"To The Manor Reborn"

May be you saw the Avebury Manor restoration programme on the BBC presented by Penelope Keith and Paul Martin - the title in this post is a reference to Penelope Keith's appearance in the 1970s sitcome "To the Manor Born".
Avebury Manor began life as a small medieval Benedictine priory sited within the famous Neolithic stone circle, but was converted into a manor house during the middle of the c16th. 
When the National Trust acquired the house it was in a bad state of neglect and very few of the original contents remained in situ. The NT curators had been wondering how to tackle the interiors when they were approached by the BBC who came up with the idea of doing a restoration programme.

I didn't watch the programme and had ambivalent feelings about the idea of recreating the interiors. However, it did involved the expertise of many skilled craftspeople including furniture makers, artists, together with carpet and fabric designers.  The traditional Chinese wallpaper was inspired by surviving antique examples, and handpainted by Chinese craftspeople from Fromental in Jiangsu province. Having now visited the manor I realise that it does cater to all ages and gives a very relaxed family outing. There are no off limits, you can sit on the chairs, open the draws, read the books, or try on the tudor clothes - only the handpainted wallpaper is out of bounds - mainly the interior has been given an authentic appearance but there are some witty touches too. 

If you look carefully at the Chinese wallpaper a reference to Avebury itself can be found showing the manor, the stones, and in the center Sir Adam Williamson who inherited the manor in 1789. He was a well travelled man taking part in the capture of both Louisberg and Quebec from the French. He went to Jamaica where he became the Governor General.

I could happily have taken this seat home - it would sit comfortably in either a traditional or a contemporary setting

The 1930s Art Deco style shown in this room reflects the period when the house was owned by Alexander Keiller. His private income came from his family's former business, the Keillers of Dundee marmalade and confectionary company

The kitchen reflects the early c20th - Britain was on the brink of war, the Suffragette movement was in full swing and the Titanic sank on her maiden voyage   

The Tudor Parlour with its newly handmade replica oak furniture represents the wealth of the owners at that time, William and Mary Dunch. From modest beginnings William became an important and influential man who was close to Queen Elizabeth I

Late afternoon sunbeams played through the large stone mullion windows

The final room represents Queen Anne's Chamber - the replica bed is a copy of the State Bed which can be seen in Dyrham Park. 
It is not known whether or not Queen Anne actually stayed at Avebury - the only evidence is heresay by a servant saying that "our Queen Anne dined here"

Poor Queen Anne was plagued by ill health throughout her life, and from her thirties she grew increasingly lame and obese. She had 18 children from 17 pregnancies in 17 years (1684-1700). Despite all of these pregnancies when she died at the age of 49 years in 1714 she had no surviving children and was the last monarch of the House of Stuart.

Arriving home, flocks of migrating birds flying in 'V' formation passed overhead at the start of their long journey south to new feeding grounds,

and the sun slipped away for another day

Packwood, Warwickshire

Entrance to kitchen garden

An Auricular Theatre showcasing these pretty flowers

Packwood House is a timber framed Tudor manor house constructed for John Fetherstone in 1556. It remained in the same family for over 300 years until the last member of the family died. It was purchased by a Birmingham industrialist Alfred Ash, who left it to his son Graham Baron Ash in 1925. Graham, a bachelor, devoted the next two decades to restoring the house and gardens back to its original Tudor origins.

The Yew trees were planted over 300 years ago by the Fetherstone family

Camassia growing in the meadow

A Tudor Girl from Derbyshire - Part 1

Elizabeth Countess of Shrewsbury - 'Bess of Hardwick' - National Portrait Gallery

In the year 1527 Elizabeth was born at Hardwick, Derbyshire - the fifth daughter of a Squire and Yeoman Farmer. From minor gentry she rose to become the richest women in Elizabethan England next to the Queen and was widely known as 'Bess of Hardwick'.  She was a young girl when her father died, and her mother remarried. Bess was placed in service to a local prominent household - Sir John and Lady Zouche of Codnor Castle. Whilst there she met her first husband, a wealthy youth called Robert Barlow. They married when she was 15 and he was 13 but he had a terminal illness and died within a year, the marriage was unconsumated, but he left her a third of his income and a widow's pension.
Five years later she met and married wealthy William Cavendish of Suffolk, they had 8 children, bought the Chatsworth estate for £600, and Bess became a Lady in Waiting to Queen Elizabeth 1. Ten years after their marriage William died leaving Bess a widow once more. Two years passed and she married Sir William St. Loe, who was Captain of the Guard to Queen Elizabeth - he was so enamoured with Bess that he endowed her with his estates and disinherited his own kinsfolk when he died five years later. 
Three years on and her final fourth marriage was to George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewbury - an extremely rich and powerful man who was made the guardian of Mary Queen of Scots. Bess separated from Talbot accusing him of an affair with Mary, which she was later made to retract by Queen Elizabeth and her Council. Lord Shrewsbury died soon after, and she inherited his iron works, smithies and glass works, along with Bolsover Castle and its coal pits. She had parks in Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire used for pasture, along with minerals and timbers, and she gained a large widow's settlement.  

Bess was now extremely wealthy but also very shrewd, she had ambitions that her granddaughter, Arbella, would one day become queen. One of her sons from their Cavendish father became the Duke of Devonshire, but her daughter, Elizabeth Cavendish, married Charles Stuart, 1st Earl of Lennox which gave their daughter Arbella an excellent claim to the English throne through the Stuart line especially as Queen Elizabeth I was without issue.

Now a widow in her late fifties Bess set about building Hardwick Old Hall on the spot where her father's modest manor house had once stood, but with her even greater wealth she abandoned it in favour of Hardwick New Hall which she had built literally over the garden wall from the incomplete building.

Hardwick New Hall took seven years to complete.  It is one of the finest Elizabethan houses with it's six towers filled with huge glass windows. Glass was a great luxury during the mid C16th and was only available to the aristocracy or the very wealthy, but of course Bess also had at her disposal her very own glassworks too

Bess lived to the ripe old age of 80, a very long life in the c16th - but more on Hardwick where she lived for her last 20 years in the next post.  

Forgive me my digression, but it is tempting to compare 'Bess of Hardwick' to US President candidate Donald Trump. Both risen from provincial origins, married several times, with a brood of children. Formidable Bess had 4 husbands and 8 children, Trump 3 wives and 5 children - he still has time to catch her up! Both built themselves impressive towers filled with glass as statements of both their new found power and great wealth. Bess emblazoned each apex of her six towers with her cipher carved in stone (ES and crown stands for Elizabeth Countess of Shrewsbury) Donald Trump's glass towers are adorned in large gold lettering proclaiming 'TRUMP'.
Bess nearly became the grandmother of a queen, but could Donald Trump become President?

Exeter Cathedral

The carved bosses and corbels in Exeter Cathedral are amongst the finest examples of English Decorated Gothic architecture, a form of architecture that flourished in England for 100 years from 1270. The largest boss weighs in at over two tons; each one is different and decorated with either human figures, biblical stories, or naturalistic forms. The replica boss shown above gives a unique opportunity to view one of them close up and a chance to appreciate the intricate detail. Dated 1300, it shows a knight and three dragons signifying the Christian soul trampling on the world, the flesh, and the devil

 Most of the corbels along the nave show a naturalistic style or have a single figure - each one is different

 

On the north wall of the north transept is a large, blue faced astronomical clock, donated by Bishop Peter Courtenay towards the end of the C15th. A fleur-de-lys represents the sun's cycles around a 24 hour dial, with noon at the top and midnight at the bottom. The moon's phases are shown and the day of the lunar month can be read from the inner ring. The golden globe in the centre represents the earth.

Inside the mechanism are ropes which used to be greased by fat. The fat attracted mice who ran up and down the clock ropes - hence the nursey rhymn 'Hickory Dickory Dock' is thought to have been based on this clock.

via 

The Pulpit was designed in 1876 by George Gilbert Scott, and shows the martyrdoms of St. Alban, St. Boniface and the Victorian missionary Bishop John Coleridge Patteson

A pair of finely wrought golden gates lead into the
quire (choir)

Most of the present Cathedral was constructed 1270 - 1342

However the two towers date from an earlier Norman Cathedral which was demolished to make way for the present building.

one of the two stout Norman towers

The impressive light and airey interior has the longest Gothic ceiling in the world

The West window sparkles like a jewel. It was designed by William Peckitt of York (1731-95) arguably the most important glass designer of the C18th

 The organ is an historical instrument of international significance, but is far from being a museum piece. It is a working instrument used day in and day out in the way it was intended to by its creator John Loosemore in 1665.

The properties ajacent to the Cathedral on the northern side in Cathedral Close are mostly over 500 years old. Many, like the one above, belong to the Cathedral. This one is entered via an impressive doorway.

On this sunny, late November weekend, a typical 'German Style' Christmas Market was being held on the Cathedral green with stalls from all over the Continent

Rather fancifully, Mol's is said to have been the haunt of Elizabethan seafarers Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh, where they met to discuss their victory over the Armada. It was built in 1528 to house the Cathedral Annuellars. The facade seen here was added in 1596. Annuellars were priests who attended to the last wishes of benefactors to the Cathedral.

This Italian chocolate stall at the Christmas Market caught my eye, but I averted my gaze and walked on 

Spent the weekend in the city of Exeter, Devon, but next time it will be back to travels from Turkey