Category: History

Stratfield Saye

Updated on October 6, 2014 by Diane Gaston

One of my favorite stops on the Duke of Wellington Tour was at Stratfield Saye, Wellington’s country house. Like when Amanda and I visited the house in 2003, the weather was incredibly beautiful.

Here’s a view of the house from the back. It is so beautiful!

After the victory Waterloo, a grateful nation gave Wellington the funds to buy a property commensurate with his status as a duke and the hero who finally vanquished Napoleon. What was envisioned was something along the lines of Blenheim Palace. It was supposed to be called Waterloo Palace. Wellington liked Stratfield Saye because it was near enough to London and close to the property of a friend, but he ultimately abandoned plans for the Waterloo Palace because of the expense. He did improve the house, adding central heating and water closets….but not until after his wife passed away.

We could not photograph the inside of the house, but that was okay with me, because the house is still a family home. The present Duke of Wellington, who is 99 years old, still lives on the estate in another residence. His grandson and grandson’s family live in the house at present. As you go through the house you can see evidence of this fact, including a desk with stacks of paperwork, pens, and sticky pads on it.

Front of the house:

Another sign that this is a country home still in use, was the sight of horses in the paddock.

No visit to Stratfield Saye would be complete without a visit to Copenhagen’s grave. Copenhagen was Wellington’s horse during the battle of Waterloo. The Duke rode Copenhagen during the entire battle. Copenhagen retired to Stratfield Saye and, after his death at 28 years, was buried under a beautiful oak tree on the property.

In the stable buildings are exhibits of memorabilia from Wellington’s life. Also on display is Wellington’s funeral coach, made in part from the iron of cannon from the battle of Waterloo. It is a Victorian monstrosity that the Duke would have hated, but it was lovingly created by teams of workers and seamstresses in a remarkably short period of time.

In the room housing the funeral carriage a recording of the accolades recited at Wellington’s funeral plays over and over. When I first heard this recording in 2003, I burst into tears, realizing that, in a way, I was in the presence of a truly great man.

Ever since that time, I’ve been a Wellington groupie and remain in armed combat with Kristine Hughes as to which of us is Wellington’s favorite!
(I am….)

Posted in History, Regency | Tagged stratfield saye | 8 Replies

New book Day!

Updated on September 29, 2014 by Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

It’s almost October—that means it’s new book day for me!!!! Betrayed By His Kiss is (almost) available now (see it on Amazon here or at my website for more info)–and you can win a signed copy by commenting on today’s post. Here’s a little sneak peek at the history behind the book….

I was first inspired to write Isabella and Orlando’s story when I had a yucky cold and spent the weekend lounging around on the couch, having an epic viewing of all three seasons of The Borgias! The sumptuous costumes, the luxurious palaces, the passion and murder and danger. (Not to mention Cesare’s eyes…). I’ve always loved the Italian Renaissance, the beauty and intrigue of it. And I loved finding the characters of Isabella and her Orlando among the palazzos and riverbanks of Florence.

The pinnacle of danger in the Renaissance came with the famous Pazzi Conspiracy of 1478. It was an attempt by a few members of the ancient Pazzi family, along with some powerful allies (including the pope!) to displace Lorenzo de Medici as the de facto ruler of Florence. On April 26, 1478, they rose up in the midst of a crowd of 10,000 at Mass in the Duomo to assassinate Lorenzo and his handsome younger brother Giuliano. Lorenzo escaped; Giuliano did not.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:

In league with the Pazzi were Pope Sixtus IV and his nephew Girolamo Riario, who resented Lorenzo de’ Medici’s efforts to thwart the consolidation of papal rule over the Romagna, a region in north-central Italy, and also the archbishop of Pisa, Francesco Salviati, whom Lorenzo had refused to recognize. An assassination attempt on the Medici brothers was made during mass at the Cathedral of Florence on April 26, 1478. Giuliano de’ Medici was killed by Francesco Pazzi, but Lorenzo was able to defend himself and escaped only slightly wounded. Meanwhile, other conspirators tried to gain control of the government. But the people of Florence rallied to the Medici; the conspirators were ruthlessly pursued and many (including the archbishop of Pisa) were killed on the spot.

The failure of the conspiracy led directly to a two-year war with the papacy that was almost disastrous for Florence. But the most important effect was to strengthen the power of Lorenzo, who not only was rid of his most dangerous enemies but also was shown to have the solid support of the people.

I always love incorporating real historical figures into my fictional stories. Botticelli is one of my favorite artists! Isabella’s cousins Matteo and Caterina are not real, though Giuliano de Medici certainly might have been in love with the beautiful, fragile Caterina, who is loosely based on his real love Simonetta Vespucci, who died young of tuberculosis and was the model for many of Botticelli’s paintings. . Fiencosole is also a fictional town, but based on some of the many walled, beautiful fiefdoms of Renaissance Italy.

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Basildon Park

Updated on September 29, 2014 by Diane Gaston

One of the stops on The Duke of Wellington tour was Basildon Park–not because the historic house has any connection with the Iron Duke, but because it was nearby, open, and a treat to see.

Basildon Park also represents the rise and fall of fortunes which so often inhabit our Regency books.

It was built between 1776 and1783 for Sir Frances Sykes, the son of a yeoman farmer who made a huge fortune in the East India Company and was friends with Warren Hastings and Clive of India. It was built in the Palladian style by John Carr and its interiors were in the style of Robert Adams.

Almost as soon as Sykes purchased the house his fortunes began to decline and had diminished by his death in 1804. His grandson, the third baronet, became a part of the Prince Regent’s set, further depleting the Sykes fortune. After a scandal involving his wife, Sykes had the humiliating distinction of being the model for Charles Dickens’ “Bill Sikes,” the villain in Oliver Twist.

Sykes sold the house in 1838 to James Morrison, a self-made Victorian millionaire, who wanted it to display his huge art collection. After his death, his daughter inhabited the house and upon her death in 1910, the house’s fortunes again turned bleak. The nephew who inherited the estate again depleted his funds and had to sell it in 1929 to a man who wanted the land, not the house. This man tried to sell the house, even offering to dismantle it and rebuild it if some wealthy American would pay the price for it.

The house continued to decline, even suffering a fire, until 1953 when it was purchased by the 2nd Baron and Baroness Iliffe, who lovingly restored it to its present glory. Here is some of the beauty they rescued:

Entry Hall

Stairway

Upper rooms

Dining room ceiling

The original dining room had been sold and now exists as the Basildon room of the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

Basildon Park has played Netherfield Park in the Keira Knightley Pride and Prejudice, and, more recently, Grantham House in Downton Abbey. It became a National Trust property in 1978

Posted in History, Research | Tagged Basildon Park | 3 Replies

The Regency Town House

Updated on September 22, 2014 by Diane Gaston

As part of our Duke of Wellington tour, we visited The Regency Town House in Hove.

The Regency Town House was built in the mid-1820s when sea bathing became popular and the Prince Regent made nearby Brighton fashionable. It was conceived much like vacation properties are conceived today. The investors and the builder created the project, Brunswick Square, pre-designed town houses built around the square and in sight of the sea, and then they sold each unit.

The result is a beautiful of example of Regency architecture at its finest.

One of these beautiful houses is being restored to how it would have appeared to those first buyers. It is both a historic site and a restoration project in process. I visited the project in 2003 so this project is a very long-standing one, limited only by the funds available to do the work.

The drawing room has been restored to its original Regency colors and I’m sure you will be a little surprised. The decades and centuries of paint were carefully sanded away until reaching the original paints. Minute samples of these paints were analyzed chemically and then recreated.

The restoration is far from complete, as you can see in this photo of the stairway. But some of the glory of the original house can be imagined.

In another unit on the square, the lower level of the town house is being restored. This is the “downstairs” that the servants inhabited and it is complete with housekeeper’s room, wine storage, servants’ dining room, and the kitchen.

The kitchen is in the far back and is illuminated by skylight, which also serves to draw the heat up and out of the kitchen.

One of the most interesting parts of this level was the meat locker, which may be the most intact meat locker of this era. The walls are a sort of screen that allows air to circulate but protects the meat.

Here are some more photos:

The kitchen and the servants stairs:

The hall floor tiles and a view of the front door from the stairway:

After our visit to The Regency Town House we went on to the grandest beach house of all time–The Royal Pavilion!

Unfortunately, I could not take photos inside the Pavilion, but it is not to be missed. You can see some images of the interior here.

(Gosh, I miss being in England!)

Posted in History, Regency, Research, Risky Regencies | Tagged Brighton, Hove, The Regency Town House, The Royal Pavilion | 5 Replies

Tuesday Things

Updated on September 17, 2014 by Amanda McCabe/Laurel McKee

So…what have I been doing while I was MIA from the Riskies for a couple of weeks??? Have been a bit under the weather (ugh!), and using up all my energies trying desperately to get caught up on the deadline for my “Regency in Brazil” story–and also in being jealous of Risky Diane and her England adventures! And being much too excited about the prospect of a new Royal Baby, of course. (I hope it’s a girl! Prince George would make a fantastic big brother, LOL)

But today in Regency history–in 1812, the great fire of Moscow broke out and raged for several days. According to the “In Your Pocket” city guide (which gives some good, concise info on the march to Moscow, and the bitter disappointment to Napoleon that those stubborn Russians were willing to burn the country down to keep it from him!):

On 15 September Napoleon arrived at the Kremlin and the very same day massive fires began in the Kitay Gorod area just to its east. Fanned by high winds and wooden housing, the inferno soon threatened the Kremlin itself and more fires were being spotted in other parts of the city. Moscow was soon ablaze in a terrifying firestorm. As a French diplomat in Moscow later noted in his memoirs, “the air was charged with fire; we breathed nothing but smoke, and the stoutest of lungs felt the strain after a time.” With fire raging across the city, on 16 September Napoleon was forced to leave the Kremlin, relocating to the safety of the Petrovsky Palace, an imperial residence on the road to St. Petersburg, while his troops gave up the fight against the fire and instead took to pillaging whatever treasures remained.

By 18 September the fire was brought under control and Napoleon returned to the Kremlin at the centre of a city of ashes – still awaiting the tsar’s final surrender. Yet the tsar refused to give up, while Kutuzov was based south of the city, out of reach of the French and busy mustering new troops and bolstering his army. To make matters worse, the great fire had destroyed yet more of the French army’s rapidly dwindling supplies, and Napoleon’s men were now beginning to starve. Finally after occupying Moscow for just five weeks the situation reached critical levels and Napoleon was left with no choice but to begin a long retreat west.

And, of course, these very dramatic events inspired a very dramatic piece of music–Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture”!

I think it might be time for a re-read for War and Peace! (Don’t laugh–when I first read it, I took it on a beach vacation, and everyone laughed at me for choosing THAT as a beach read! But it was fascinating….)

Should we go set off some fireworks today in sympathy?? What have you all been doing this week????

Posted in History | 1 Reply