The artist Rex Whistler was commissioned in 1939, to help transform the old, dark entrance hall into a large saloon, and his trompe l’oeil murals, painted in gothick style in keeping with the house’s origins, were his last and perhaps most beautiful completed work before he was killed in France in 1944, while on active service.
During WWII, along with many other big houses up and down the country, Mottisfont was requisitioned—the Long Gallery became a hospital ward with up to eighty patients at any one time, and children who’d been evacuated from London lived in converted accommodations in the Stable Block. And it wasn’t until after the war that Mrs. Russell was able to make Mottisfont her home.
Finally, in 1957, Mrs. Russell gave the house and the estate to the National Trust, though she continued to live there for another fifteen years.
In 1972, Graham Stuart Thomas, the Trust’s Garden Adviser, settled on the Walled Garden (formerly the Kitchen Garden and orchard—they grew pears, pine-apples, grapes, figs and vegetables for the house...) as a perfect home for his collection of historic (pre-1900) roses—there are hundreds of them—and it was he who laid out the Rose Garden with such flair and all-consuming love, planting the shrub and climbing roses amongst mixed perennial borders of foxglove, delphinium, iris, and clipped box.
Today, without a doubt, it is the Rose Garden—Britain’s national collection of old roses—which attracts visitors from all over the world to Mottisfont in June. And it’s no stretch either to understand why, or to say that Thomas saved the old roses for posterity—they were considered very unfashionable and uncool when he began collecting them.
At times, and in certain places in the garden, the scent of roses and clove pinks is almost too fragrant to bear. And there is no direction in which one may look which is not nature at her sweetest, most bountiful perfection, harmony for all the senses....
The Lost Palace of Richmond
by Anita Davison
Whilst researching the Royal Palaces that once lined the River Thames, I have always wondered about the “lost” ones, those that were left to become ruins, or destroyed long before photographs could tell us what they looked like. One which interests me particularly is Richmond, a royal residence that once dominated the ground between Richmond Green and the River Thames.
In medieval times, Richmond Green was used for grazing sheep, archery, jousting tournaments, and pageants. The earliest recorded cricket match between Surrey and Middlesex was played there in June 1730, which Surrey won, though the score is not known.
The green is surrounded by substantial Regency and Georgian houses which change hands for jaw-slackening amounts, and where locals and dreamers sit at The Cricketers pub and at pavement cafes to watch the cricket and attend fairs in the summer. However, in Tudor times, the houses round the Green existed to serve the Royal Palace, and clues still exist as to its former splendour in the names of the streets that radiate on the west side of the Green, like “Old Palace Gate”, “Friars Lane”, “Old Palace Yard”, and “The Wardrobe”. The only remaining section of the palace that remains today is a red-brick gatehouse which still bears Henry VII’s coat of arms.
The manor of Shene contained a manor house since Henry I’s time, held by a Norman knight before being returned to royal hands. Edward II owned it, and after his deposition it passed to his wife, Queen Isabella. After her death, Edward III turned the manor house into the first “Shene Palace”, where he died in 1377.
His grandson, Richard II, came to the throne as a boy, and while still a teenager, married Anne of Bohemia. Shene was their favourite home and when Anne died of the plague at the age of 27, Richard, stricken with grief, “caused it to be thrown down and defaced.”
Henry V began construction on a new castle-like building, though the work halted at his death in 1422. Building resumed for the new king, Henry VI, who was only eight years old when he was crowned.
Edward IV gave Shene Manor to his queen, Elizabeth Woodville, who handed it over to the new Henry VII after his victory over Richard III, who subsequently married her daughter, Princess Elizabeth of York.
The wooden buildings were destroyed by fire when the king and his court were there celebrating Christmas in 1497. In 1500, the name of Shene was changed to Richmond, in honour of the title, Earl of Richmond, which Henry VII held when he won at Bosworth Field.
Built of white stone, the new palace had octagonal or round towers capped with pepper-pot domes that bore delicate strap work and weather vanes. It had three stories set in a rectangular block with twelve rooms on each floor round an internal court. This area contained staterooms and private royal apartments, while the ground floor was entirely given over to accommodation for palace officials.
A bridge over the moat, surviving from Edward III’s time, linked the Privy Lodgings to a central courtyard some 65 feet square, flanked by the Great Hall and the Chapel and with a water fountain at its centre. The Great Hall had a buttery beneath. The Chapel ceiling was of chequered timber and plaster decorated with roses and portcullis badges, underneath which were extensive wine cellars.
The middle gate that opened into the Great Court was turreted and adorned with stone figures of two trumpeters, and to the east was situated the palace wardrobe where soft furnishings were stored. There was also a moat, a Great Orchard, public and private kitchens, and a Library. The palace gardens were encircled by two-storey galleries, open at ground level and enclosed above, where the court could walk, play games, admire the gardens, watch the tennis.
Richmond Palace became a showplace of the kingdom, and the scene of the wedding celebrations of Henry VII’s eldest son, Prince Arthur, to Catherine of Aragon. Also, the betrothal of Princess Margaret to King James of Scotland took place at Richmond in 1503.
Henry VII died at Richmond in 1509, and the following year, his son, Henry VIII, married his brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon. In 1510 Catherine gave birth to a son, Henry, at Richmond, whose lavish christening celebrations had barely finished when the baby died a month later.
Henry VIII’s jealousy of Wolsey’s palace at Hampton Court led to him confiscate Hampton Court, giving Wolsey Richmond in exchange. Richmond became home to Mary Tudor, who stayed for a few months before being moved to Hatfield House. Then the palace was given to Anne of Cleves as part of her divorce settlement from Henry VIII.
In 1554, when Queen Mary I married Philip II of Spain, Richmond was where they spent their honeymoon, and within a year, Mary had imprisoned her sister Elizabeth there.
Queen Elizabeth was particularly fond of Richmond as a winter home—and loved to hunt stag in the “Newe Parke of Richmonde” (now the Old Deer Park). It was here she summoned companies of players from London to perform plays—including William Shakespeare’s. She also died there in 1603.
James I gave Richmond to his son, Henry, Prince of Wales, as a country seat, but before any refurbishment could be done, Henry died and it passed to Prince Charles, who began his extensive art collection, storing it at Richmond.
In 1625, King Charles I brought his court to Richmond to escape the plague in London, and he established Richmond Park, using the palace as a home for the royal children until the Civil War.
After Charles I’s execution, the Commonwealth Parliament divided up the palace buildings and had them extensively surveyed, in which the furniture and decorations are described as being sumptuous, with beautiful tapestries depicting the deeds of kings and heroes. The brick buildings of the outer ranges survived; the stone buildings of the Chapel, Hall, and Privy Lodgings were demolished and the stones sold off.
By the restoration of Charles II in 1660, only the brick buildings and the Middle Gate were left. The palace became the property of the Duke of York (the future James II) and his daughters, Mary and Anne, grew up there. Their only surviving half-brother, Prince James Edward (the “Old Pretender”), was nursed at Richmond, but the restora
tion work, begun under the auspices of Christopher Wren, ceased in the revolution of 1688 when James II fled to France.
The surviving buildings were leased out, and in 1702, “Trumpeters’ House” was built, replacing the Middle Gate where two statues of trumpeters stood. These were followed by “Old Court House” and “Wentworth” in 1705-7. The front of the Wardrobe still shows Tudor brickwork as does the Gate House. “Maids of Honour Row” built in 1724 is a uniform terrace built for the maids of honour of Caroline of Anspach, the wife of George II. These replaced most of the buildings facing the Green in 1724-5 and the majority of the house now called “Old Palace” was rebuilt in about 1740.
Traces of the elaborate gardens are still there, having been incorporated into private residences. The view from the river is still beautiful, and as you pass in a barge and squint a little, maybe you can still see the “pepper pots” and turrets of the old palace where kings and queens once lived.
Faversham, Kent
by Lauren Gilbert
Faversham is a fascinating port town in Kent. Some years ago, my husband and I had the pleasure of attending the Hop Festival there. It’s a lovely town, compact and walkable. Its history goes back to before 811, and it was known to be settled by the Romans.
Part of the ancient royal demesne, Faversham is mentioned in the Domesday Book, and it also possesses an early Cinque Ports charter (considered to be the oldest in existence) and was linked to Dover. King Stephen founded Faversham Abbey in 1147 and was subsequently buried there with his wife Matilda and son Eustace. The abbey was dissolved by Henry VIII and now nothing remains but ruins. The beautiful parish church, St. Mary of Charity, still remains.
As a port city, Faversham had a customs house, and fishing was an important industry. (The oyster beds were particularly important.) The town has an association with medieval queens and a fascinating history. Queen Elizabeth I endowed a grammar school here.
However, I am going to focus on a specific point of interest: gunpowder.
Advances in weaponry and military activity created a need for gunpowder, and Faversham was peculiarly suited to meet this need. The ingredients for gunpowder, especially charcoal and sulphur, were readily available. The site was perfect for factories, with a stream for watermills, and the continent was easily accessible from the port. The earliest gunpowder works was established in the 16th century. The original small factories were joined together as the Home Works.
Home Works was ultimately nationalized by the British government in 1759. Another factory, Oare Works, had been built nearby in Davington parish in Kent in the 1680s. A third factory, Marsh Works, was built by the government in 1787. These mills provided gunpowder to the East India Company and the military, supporting the war effort. It is interesting to think of the powder from these factories possibly being used by Nelson’s ships at the Battle of Trafalgar and by Wellington’s troops at Waterloo!
Gunpowder from these factories was also used for blasting for canals and tunnels (especially important for railway expansion). These plants continued in operation, and produced explosives during World War I.
In 1916, a horrible explosion killed over 100 employees. In 1934, the gunpowder factories were closed due to fears that the area would be vulnerable to invasion or attack if war with Germany was declared.
The site of Home Works was redeveloped in the 1960s except for Chart Gunpowder Mill, which is an historic site. The Marsh Works became a site for mineral extraction which is still in operation. Oare Works is a county park, featuring conserved process houses, trails, and a visitor center.
Sources
Hasted, Edward. “The Parish and Town of Faversham.” Originally located in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, Vol. 6, 1798. British History Online. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=62974.
“History of Faversham, Kent.” Kentfind.Co.UK. http://www.kentfind.co.uk/about/faversham/history.php.
Percival, Arthur. Old Faversham. Rainham, Kent: Meresborough Books, 1988.
Turcan, Robert. Faversham through Time. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley Publishing, 2010.
The Grosvenors
by Katherine Pym
The first Grosvenor, a nephew and favorite of William the Conqueror, was Gilbert d’Avranches. He accompanied William across the Channel to the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
(Many histories state that the first Grosvenor was actually Hugh d’Avranches, but the Grosvenor Estate professes Hugh was a relative of Gilbert, and not the nephew of William the Conqueror. I would have gone with “Hugh” but I figured the Grosvenor Estate knows its own family….)
As a result of his dedication to William, Gilbert received the Earldom of Chester, but he had to fight for it. It was very close to the Welsh border and a Saxon stronghold—Gilbert dealt with those who refused to be conquered in such a brutal manner that he became known as Lupus (wolf). One story holds he tortured and killed a young gypsy boy for poaching on his land. After he killed the young gypsy boy, the gypsies cursed Gilbert, saying “that no son would follow father in the succession to the earldom.”
Along with the name of Lupus, Gilbert also received the nickname le Gros. Extremely fat, he loved wine, rich food, and women. He’s known to have sired upwards of twenty illegitimate children. Finally marrying Ermentrude of Clarement, he had a legitimate son, Richard, and a daughter, Matilda.
His real passion was hunting, however, and this is how Gilbert came to receive the name by which he would be known henceforth. Gilbert gained the name Gros Veneur, French for “Large Huntsman.” (The Grosvenor Estate translates it as: Chief Huntsman.)
Since Gilbert was obese, and later needed a hoist to set him onto the saddle for the hunt, one can say he was very “gros” or truly gross (boo, hiss, bad humor). He spent many hours in the saddle and had little humility or reverence before his Lord God. During one hunt, he kenneled his hounds in a church for the night. In the morning they were all found dead.
Toward the end of his life, Gilbert repented. Due to his gluttony, he had a difficult time walking. Afraid he would go to Hell for his debauchery, he “founded the Benedictine Abby of St Werburgh, where the monks were to spend their lives in solemn prayer for the soul of their patron.”
In partial fulfillment of the gypsies’ curse, Gilbert’s son, Richard, succeeded him but died in 1120 without an heir. The Grosvenor curse continued to crop up again over the years.
The family did not play a prominent part in English history until 1385. There is mention that Sir Robert Grosvenor went with Richard II to fight the Scots. He was known to John of Gaunt and Henry IV.
In 1617, James I created Sir Richard Grosvenor a baron, and the “red hand” was added to the Grosvenor coat of arms. Despite this, Sir Richard resided in debtor’s prison for many years. He had cosigned a brother-in-law’s loans that went unpaid.
It was not until Sir Thomas Grosvenor (1655-1700), 3rd Baronet, that the family came closer to the household name we know today. Sir Thomas married Mary Davis, daughter of a scrivener, who had inherited 500 acres in the west end of London. It was considered a wet meadow, an area which we know as Mayfair, Pimlico, and Belgravia, now called the London Estate.
By the time of Sir Thomas, the Grosvenors had built a robust estate. They owned coal and lead mines and stone quarries in Wales. Sir Thomas had built and moved his family home from a castle-like affair with a moat to a large house on the present site of Eaton Hall.
But the Grosvenor curse continued. Thomas’ son, Sir Richard, 4th baronet (1689-1723), died without issue. Sir Thomas, 5th baronet (1693-1733), died in Naples unmarried.
Several Grosvenor generations avoided the curse even as their wealth and status grew, marking them Baron, Earl, then Marquess.
Hugh Lupus (1825-1899), created 1st Duke of Westminster, continued this streak of good fortune, but the curse was believed
to have returned when in 1909 the four-year-old son of the 2nd Duke died. Even though the 2nd Duke married several times, he never sired another son.
William Grosvenor, the 3rd Duke of Westminster, was born brain damaged, “and so small he was fed milk through a fountain pen filler”. He died 1963 without an heir. The 4th Duke held the dukedom for only 4 years. He died of wounds received during combat in WW2.
The current Duke is Robert, 5th Duke of Westminster, and his wife, the Hon. Viola Lyttelton. They produced two male children, thus finally breaking the Grosvenor curse...hopefully for good.
Back in the 17th century...London at the time of Sir Thomas Grosvenor was exciting and full of motion. His prime of life was during a period when so much changed forever in England. For more on London (1662), please read my Of Carrion Feathers, a tale of espionage during the reign of King Charles II.
Sources
The Grosvenor Estate. http://www.grosvenorestate.com/.
Sexton, Carole. Tales of Old Cheshire. Countryside Books, 2011.
Time: A Timeline of Clocks
By Deborah Swift
When writing historical fiction, as well as going back in time to the period I am writing about, I often have to consider that the notion of how time was measured in previous times is very different from my own. In the 17th century poorer people still used sand-glasses or hour-glasses, and not everyone could afford a clock in their house. Churches rang the bells so that people had some sense of the time passing, but in general people were much less fixated on exact times than we are today.
The first clock was of course the sun, and the position of the stars in the night sky. The first recorded mention of the sun dial was in 742 B.C. There is, however, evidence of use of the sun dial as early as 2,000 B.C.!
Castles, Customs, and Kings: True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors Page 67