Spring at Four Manors
“Sometimes the desire to be lost again, as long ago, comes over me like a vapor. With growth into adulthood, responsibilities claimed me, so many heavy coats. I didn’t choose them, I don’t fault them, but it took time to reject them. Now in the spring I kneel, I put my face into the packets of violets the dampness, the freshness, the sense of ever-ness. Something is wrong, I know it, if I don’t keep my attention on eternity. May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe, tiny but useful. May I stay forever in the stream. May I look down upon the windflower and the bull thistle and the coreopsis with the greatest respect.”
National Trust
National Trust, formally National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organization for heritage conservation in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and independent National Trust for Scotland.
Member support helps care for:
More than 780 miles of coastline
More than 250,000 hectares of land
More than 500 historic houses, castles, parks, & gardens
Nearly a million works of art
From the USA, we purchased an annual membership ($125/couple) with the Royal Oak Foundation, which provides to US citizens unlimited entry to over 500 sites managed by the National Trust of England 🏴, Wales 🏴, and Northern Ireland 🇬🇧, and to the over 100 sites managed by the National Trust for Scotland 🏴.
Sales pitch? Only if you’re planning a trip to the UK! Not only did our annual pass support a great cause, but the cost of the card paid for itself months ago. Hidecote and Snowshill Manors from our last posts were National Trust properties…as are the ones in todays’s post:
Hanbury Hall
A William-and-Mary-style country house built by wealthy lawyer Thomas Vernon in the early 18th century.
Did you just find your head tilting left? Our photographer had a real eye for the level horizon. 😆
The crowning glory of Hanbury Hall is the magnificent painted staircase by Sir James Thornhill. The paintings were the main reason the National Trust acquired the property, as it made Hanbury Hall stand out among other grand houses in the area.
Sir James Thornhill is also the painter responsible for:
The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich…
The dome of St Paul’s Cathedral in London…
The Sabine bedroom at Chatsworth House in the Peak District…
The ceiling of the Great Hall in Blenheim Palace, and…
The chapel at Wimpole Hall in Cambridgeshire (among others).
OK…if you can stick with this, it pertains to the paintings (remember they are also political commentary).
Thomas Vernon capped his career in 1715 by being elected Whig MP (Member of Parliament) for Worcestershire in the first parliament of George I. As such, the politics of the day were very important to him. As a result, the painted staircase at Hanbury Hall is Thornhill's only known satirical work, drawing on contemporary events to create an artwork with many stories to explore.
For example, you may recall that Queen Anne had an intimate relationship with Sarah Churchill, The Duchess of Marlbourgh (as depicted in the film The Favourite). Sarah was a Whig and wanted Queen Anne to appoint more Whig ministers, the majority of whom were in favor of the Sarah’s husband’s campaigns in The War of Spanish Succession.
Queen Anne favored moderate Tory politicians, who were more likely to share her Anglican religious views than their opponents, the Whigs.
Sarah incessantly badgered the Queen to appoint more Whigs and reduce the power of the Tories. This ultimately lost her favor with Queen Anne, and the Queen’s “favor” soon shifted to Sarah’s cousin, Abigail Hill, a Tory. Even when the Whigs gained a clear majority in Parliament, Abigail still retained the ear of the Queen.
While the painting on the stairway is ostensibly about Achilles (from where we get the expression Achilles’ heel), it holds a less obvious political commentary in support of Vernon’s Whig party.
The woman in green and gold is painted with the face of Queen Anne and the woman standing next to her has the face of Abigail Hill (the Tory), who is pointing toward Achilles in the center of the painting.
(Queen Anne became pregnant 17 times, but only one child lived, William. Unfortunately he died aged 11. The boy behind the woman in the painting is allegedly an 11-year-old William.)
Based on ancient legend, Achilles' mother, knowing that her son would die if he fought in the Trojan War, disguised him as a woman and entrusted him to King Lycomedes' household, where he lived among the king's daughters. For this reason, it is common to see Achilles depicted as a woman.
However, in this case, her face is that of Sarah Churchill, The Duchess of Marlbourgh. As a strong Whig supporter, Thomas Vernon wanted to show the Whig Sarah as the powerful warrior and the Tory Abigail Hill sidelined with Queen Anne.
Also, the figure between the wall and the ceiling is holding a pamphlet bearing the face of Dr Henry Sacheverell. As a strong advocate for the union of Church and State, Sacheverell strongly agitated the Whig government.
Here Sacheverell’s pamphlet is about to be set alight by The Furies, showing Thomas Vernon's dislike of the man.
Finally, Thomas Vernon also held quite a grudge against his housekeeper Sarah Steele. Look closely at the angel at the far left and the section of white beyond his hand.
Hidden there is the unflattering caricature of Hanbury's housekeeper Sarah Steele. She must have really upset him! 🤔
Long before the days of electricity, lighting a candle could be risky business in the middle of the night. This little hole in the shutter allows just enough moonlight into the bedroom for those late night trips to the toilet.
A mounting block, horse block, carriage stone, or in Scots a loupin'-on stane is an assistance for mounting and dismounting a horse. Mounting blocks were especially useful for women riding sidesaddle or pillion, that is “riding double,” allowing a horse to be mounted without a loss of modesty. They were also used to assist ladies and men into and out of carts—which is probably the primary use here at the manor’s front door.
Amanda stands in the middle of the manor’s wonderful sunken parterre.
(A parterre is part of a formal garden constructed on level ground, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or colored gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically, they are the part of the garden nearest the house.)
The parterre’s ribbon border was an explosion of bright color—hyacinths and other bulbs. As we entered the garden, the sweet scent of the hyacinths was unmistakable.
Happy Easter!
I absolutely love the many glorious cypress trees found on so many of these huge English estates.
A ha-ha, also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier—keeping livestock away from the house—while preserving an uninterrupted view of the landscape from the house.
Afterward we took a turn about the estate’s parklands.
We stopped at Tesco on the way home…guess who else enjoyed the visit to Hanbury Hall today?
Baddesley Clinton
An Anglo Saxon called Badde discovered a spring on this site in 975 AD, which persuaded him to clear a space in the Forest of Arden for his home—giving his name to Baddesley, meaning Badde’s wood or clearing.
The forest was a dangerous place, so Badde dug a ditch and felled the surrounding trees to build a fence or palisade to enclose the site and protect his family and livestock.
In 1230 Thomas de Clinton became the owner of the site, and is thought to have formalized the moat. The name if the manor is a combination of the names of the two early owners.
Of the houses we have visited lately, this was one of our favorites. Dwelling spaces here have been built, removed, and altered for over 1,000 years. The result is a crazy amalgam that is fascinating to walk through.
There may not be freakin’ sharks with freakin’ lasers on their heads, but the house does have this amazing moat!
Such ambiance—there are echoes of everything from Anglo-Saxon and Norman, to Plantagenet and Tudor, to Stuart and Georgian!
The original entrance was via a drawbridge!
The inner courtyard.
An angel carved into to a wooden wall beam.
A narwhal tusk given to then-owner William de Ferrers, possibly in 1233, by King Philip IlI of France, as his family crest included a unicorn horn.
A massive, ornate marble fireplace currently in the Great Hall on the ground floor. Impressively, the fireplace previously graced a room upstairs. In the 1530s it was fashionable to have the servants downstairs and the impressive spaces on the second floor. The fireplace was therefore initially installed upstairs.
By the 1570s, the fashion was to have the private family spaces secluded upstairs and to greet guests in grand, ground floor spaces. And so the fireplace was “simply” moved downstairs!
The wood carvings on the fireplace are gorgeously detailed.
A very Tudor staircase.
People were so much shorter back in the day.
The Parlour had a matching set of these leaded, mullioned windows at either end of the room. When you see how dark these old houses were, you can appreciate how amazing a room would be with such large windows on either side of the room.
Priest Hides
Queen Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. The successor of the Catholic Mary I, Elizabeth was decidedly Protestant. Deeply fearful another Catholic might assume the thrown, Elizabeth I passed laws in 1571, 1580, & 1585 permitting the imprisonment of those who celebrated the Mass or attended a Mass. They also commanded all Catholic priests to leave the country, and those who harbored a priest could be fined and imprisoned.
Despite the edicts, many staunch Catholics continued to practice their faith in secret and many Catholic sympathizers constructed elaborate “hides” inside homes to conceal priests should “priest hunters” come searching for them.
Sisters Eleanor and Anne Vaux were renting the house and, as staunch Catholics, had several priest hides built.
At the end of this hallway was the most elaborate priest hide. First, you have to imagine that the obvious section of separate floor on the right was then a stairway to the floor below, so there was only the narrow walkway to the left.
At the end are doorways to bedrooms on the left and right. Where you now see the obvious trapdoor, imagine a “privy,” consisting of a bench with a hole cut for doing your business, a slanting “roof” over the privy, and a privacy curtain. It’s not hard to imagine the priest hunters not giving the privy a second look.
However, the privy seat could be opened, allowing the priests to be lowered into the bottom of the toilet. A very unpleasant prospect, until you consider the alternative was often being hanged, drawn, and quartered.
Today, the wall in the kitchen (below the privy) has been removed to reveal a view into the priest hide.
Even if a priest hunter peered down into the privy, he would not have seen the secret side compartment (the ladder would obviously have been hidden inside the secret compartment). Ingenious. Disgusting. But ingenious.
In 1591, nine men, including five Catholic priests (including Father Garnet and Father Gerard), hid ankle-deep in “water” for over four hours while priest-hunters searched the house. If they'd been caught they'd have been executed, but the cellar was so well hidden that they weren't found.
The interior of a second “priest hide” concealed behind an upper wall panel in the basement. There was another hide in the attic that was not open to the public for obvious reasons.
Once the rein of terror against Catholics ended, the family, who remained staunchly Catholic, took the bedroom to the right of the privy and converted it into this family chapel.
The necklace on this woman spells “D-E-A-R-E-S-T” in reverse: Topaz, Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby, Amethyst, Emerald, & Diamond.
As if Baddesley Clinton wasn’t already one of the coolest places to visit—with a moat, a wonky blend of old architecture, and elaborate priest hides—add one more check into the “cool factor” list for this house. A former owner of Baddesley Clinton, Nicholas Brome, murdered two people during his life.
Dispensation was sought from the Pope, and in 1496 he received a pardon; however, as a penance, he had to renovate the local church. Brome added the tower above (which cost £400…yeah, that was actually a lot), raised the church roof, and installed three new bells.
However, Brome also directed that when he died he should be buried standing up in the entrance to the parish church, so that all who entered would tread over his head. His grave is still there today, under the doormat just inside the entrance to the church.
The stone marking the place is quite stark, just giving his name and the year of his death. Such a crazy story, but there it is, right under your feet. 😆
Nothing of particular interest, just liked the shot.
Packwood House
Packwood House is a timber-framed Tudor manor house in Packwood on the Solihull border near Lapworth, Warwickshire.
Despite its appearance, this is a barn that was converted in recent years and was designed to display the large tapestry in a way that felt more authentic to the tapestry’s time.
One of the many wood carvings at the base of each rafter.
This window was added to the barn to give it a much older aspect.
The Long Hall was created to display collection pieces.
This, Charles Paget Wade of Snowshill Manor, is how you display your collection!
According to legend, the yew trees at Packwood represent the Sermon on the Mount and are over 350 years old. You walk up the center of the garden past the multitude of “figures” to reach the grand finale of Packwood’s formal garden: the spiral mount and its imposing Master Yew.
After following the spiral path up the mount—standing beside the Master Yew.
Never seen anything like these before!
More gorgeous perfumed hyacinthus
Coughton Court
Twenty-one generations of the Throckmorton family have lived at Coughton Court since 1409. They still live here today. The flag flown over the house is the Arms of Throckmorton. The family has two members of particular historical significance.
Robert Catesby—The Gunpowder Plot
Back in 1603, Elizabeth I was dying after 45 years on the English throne. English Catholics had suffered severe persecution of their faith for decades under Elizabeth’s rule and were hopeful her succession would lead to change. She was succeeded by Protestant James VI of Scotland, the son of the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots, who was rumored to be more relaxed towards Catholics than the dying Queen.
Yet, soon after his accession as James I, the king denounced Catholicism and reintroduced Elizabeth’s steep fines for recusants (a person who refused to attend services of the Church of England). A group of Roman Catholic revolutionaries were growing increasingly angry about their persecution.
At the time the plot was hatched, Sir Thomas Tresham and Muriel Throckmorton owned Coughton Court, but lived in another house, so the house sat vacant.
Muriel’s sister Anne Throckmorton was married to Sir William Catesby, and their son—Robert Catesby—was a powerful and charismatic leader who hatched the Gunpowder Plot, intending to assassinate King James I during the Opening of Parliament on November 5, 1605.
The plot included kidnapping King James’ daughter, which would take place in the Midlands. Co-conspirator Sir Everard Digby was in charge of the kidnapping, so he leased the vacant Coughton Court and moved in with his wife and two sons in October 1605.
The group of conspirators also leased a house in the heart of Westminster (London) in 1605, close to the Palace of Westminster. Co-conspirator Guy Fawkes was made caretaker of the property under the name of John Johnson. This house enabled the group to smuggle 36 barrels of gunpowder into a ground-floor cellar which they had leased—and it lay directly underneath the House of Lords. Fawkes, an explosives expert, was to light the fuse and escape to Europe to garner foreign support for the group’s case.
The plan very nearly succeeded. It was only thanks to an anonymous letter to the authorities, received in late October, that the King, his family, and his Protestant ministers were not all murdered. An extract reads: “…they shall receive a terrible blow this parliament and yet they shall not see who hurts them.” (It has been suggested that Muriel’s son (Robert’s cousin) Francis Tresham may have betrayed the plot.)
Royal guards searched The House of Lords at midnight and in the early hours of November 5 Fawkes was discovered in the cellars, with a fuse, a small lamp, a box of matches, and 36 poorly-hidden barrels of gunpowder.
Fawkes was arrested and taken to the King. When asked what he was doing in the cellars, Fawkes replied boldly, “I wish to blow the Scottish King and all of his Scottish Lords back to Scotland.” He also expressed his regret at having failed. Although insulted, James I couldn’t help but praise the traitor’s “Roman resolution.”
Afterward Fawkes was taken to the Tower of London where he was tortured until he gave up the names of his co-conspirators.
Guy (Guido) Fawkes’s signature before and after his interrogation seems to show that he was indeed tortured; his writing hand seems to have been badly damaged.
The conspirators died either resisting capture or were put to trial for high treason, found guilty and, in traditional fashion, hanged, drawn, and quartered.
Fawkes was last to be hanged. His body weak from torture and sickness, he was scarce able to go up the ladder to be hanged. With the help of the hangman, he went high enough that when he threw himself off the ladder, his neck broke in the fall. His body was still quartered and his remains were distributed around the kingdom as a warning to others.
Although Guy Fawkes was not the mastermind behind the Gunpowder Plot, he certainly became its figurehead. After all, he was the one caught red-handed, the first of the plotters to be arrested, spoke defiantly to the King, was taken to the Tower of London and tortured, and was set to be the last executed.
Bonfire Night / Guy Fawkes Night - November 5
On the very night the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, bonfires were lit to celebrate the king’s survival.
In January 1606 James I passed a thanksgiving act to celebrate the failure of the Gunpowder Plot and his deliverance from danger. Called the Observance of 5 November Act 1605. Church attendance on November 5 was made compulsory under the terms of the act, and congregations had to give thanks for the failure of the conspirators. It remained in force until 1859, although celebrations still take place today.
Every year since, November 5 has been celebrated as Guy Fawkes Night, or Bonfire Night. Fireworks are set off to represent the explosives that were never set off, and it’s traditional to burn stuffed effigies of Guy Fawkes on the bonfire.
Another tradition as a result of the failed Gunpowder Plot is the ceremonial search of the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. Before a State Opening of Parliament, the Yeomen of the Guard search the cellars of Westminster for explosives.
Over 400 years later, Guy Fawkes’ image persists as a symbol of rebellion with protesters across the globe wearing masks of his stylised face.
Bess Throckmorton & Sir Walter Raleigh
Only 15 years before the Gunpowder Plot tarnished the Throckmorton name, another family member was busy bringing repute.
Bess Throckmorton was young, beautiful, and connected by blood to the most powerful families in England. She held a very influential role as maid-of-honor to Queen Elizabeth I.
Sir Walter Raleigh was one of he Queen’s favorite captains of he guard and one the most charismatic men of the day.
The two met in 1587 and began an illicit love affair. Bess eventually became pregnant, and the two married in secret in 1591. Elizabeth jealously guarded the virtue of her ladies and equally jealously guarded her favorites! So, it was bad enough to marry without the Queen’s consent, but for a maid-of-honour and a favorite captain of the guard to marry without consent was almost suicidal. To make matters worse, instead of groveling, the pair tried to brazen it out, much to the fury of the Queen.
Long story short, they were both sent to the Tower of London. When Raleigh was executed in 1618, Bess was rumored to carry his embalmed head around with her in a red leather sack.
Bess Throckmorton was rumored to carry around the embalmed head of Sir Walter Raleigh.
It is a true wonder the Throckmorton name and fortune survived to this day! Sir Francis Throckmorton confessed his involvement in a plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I and restore the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots, and was executed in 1584. Bess Throckmorton married Sir Walter Raleigh in 1591. Robert Catesby, his mother a Throckmorton, masterminded the Gunpowder Plot in 1605. They were a fervent bunch those Throckmortons!
The ceiling of the entrance hall.
The second floor windows.
The Throckmortons are staunch Catholics. They constructed a priest hide in the northeast turret in the late 16th century. It was squeezed below the floor level of the Tower Room and above the spiral staircase, which connected the ground and second floors.
This priest hide cleverly comprises two compartments—one above another. The hope was that if the first/upper compartment was discovered by priest-hunters, then the second/lower might be overlooked.
The upper lower companion was not discovered until 1910. When it was found, it contained a straw mattress, a rope ladder, a small piece of tapestry, and a folding altar made of leather. These may have been left here in October 1643, when Coughton was occupied by a Parliamentary garrison.
We find dimes in groceries stores and despite the fact that we find them as single dimes and in an absence of other coins, still you may say, we found them in a grocery store.
The American dime in London was such an outlier and now this one—a random dime just sitting on the crushed stone path in front of Amanda’s feet!
Keith is still hanging out with us.
There was a longstanding Protestant church on the Houghton property (of course). However, this Catholic church was built by the Throckmorton family in the 1850s once the practice of the faith was made legal. It is still owned and used bу the family today—Catholics through and through!
Yes, it remained illegal to practice Catholicism for some 260 years! Since many people only lived into their 40’s and 50’s back then, this could be thought of as 4 to 5 generations of deep-seated hatred, persecution, and murder of Catholics—an entire country ruled by utter fear of God’s wrath for exercising faith in the “wrong” way. It should stand as a clarion call to us today, to remain wary whenever we feel fervently and ardently that we hold the most true and accurate understanding of God.
Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:12-13
