Summer Travels

Last month, when I went to stay at Hunsford, I was seriously tempted to drive up to Pemberley as well.

When I mentioned that to my husband, he didn’t roll his eyes or anything. He’s always a gentleman, and his patience for everything to do with my obsession borders on the superhuman. He only pointed out that I’ve been to Lyme Park and Chatsworth umpteen times, but I’ve never stayed in Rutland, so I should use this opportunity to explore the local area instead of driving back and forth to Derbyshire.

Strangely enough, I managed to summon some forbearance 😛 and I’m glad I did. Rutland is an absolute gem, and the neighbouring counties also have a great deal to offer: unspoilt countryside, lovely villages at every turn, and a fair number of stately homes I had never visited before.

One of them is Belvoir Castle (pronounced as ‘Beaver Castle’).

Belvoir Castle

All the state rooms are impressive, but the Elizabeth Saloon and the Regent’s Gallery are truly spectacular in their Regency splendour.

Belvoir Castle: the Elizabeth Saloon (left) and the Regent’s Gallery (right)

And what about the King’s Rooms nearby? Isn’t the tête-à-tête chair (love seat) just perfect for cosy, intimate conversations? I think Mr and Mrs Darcy should acquire one just like it, if they haven’t already.

Belvoir Castle: The King’s Rooms

Would it surprise you to hear that Belvoir Castle often hosts festive functions, and many of the historic rooms are available for hire? Anniversaries, formal balls, medieval banquets, Hogwarts-themed events – you name it and it can be done. As for those who wish to be married in a castle, the State Rooms could be theirs for the day. The King’s suite is made available to the bride-to-be, for her and her bridesmaids to dress and prepare for the ceremony. The vows are exchanged in the chapel, or civil ceremonies can be held in the ballroom or the Guard Room, followed by a wedding breakfast in the state dining room. If they wish, the bride and groom could cut their wedding cake with the Duke of Rutland’s ceremonial sword.

I cannot even begin to imagine the cost, but speaking of swords, let’s not leave Belvoir without a glimpse of the Guard Room.

Belvoir Castle: cavalry swords displayed in the Guard Room

The swords display caught my eye as soon as I walked in. The walls are ornamented with several such circles. There are 60 swords in each circle, and the roundels placed in the centre show the Duke of Wellington’s profile. The short, curved swords that form the smaller circle on the left had once belonged to the Leicestershire Militia. The longer, straight-bladed swords had belonged to the 21^st Light Dragoons. I suppose this is the sort of blade with which Colonel Fitzwilliam might have ridden into battle.

On a more peaceful note, let me show you some of the picture-perfect cottages I came across as I was driving around the small and beautiful county of Rutland:

And this is what the Pemberley walled garden might have looked like:

Wimpole Estate – the walled garden

I visited the Wimpole Estate on an overcast day, so the pictures aren’t as bright as I would have liked them to be, but it was so lovely to see such a well-tended walled garden in all its glory. There were cherry trees and pear trees trained against the brick walls for greater warmth, to speed the ripening of the fruit. I could spot a fig tree, lots of plum trees and apple trees, rows upon rows of herbs and vegetables, raspberries and loganberries, all sorts of flowers for the house, and a couple of beehives too.

A few words chalked on a piece of slate informed the visitors that, at peak season, the walled garden can produce 200kg of fruit and veg every week. They seem to be using organic methods, just as the gardeners of Pemberley would have done, so there is reason to believe that the Pemberley walled garden might have yielded similar amounts of produce. Perhaps a proportion was taken to the local markets, but even so, Mrs Reynolds and the kitchen maids must have had their work cut out with all the jam-making, stewing, pickling and preserving, in preparation for the winter months.

Finally, let me share photos of a couple of places you might recognise from one of my older posts.

The Swan Hotel, Bedford

The Angel and Royal, Grantham (formerly The Angel Inn)

Last year, as I was writing Twists of Fate and looking for places where the newly married Mr and Mrs Darcy might have stopped on their way to Pemberley, I could only see the Swan and the Angel on Google Street View and Wikipedia. Luckily, the Angel is very close to Rosings 1995, and I only had to go some 20 miles out of my way to reach the Swan, so I leapt at the chance to see those two inns for myself, walk in and perhaps discover more about their history.

A kind and very helpful lady let me have a peek into one of the information folders made available to the guests of the Swan Hotel. She also told me that the Swan is home to at least three friendly ghosts. If anything, I’m surprised that there are only three. According to the folder, there has been an inn on this site from 1507. A small plaque mounted on the façade mentions that the present building was erected between 1794 and 1796. It was designed by Henry Holland for Francis Russell, the 5^th Duke of Bedford. Some of Henry Holland’s most notable commissions include the remodelling of Carlton House, Cardiff Castle, Althorp, Woburn Abbey and several other country seats and public buildings (more details available on Wikipedia). He also designed Brooks’s Club in St James’s Street and built the original Marine Pavilion in Brighton, later redesigned and extended by John Nash into the far more flamboyant Royal Pavilion that we can see today.

The Angel in Grantham has an even longer history. It has been a focal point for travellers along the Great North Road for over 800 years. It began as a hostel built by the Knights Templar in 1203, and there is evidence that King John and his courtiers stayed at the Angel in 1213, two years before the Magna Carta was signed. Of the present building, the oldest part is the arched doorway, ornamented with carvings of Edward III and his Queen, Phillipa de Hainault, who stayed at the Angel in the 14^th century. Other royal visitors include Edward IV in 1469; Richard III in 1483; Charles I in 1633; George IV, who stayed at the Angel several times, and Edward VII in 1866.

In the days of coach travel, hundreds of coaches pulled up at the Angel every week. Two postilion uniforms have been discovered in a forgotten cupboard, and are now displayed in glass cases in the King’s Room. This state apartment (now a restaurant) covers the whole of the first floor and still has the original carved stone ceilings in the three bay windows. It has been known for centuries as La Chambre du Roi or The King’s Room because King Richard the III had received the Great Seal there, during his stay at the Angel.

The Angel and Royal, Grantham: The King’s Room

One last little titbit from the history leaflet I found at the Angel and Royal: in 1706, the landlord of the Angel requested in his will that an annual sermon against the evils of drunkenness be preached each Michaelmas Day, and left a legacy of 40 shillings a year for that purpose. The sermon is still preached, and is now paid for by a trust fund.

Thanks for travelling with me! I hope you had fun on the whistle-stop tour. Take care, and see you again soon!

Photos J Starnes

Sources:

Information folder at the Swan Hotel

Leaflet ‘The Angel and Royal – A Brief History’

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Holland_(architect)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_and_Royal