Shall we walk in Jane Austen’s footsteps across Forbury Gardens, towards the site of the last school she attended, along with her sister?
Paul Sandby’s painting of Reading Abbey Gateway gives us a glimpse of the brick building that housed the Abbey School, a boarding school for young ladies, established around 1755. In Jane Austen’s time it was run by a headmistress known as Madame La Tournelle, a name she might have chosen to impress the parents and raise the prestige of the school. In fact, she spoke no French and her real name was Sarah Hackitt.
I wish we could have visited Jane Austen’s last school, but the old brick house is no longer there. It has been replaced by modern and much taller buildings that dwarf the Abbey Gateway a little.
I couldn’t visit the schoolroom at Chatsworth either. If there is one (and I suppose there must be), it’s not open to visitors. All I could find was this gorgeous pushchair, on display in an archway overlooking the Painted Hall.
Pushchair, Chatsworth
I did catch a glimpse of the schoolroom at Lyme Park though. I’m not sure if it’s still included in the house tour. The area was roped off each time I visited Lyme in the last five years or so, but I can share some photos I took in 2016:
Schoolroom, Lyme Park
The desks are lovely but they have a Victorian look, so I don’t suppose that Mr Darcy would have used desks like these in his boyhood. Perhaps he and his tutor sat at the table.
Next door there’s a child’s bedroom, where little visitors could amuse themselves with the wooden train set laid out on the floor, or play dress-up with the costumes stored in the opposite corner.
Child’s bedroom, Lyme Park
Floorplans of other country houses show night nurseries (bedrooms) and day nurseries (playrooms).
The day nursery at Pemberley is a busy place in my current WIP. People are walking in and out, and a couple of significant scenes are set there. So, what would Mr Darcy’s old playroom look like? What sort of toys would be stored there? I believe his father’s toys would have been kept for sentimental reasons, and probably some of his mother’s too, along with Georgiana’s.
It’s ever so easy to think of Regency toys for girls. It’s easy to research them online as well. There are lots of sites showing dolls with porcelain heads and gorgeous clothes; elaborate theatre sets; dollhouses with a staggering amount of furniture, not least tables laid out with dainty tea services and dinner sets, and little people in every room, and clothes for the little people (all the way to miniature stays for the lady of the manor).
A collection such as this would keep little girls pottering happily for hours. And then they could amuse themselves with books, puzzles, painting sets, alphabet games, kaleidoscopes and a couple of Jane Austen’s own favourites – cup-and-ball and spillikins. Along with the theatre sets, some of these amusements might appeal to their brothers, too. They could also play chess and any number of board games, such as the ancient nine men’s morris.
At Osterley Park near London I found this Georgian game (a form of table skittles). My family and I had a go and it was great fun. The object is to knock down the wooden skittles with a spinning top. Each skittle has a number value and the higher-ranking ones are tucked away behind the metal gates and guards, so reaching them was a tricky business.
Georgian game, Osterley Park
Online searches for Regency toys also show lots and lots of outdoor toys for boys and girls, but I was mainly looking for boys’ toys for indoor play. How might young Fitzwilliam Darcy have amused himself indoors in his boyhood? I’m guessing that he would have had regiments of toy soldiers, and at least one rocking horse. A great many wild and wonderful beasts from Noah’s Ark, farm animals too, a pirate ship perhaps, and why not a castle and a couple of dragons?
What do you think, what other toys would you like to see in Mr Darcy’s playroom?
Thanks for reading and have fun this autumn, whatever you do.
Photos: J. Starnes
Information sources:
Claire Tomalin: ‘Jane Austen – A life’ Penguin Books 1997
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_Abbey_Girls’_School
https://englishhistoryauthors.blogspot.com/2014/03/come-play-with-me-part-1.html
https://janeaustensworld.com/tag/regency-toys/
The National Trust Museum of Childhood Online Collection
21 comments
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What fun treasures you’ve found. Thank you for sharing the photos.
Author
I’m so glad you liked the photos, Denise! Thank you!
I’m hoping the mention of the nursery at Pemberley in your current story means that Darcy and Elizabeth are married (hopefully happily 🤞🏻) with children 🤞🏻.
I saw the schoolroom at Lyme Park many years ago. As for Darcy I can see him playing skittles and with spinning tops and a hoop and stick? I don’t know if they had board games then but I can see Darcy being good at strategy games? I doubt he’d beat my grandson Elliot though as he has his own rules 😉😂🤣. If for any reason he’s actually in danger of losing he does mention that he’s likely to have a meltdown if he doesn’t win! 😂🤣😂
I wonder if they played shove halfpenny in those days? When we were children our house had a hard floor round the carpet square in the living room and we used to play that!
Thanks Joana, I really enjoyed this post. 🥰🥰
Author
Oh yes, shove halfpenny, that’s a great one, and skittles and hoop and stick! I think they did have some board games. I saw one recently, a sort of race track where you roll the dice to see how far your horse can advance. LOL I bet that Darcy would be very good at strategy games, and wouldn’t like to lose either. Elliot’s strategy is great :))) Forewarned is forearmed 😂🤣😂. I’m so glad you got to see the Lyme Park schoolroom too, Glynis! Have a lovely weekend and thanks for reading!
Interesting post–as always I love the photos!– but truly intriguing when it comes to your WIP project.
Nursery visits, huh?
I need more than this teaser, you wicked writer!
Author
Nursery visits indeedy :)). I’m so glad you’re intrigued, Alexandra! Not long now, fingers crossed. And I’ll do my best not to be VERY wicked 😂🤣😂
Is it a wonder that my mind jumped exactly at the above mentioned line about the nursery? My fellows Joana-lovers noticed it also – indeed you ARE a tease!! 🤪
This is a great article – indeed food for thoughts and lovely pictures! Thank you ❣️
Sadly, no teaching room or children bedrooms were included in this year tour at Lyme (at least not in May when I have been there – but I am not complaining, the library and its nook/window sill were magnificent!)
Now, assuming it is just for fun (and not another hint who would deny the first assumption – meaning that actually your WIP does have married Darcys AND a young heir but it is old Mr Darcy and Lady Anne spending times and important scenes in Fitzwilliam’s nursery? 😈) I suppose a chess game and a collection of wooden swords would make a nice addition!
Ok, enough gallivanting – about that WIP now? 🤔🤔🤔
Author
Oh, I’m so sorry that those rooms weren’t part of the tour last May, Mihaela! But I know what you mean about the library nook, it’s just perfect!! And so many window-sills where Elizabeth might sit and think ‘Of all this I might have been mistress’ :)))
Wooden swords and a chess set would make a very nice addition! And there’s also a theatre set with some painted backdrops which I hope you’ll like 😉 And that’s all I’m saying for now (and I hope I haven’t made you feel like throwing the chess pieces at me 😂🤣😂). Have a lovely autumn and all the best!
I had to look it up, but jigsaw puzzles were invented by the time Darcy would have played in a nursery. Although primitive, they were meant for education and enjoyment. So by the time his children were occupying a nursery there would have been some. Personally, I’ve always loved toy soldiers for boys. I hope that doesn’t make me sound like a fan of war.
What a lovely article, I loved the photos. And really loved the painting of Jane Austen’s school. I am quite cheered by the thought there is a WIP…any WIP, but if others’ surmises are correct I’d enjoy that scenario too. Of course your article and your WIP might differ wildly from those hopes my fellow commentors have expressed. The thrill of waiting is real.
Joana, happy autumn to you. My heart goes out to all of Britain’s citizens on the Queen’s passing. Even being a Yank, I already miss her so much.
Author
Thanks ever so much for your kind words, Michelle! I miss her too. It’s still hard to believe that we’ve reached the end of her era.
Oh yes, jigsaw puzzles! I’ve seen a few pictures of really old ones. Many of them were educational, teaching children how to put together the map of Europe or Britain or the World. And I’m sure that there would’ve been lots and lots of toy soldiers.
I’m so glad you liked the post and that you’re cheered by the WIP! Thanks ever so much, and have a lovely autumn!
I always love the tours you share with us. Trying to think a little outside the box for things in a little boy’s playroom, how about a small tub where he could sail homemade boats or a small sandbox to dig in. Perhaps with buried treasure coins or fossils and trinkets in the sand. And of course he needs a cloth puppy to snuggle at bedtime and an array of colorful children’s books.
Author
I know what you mean about thinking outside the box, Meg! Personally, I found it really hard to get my mind out the modern toy-box, so to speak, and forget about wooden train sets and cars and planes and all that 😂🤣😂. Although I suppose Darcy could have played with a model of a hot air balloon :))
Thanks so much for your ideas, I’ve never thought of a sandbox or a tub for sailing homemade boats. He would have loved to splash about and dig for treasure! And he definitely needs a cloth puppy and lots & lots of books!
Thanks so much for reading and for all your suggestions!
Thanks for sharing. I always enjoy photos of places visited. Looking forward to your next story.
Author
I’m so glad you liked the post and the photos, Sheila, and that you’re looking forward to the WIP. Thanks so much and all the best!
Thanks for the tour, Joana! I was surprised at the size of the toy soldiers lined up on the mantle in the child’s room. When reading stories, I have always pictured them much smaller, so I appreciate the perspective. The little tease has me intrigued. Glad it won’t be too long now, and I really look forward to reading it.
Author
You’re absolutely right about the toy soldiers, Marie, Normally they’re just a couple of inches tall. If I remember rightly, the ones lined up on the mantelpiece were wooden skittles in the shape of toy soldiers. Thanks so much for reading the post and for looking forward to the WIP. Best wishes and have a colourful autumn!
Joana, thank you so much for sharing these images and ideas about childhood in Regency times! Your writing always helps bring that world alive for me.
I would love to think young Fitzwilliam Darcy solving puzzles (both riddles and “dissectors,” those early versions of puzzles before the jigsaw was invented). (What little I know about puzzles comes from this site: https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/puzzling-history-puzzles.)
Thanks for the post!
Author
Thank *you* for reading, Christina, and for your kind words!
I think young Fitzwilliam Darcy would enjoy solving puzzles and riddles. That’s such a great link, thank you!
Take care, all the best and lots of inspiration!
Dear Joana,
I think he had a lot of toys like the wooden soldiers which are lined up on the mantelpiece over the fireplace. A wooden sword to play with his cousin Richard Fitzwilliam. Outside ropes hanging over a water point to play pirates or boats to swim. I have seen very old lifelike little horses to ride on in france. I think they had them in England too.
Kites, made out of paper and wooden handle. I think, he was an boy, how loves to play outdoor because he was tutored from an early age. In the evening, after the cuddling with his parents he reads and dreams about foreign lands and people. And don’t forget the music and painting.
Nine mens morris was a game I learned from an early age and chess also. The first is called Mühle in Germany.
Thank you for the pictures and sharing the childhood in regency times. Did they had card games for children?
Author
Thanks so much for all the toys you listed, Simone! Young Fitzwilliam Darcy would have loved to amuse himself with all of them.
I’m not 100% sure about card games for children, I’ll have to go down the research rabbit hole for a while 🙂 . I’m guessing that there must have been some harmless ones that didn’t look like gambling so they wouldn’t have been frowned upon.
Take care, all the best and thanks for reading!
Such lovely research and speculations, Joana. Very tantalizing for those of us who don’t live there!