Tyntesfield
Well as promised, this post strays a bit from Hotwells… about 6 miles west, to be precise, to Tyntesfield (pronounced Tintsfield), Wraxall, North Somerset (UK, World). It was acquired by the English National Trust less than ten years ago, as it was considered the last major High Victorian house and estate to have survived largely unaltered (according to the guidebook). Although originally built in the early 19th century, it was acquired in 1843 by William Gibbs, a guano baron, who greatly extended the house (after all, doesn’t everyone need a house with 106 rooms and a private chapel?). The building is actually quite lovely – apparently gothic revival in style – with colorful formal gardens in the front and a beautiful ‘park’ all around, consisting of largely stately trees with golf course grass underneath. When we (Jon Blundy, his 13 year old daughter Lillian, and me) arrived it was misty, so that there was a depth to the woodsy scene and the few leaves starting to change colors were illuminated by the soft light. But the drizzle was also conducive to a tour of the inside of the house (although only a fraction of the total number of rooms are open… the trust is gradually restoring the rest of the house – I paid for a lottery ticket that is part of a fund drive to raise money to restore the rockinghorse, something of which my Mom would have approved!).
I couldn’t take many pictures inside, as flash photography was forbidden and, with shades drawn to protect fragile fabric, most of the rooms were too dark for non-flash photography. Hence the close-ups of stained glass from the chapel, which was photographable! But the house was surprisingly friendly inside – lots of rooms of manageable size that were framed in carved wood and enhanced by wall after wall of books – some in gilt-bound sets (multi-volume biographies of Disraeli and Sir Walter Scott; single-volume biographies of many, but not all, past monarchs, etc) but many shelves of books that actually looked read and somewhat disheveled. The bedrooms had glorious large windows that looked across the formal gardens to the tree-dotted green of the park. Oddly, however, the last Baron [more about barons below] to inhabit the house (until he died in 2001) chose to remain in his childhood bedroom rather than take over one of the larger and more stately bedrooms… actually, it sounds a bit sad. He never married and lived alone in the large house after his mother died in 1979, maintaining the grounds but gradually retreating to only a few rooms in the house. The house is now being restored, in part, to its heyday in the late 19th century, although there are bits and pieces from more recent times (seems like a Susie problem… what period does one restore to?). Reminded me of my grandmother’s house, with layers of time superimposed… But of course, as an American, while admiring of the gorgeous Upstairs, I was most fascinated by glimpses of Downstairs, like the row of bells near the kitchen, carefully labeled for each room (I’ve seen those in movies like Gosford Park), and, even more intriguing, the storeroom for chamberpots, which come in various forms and sizes (never really thought about chamber pot varieties before!).
After finishing our tour of the house, we emerged to glorious sunshine and beautiful views of the house. After exploring the formal gardens, we set off to find the public footpath to Wraxall – a short walk – where we headed straight for The Battleaxes, a beautiful newly restored pub where we had an excellent late lunch. I like the reliability of good pub in every tiny British town (or so it appears to me!). I did note, however, that while the pub is newly refurbished, the quintessential red telephone booth outside was looking sadly neglected, another victim of new technology.
Titles
Ok – so I had some questions about titles after last week’s post, so I decided to do some research. I asked my two sources – Jon and Mark – who started rattling off rankings and distinctions between hereditary and honorary titles and I immediately got lost. So I turned to my friend Wikipedia. Here’s a short recap. Clearly King (Queen; Prince/Princess) are at the top of the list in the UK… interestingly, while the wives of kings share their husbands’ rank and title (though not sovereign power), the opposite is not true. The office is hereditary. Viceroy (Vicereine) is a term that is apparently now abandonned – was used for the chief British government official in India; the position was appointed. Duke (Duchess) is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy. Dukes in the United Kingdom are addressed as "Your Grace" and referred to as "His Grace". Marquess (Marchioness) is also a nobleman of hereditary rank; the title ranks below a duke and above an earl (apparently traditionally a Marquess had more responsibilities to defend territory, hence the higher rank). Count/Earl (Countess) is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries (the male terms are equivalent… the former is a French word while the latter is British). Earl is often a courtesy title for the eldest son of a duke. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage (that is, they have the right to sit in the House of Lords); there never developed a feminine form of earl, instead countess is used as the equivalent feminine title. Viscount (Viscountess) is a courtesy title for the heir of an earl or marquess. The peer's heir apparent will sometimes be referred to as a viscount, if the second most senior title held by the head of the family is a viscountcy (did anyone follow that? I'm quoting Wikipedia directly there!). Baron (Baroness) is a title of nobility. In the British peer system, barons rank below viscounts, and form the lowest rank in the peerage; they are addressed as Lord (Lady… actually I think a lot of the above ranks are addressed as Lord/Lady). In the twentieth century Britain introduced the concept of non-hereditary life peers, all of whom have the rank of baron; life-peers are not counted as part of the aristocracy. Knight is an honorific order established as a way to confer prestige and distinction. Modern knighthoods are typically awarded in recognition for services rendered to society: services which are not necessarily martial in nature. The British musician Elton John, for example, is a Knight Bachelor, thus entitled to be called Sir Elton. The female equivalent is a Dame (e.g., Dame Judi Dench). Wives of knights are entitled to the honorific "Lady" before their husband's surname (e.g., Lady McCartney). The husbands of Dames have no honorific. SO - that made everything clearer, didn't it?
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