throne. many years to come. But, if Aside from exploits in route of Eleanor’s funeral procession he is judged by the standards Wales, the first half of of the time, he was an Edward’s reign was from Nottinghamshire to London outstanding king: a powerful remarkable for its huge wave warrior and statesman who of legislation, with important statutes passed nearly every kept hold of Gascony and firmly stamped his authority on year from 1275 to 1290: tackling corruption, reforming Wales. Looking back today we also see a consummate legal and administrative matters, and laying the basis of administrator and legislator who, even if self-interestedly, modern land law that helped to hasten the end of feudalism. took significant steps towards the development of a Edward also understood the benefits of gaining popular democratic parliament. Historians will ‘speak of King support for his decisions and, continuing de Montfort’s Edward and of his memory’ for many more years yet. earlier experiment when the latter ruled the country for a year after the Battle of Lewes, the king involved more people in parliament. Thus, in 1295 he summoned representatives DID YOU KNOW? of the church, barons, and shires and boroughs to what became known as the Model Parliament, setting the tone for O Edward originally chose to be called Edward IV, after Edward the Elder, future parliaments. “What touches all, should be approved Edward the Martyr and Edward the Confessor, who had all reigned before of all,” he declared, though he was motivated by the pressing 1066 when the numbering of Kings was introduced need to raise money and support for his costly military O Edward’s second marriage, in 1299, to Margaret, the 20-year-old sister undertakings rather than notions of democracy. of the King of France, produced three children – giving him a total of 19 The 1290s were a particularly troublesome time for legitimate children, the record for any British monarch PHOTOS: © M&N/DEREK CROUCHER/ALAMY Edward. Having systematically stripped England’s Jews – O The Coronation Chair in Westminster Abbey, made by order of Edward I for long the chief moneylenders to barons and royalty – of to hold the Stone of Scone, has been the centrepiece of coronations for 700 their wealth, he expelled them in 1290 amid rising tides of years. The Stone was officially returned to Scotland in 1996, and will return to nationalism: an episode that left an indelible stain on his its 'spiritual home', Perth, in 2024, as the focus of a brand-new museum character. That same year his beloved wife Eleanor died, O Edward’s last wish before his death was that his body should not be followed two years later by his stalwart supporter Burnell, buried until Scotland had been conquered. This request was not carried and he never again found such good advisers. Deeply out, and he was buried in Westminster Abbey grieving Eleanor, “who in life we loved dearly and, dead, 38 BRITAIN www.britain-magazine.com
HISTORY For more on England's kings and queens, see www.britain- magazine.com
HERITAGE
I t all began in the early summer of 1940 with an advertisement: a vet wanted for a practice in Thirsk. ‘Mainly agricultural work in a Yorkshire market town’ the notice said. With vacancies few and far between, it grabbed the attention of one reader, by no means averse to working with creatures rather greater in size than the cats and dogs currently occupying his time in the northern city of Sunderland. After only the very briefest of interviews with his new employer, James ‘Alf’ Wight accepted the post, little knowing that it was a decision that would his real life, disguised (and sometimes embellished) for Previous page: The Yorkshire Moors one day make him the most famous vet in the world. their appearance in print. National Park, where Alf Wight For it was the stories Wight saved up over the next 30 Just as Alf himself became Herriot, the town of Thirsk lived and worked This page, above: A years, as he served the farming community around that was turned into Darrowby village and shifted into the photograph of Jim and Alf Wight bustling town on the edge of the North York Moors, that heart of the Dales; its glorious rolling hills and endless dry treating a dog; Alf Wight on his farm he channelled into a bestselling series of memoirs, stone walls providing an idyllic backdrop to the action. with a newborn lamb and its mother published in the 1970s under the name of his veterinary Dates, too, were manipulated so that Wight’s fictional Opposite page, top to bottom: a still from alter-ego, James Herriot. counterpart – trained in the TV adaption of All Creatures Great The gently humorous, The gently humorous recollections Glasgow like himself – and Small; the town PHOTOS: © GUY EDWARDES/AWL IMAGES/JOHN SHERBOURNE/ANL/SHUTTERSTOCK/HELEN WILLIAMS/ semi-fictionalised arrived at his mildly of Grassington in CHARLES FEARN/PLAYGROUND ENTERTAINMENT recollections of his rural Wharfedale stood in practice proved to be catnip of his rural practice proved to be eccentric but undeniably for Darrowby in the to contemporary readers charming boss Siegfried TV series catnip to contemporary readers Farnon’s surgery at Skeldale (including, reportedly, the (including, reportedly, the Queen) House in 1937, two years Queen) and turned Herriot before the outbreak of the into a household name – World War Two. one discovered by a whole new generation more recently, In reality, Wight escaped the Nazi bombs then raining too, thanks to the smash-hit TV adaptation, All down on the Sunderland docks, and arrived at 23 Kirkgate Creatures Great and Small, expected to return for its just as the real-life Donald Sinclair was taking off to start third series this autumn. his RAF training, leaving his new employee – But while Herriot’s may be the famous name, forever inexperienced in the ‘dirty, uncomfortable and dangerous’ associated with a green and sheep-strewn corner of work with sheep and cattle – to take the bull by the horns, Yorkshire, Wight’s books were actually autobiographical quite literally. in more than just a professional sense. Many of the Impatient and unpredictable, yet utterly charismatic, intensely likeable characters and amusing anecdotes, the widowed Donald was by all accounts the one which mean they translate so purr-fectly into the TV character far more unconventional in fact than he ever version of a restorative tonic, were people and events from was in fiction. From putting the phone down on the 42 BRITAIN www.britain-magazine.com
HERITAGE www.britain-magazine.com BRITAIN 43
practice’s clients when he got fed up of listening, to House were actually relatively short, because within just a steering his car using only his elbows and shirking year of arriving in Yorkshire, Wight had not only met but night-time call outs, some of his behaviour was also married his wife, Joan. A secretary for a local corn outlandishly erratic. merchant rather than a farmer’s daughter like her fictional On one occasion in later years, according to Wight’s counterpart Helen, she did, however, have a serious suitor son Jim, he fetched his shotgun and fired into the wall against whom the softly-spoken vet competed – though not inches above the head of a dinner guest whom he one she ever scandalously jilted at the altar. PHOTO: © MATT SQUIRE/PLAYGROUND TELEVISION UK LTD/ROBERT BIRKBY/AWL IMAGES LTD considered to have outstayed After their wedding, Wight his welcome. Like her fictional counterpart, made his own attempt to Nevertheless, after he was complete the RAF’s flight kicked out of the RAF a matter Joan had a suitor against whom training, frustrated in his case of months into his training for the vet competed – though not by a pre-existing medical lying about his age, he and condition, which meant that Wight became lifelong friends and partners in the Thirsk one she ever jilted at the altar he, too, never saw active service. Instead, he and Joan practice. Into the writer’s life he brought his younger settled into the local community; 23 Kirkgate becoming brother Brian, who eventually became the model for both veterinary surgery and Wight family home for endearing rogue, Tristan Farnon. In truth, as on TV, the several years after the end of the war, in the wake of younger Sinclair was an easy-going mischief-maker who Donald’s remarriage to an unflappable local woman remained largely immune to his sibling’s tirades – named Audrey. It was in that picturesque part of especially those about his repeated failure of his veterinary Yorkshire that they met the many personalities – of both exams, which took him more than ten years to pass in all. human and animal variety – who would later be Their days as a bachelor trio at the real-life Skeldale shepherded into the Herriot stories. 44 BRITAIN www.britain-magazine.com
HERITAGE For more on the landscapes and villages of Yorkshire, see www.britain- magazine.com Some clients received only the barest of disguises: the The locals took his worldwide fame in their stride, keeping Above, left to right: unforgettable Mrs Pumphrey, whose dog Tricki Woo is a his welly boots firmly on the ground – just the way Alf The principal cast of TV scene-stealer, was unquestionably Sowerby resident himself wanted it. In fact, he continued practising as one of the TV series, which Marjorie Warner, who really did expect thank-you notes their local vets well into his 70s, despite his phenomenal will return for a third for the Fortnum & Mason hampers she dispatched to the literary success. He was, he always maintained, ‘99-per-cent series this autumn; Wight family to be written to her Pekingese dog – who vet and one-per-cent author’ – though at times, the cats, dogs the church at ought, she made absolutely clear, to be addressed as Bambi and hamsters to be found in the surgery’s waiting room were Burnsall in North Warner, Esq. She bore no grudge when she discovered her far outnumbered by hordes of overseas tourists, clutching Yorkshire was used starring role, recognising herself immediately – though not their cameras and clamouring for an autograph; fame being to film the famous everybody given a fictional counterpart did so, even after the one beast that not even the real James Herriot had the scene where Helen Wight’s cover was well and truly blown. power to tame. almost got married in the TV series ON THE HERRIOT TRAIL Alf Wight’s former surgery at 23 Kirkgate in Thirsk is now a museum, (around 30 miles from the real Herriot country around Thirsk) stood in fully restored to the way it looked in the 1940s when the house doubled for Darrowby, and provided period-perfect exteriors for Skeldale House as his family home. For opening times and visitor information, see and the Drover’s Arms pub. Many of the scenic shots came courtesy of www.worldofjamesherriot.com. the Wharfe Valley area, particularly around Malham and Kettlewell. The current TV adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small, shown on Tour companies offering dedicated All Creatures Great and Small tours Channel 5 in the UK and PBS Masterpiece in the US, was filmed around include Real Yorkshire Tours (www.realyorkshiretours.co.uk) and Tours the Yorkshire Dales. The historic town of Grassington in Wharfedale International (www.tours-international.com). www.britain-magazine.com BRITAIN 45
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HISTORIC HOUSES
HISTORIC HOUSES Previous page: PHOTOS: © INCAMERASTOCK/ALAMY/SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF LONDON (KELMSCOTT MANOR) William Morris's sunny day in June was bedroom at the ideal time to visit the Kelmscott Manor, newly reopened Kelmscott with his beautiful Manor, dripping in lush Lily wallpaper greenery, its door framed by Top left: A woodcut perfectly placed roses, with that of William Morris by evocative smell of English summer R Bryden in the air. Once the country retreat of William Morris, the Bottom left: A textile designer, poet, novelist and father of the Arts and photograph of Jane Crafts movement, Kelmscott reopened to the public this Morris in 1865 by spring, after three years and a £6m renovation. John Robert Parsons Set in the beautifully unspoilt Cotswold village of Opposite: An exterior Kelmscott, Oxfordshire, the manor had been closed to of Kelmscott Manor, allow for structural repairs to be made to the house, and Morris's 'heaven on for the redisplaying of original furniture and artwork to earth' home provide a more accurate impression of what the house would have looked like in Morris’s day. www.britain-magazine.com Approaching the house, walking past quaint cottages, farm buildings and green fields, you get a sense of the beauty and seclusion that so inspired Morris, and you’re left in no doubt as to why he referred to the Manor as ‘heaven on earth’. When Morris first came across this exquisite example of 17th century Cotswold architecture, he felt so inspired by the craftsmanship of the house, the history of the landscape, and the flora and fauna of the gardens that he took on the tenancy. Morris rented Kelmscott Manor for 25 years until his death in 1896, initially as a joint three-year lease with his friend, the Pre-Raphaelite artist, Dante Gabriel Rossetti. During this time Morris established himself as one of the country’s foremost designers, becoming the owner of his own furnishing and decorative arts firm Morris & Co in 1875, and beginning his renowned experiments with textile dyeing and weaving. Thanks to Morris’s legacy, Kelmscott is now widely recognised as one of the most significant collections of late Victorian decorative art in the country. Visitors can see an incredible collection of Morris’s possessions and works, including furniture, original textiles, pictures, carpets, ceramics and metalwork. The manor gardens are a perfect haven, with the expertly designed and beautifully manicured walled garden standing adjacent to wild meadows. The gardens also house a group of historic barns, a dovecote and a stable, once home to ‘Mouse’, the Icelandic pony that Morris brought back from the country for his daughters. Wandering through the estate gardens, Morris’s inspiration is clear: so many of his beloved designs and motifs grew from plants and trees growing in the verdant space, such as Willow Bough (1887) and the iconic Strawberry Thief (1883). Each of these designs are repeated again in textiles inside the manor, from chairs and wallpaper to plates and curtains. After Morris died in 1896, his widow Jane and his 50 BRITAIN
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