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The country house in society #48

...r English gentlemen and Gothic for Christian English gentlemen, with a religious tone on the increase up to 1870, by which time the Victorian religious revival had started to wane. Wealth in itself didn't guarantee entry into the landed gentry and certainly not into the aristocracy. Bestwood Lodge, Nottingham - a Gothic style mansion   Bestwood Lodge (above) was built in 1862 in the 14th century Gothic style for the Duke of St. Albans.  It is asymmetric with all the Victorian love of ornament and exaggeration.  It was occupied by the army during the Second World War and is now a hotel.   It should be noted that the aristocracy or nobility were those...

THE GRAND OPENING #5

...adies and gentlemen took their afternoon strolls.  Family picture from the hall brochure 1971 We soon got used to having people wandering around our house, although they weren’t allowed upstairs.  Gavin and I were quite the little monkeys and usually involved our little brother in our tricks too.  We would hang over the balcony near the stairs and watch people walk by then drop things near them or make funny noises. Once Gavin was holding an ice cream and it started to melt - we saw a bald headed man standing below us studying one of the items on display, and just couldn't resist the opportunity of letting the ice cream drip onto his head!  We ran aw...

The Grand Opening #5

...adies and gentlemen took their afternoon strolls. Man on horseback  cut into topiary We soon got used to having people wandering around our house, although they weren’t allowed upstairs. Gavin and I were quite the little monkeys and usually involved our little brother in our tricks too. We would hang over the balcony near the stairs and watch people walk by then drop things near them or make funny noises. Once Gavin was holding an ice cream and he held it over the balustrade and let it drip – unfortunately for the bald headed man underneath! We thought it was hilarious! Visitors enjoying the Easter sunshine   Our bedrooms overlooked the terrac...

The Grand Opening #5

...adies and gentlemen took their afternoon strolls. We soon got used to having people wandering around our house, although they weren’t allowed upstairs.  Gavin and I were quite the little monkeys and usually involved our little brother in our tricks too.  We would hang over the balcony near the stairs and watch people walk by then drop things near them or make funny noises. Once Gavin was holding an ice cream and he held it over the balustrade and let it drip – unfortunately for the bald headed man underneath!  We thought it was hilarious!  Our bedrooms overlooked the terrace where most of the visitors walked about and one of our favourite tricks was to...

The Grand Opening #5

...adies and gentlemen took their afternoon strolls. Visitors make an appearance - Easter 1971   We soon got used to having people wandering around our house, although they weren’t allowed upstairs. Gavin and I were quite the little monkeys and usually involved our little brother in our tricks too. We would hang over the balcony near the stairs and watch people walk by then drop things near them or make funny noises. Once Gavin was holding an ice cream and he held it over the balustrade and let it drip – which was unfortunate for the bald headed man underneath! We thought it was hilarious! Our bedrooms overlooked the terrace where most of the visitors...

The Grand Opening #5

...adies and gentlemen took their afternoon strolls.   Victorian hedges showing letter 'M' for Meynell   We soon got used to having people wandering around our house, although they weren’t allowed upstairs.  Gavin and I were quite the little monkeys and usually involved our little brother in our tricks too.  We would hang over the balcony near the stairs and watch people walk by then drop things near them or make funny noises. Once Gavin was holding an ice cream and he held it over the balustrade and let it drip – unfortunately for the bald headed man underneath!  We thought it was hilarious!  Our bedrooms overlooked the terrace where most of the...