Spring Fashions for April

For those of you interested, I am just putting the finishing touches on my first newsletter The Regency Rambler Quarterly Review. This will appear four times per year and will keep you up-to-date on events, booksignings and my travels. And I have decided to add a few gossip items from the Regency for fun. If you want to sign up, it is as simple as sending an email to regencyramble-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Fashions for April
Here are a few April fashions to wet your appetite, and there will be more on Monday.
These gowns are from 1806. The classic high waist and slender look of the early period. I love how familiar I am getting with these fashions as I bring them to you. These plates from from the Cabinet of Fashion April 1806 reprinted from Lady’s Monthly Museum April 1806. The first is a Walking dress and it is described: Straw Hat, trimmed with Swansdown. Pelisse of Black Velvet, with a deep Lace round the Bottom. Swansdown Tippet. Half Habit Shirt. Buff Gloves. Interesting about the shirt? The second is Full Dress, so afternoon or evening wear Hair fashionably drest; ornamented with a Silver Wreath. A Train of Pink Muslin; full Sleeves, looped up to the Shoulder, trimmed round the Bottom and Bosom with deep Lace; Pic-Nic Sleeves. White Shoes, Fan, and Ridicule.Ah, here we have the use of the term ridicule. It does of course mean reticule, the forerunner of the handbag or as north americans call it, the purse (English people call the thing you put coins in a purse. I have also heard it called a pocket book in various of the US states. Fascinating. What I wanted to point out, is the practicality of the hem-line of the walking dress as against the full dress. And I was surprised at the black.

April 1804 Fashions reprinted from The Lady’s Monthly Museum. Undress. Cambrick Biggin, to sit close to the head; Lace full round the face; trimmed with Lilac crape. Pink sarcenet wrap Robe. A Crape Handkerchief, to tie close to the Neck. Walking Dresses.
The first is a Cap of Buff Satin; white Veil twisted round the Front; one End to hang down on the left Side; a Bunch of Roses in Front, Round Dress of Buff Muslin, the Body made quite Plain; very low in the Back, and over the Bosom, a Lace Tucker drawn across the Bosom. White Tippet.
The second is a Spanish hat of Purple Velvet turned up in Front, and ornamented with Feathers of the same Colour. Robe of White Satin. Indian Shawl; Buff Gloves; Silver Bear Muff.The difference between the cap in the first one and the Spanish Hat in the second is to me quite startling. Oh and not keen on the idea of a silver bear muff. It is hard to see how one can really say a particular style was right or wrong. A bit like when I went shopping yesterday.


April 1808 Cabinet of Fashion The first a Dress of white satin, with robe of India silk, falling loosely from the shoulder; full sleeves. Turban of white satin, with ostrich feathers.
The second a Dress of fine muslin, made high over the bosom; the back full, with bows of ribband from the waist to the bottom of the train. Turban of crimson buff; white shoes and gloves.
The third a Dress of plain muslin; pelisse of silk, made without plaits; a small bonnet, to correspond with the pelisse. Dark shoes and gloves.This last group is gorgeous. The white satin has a lovely neckline and the India silk looks grey. [grey is in this year 2007 I hear.] Those bows on the second dress are adorable, not so good for sitting down maybe? And that silk pellisse is gorgeous. You can't see much of the gown, but that is a walking outfit because of the length.
That is it for me, tonight.
Here's wishing you all Happy Rambles and for those that celebrate, Happy Easter.

April Flora and Fauna in Regency England

As is my wont at the beginning of each month, I like to give a sense of what is happening both with the natural sights one might see in Regency England, and a little bit about the weather.






At the beginning of April, the birch and the weeping willow are the first to come out in leaf. Then we get to some of the fruits like plum, apricot and peach. The most magnificent trees, for example the oak and the lime come out towards the end of the month.


In the gardens, it is a time for flowers, and a couple of notable ones are lilly of the valley with its glorious scent. Did you know, however, that the leaves and flowers contain cardiac glycosides that have been used in medicine for centuries. In overdose, preparations can be poisonous; pets and children can be harmed by eating this plant.


Another favorite of mine is heart’s ease, particularly right now. Why is it such a favorite? Well, Heart’s Ease is the working title of the book currently under consideration of my publisher. It seems like a fortuitous coincidence that the editor has the book in the month that this flower comes out in England. As you probably already know, this is the origin of today's pansy. In Regency days it was more of a wildflower.






On the weather front, April is often wet. The mad march winds are over, but still there is lots of spring rain to contend with. A couple of notable Aprils were in 1809 when the Thames flooded its banks, something specifically noted at Windsor on the 26th of April. This picture is of the Datchet Ferry across the Thames at Windsor and while it is not flooding in this picture, it is easy to imagine the River Thames overflowing its banks. What I liked about this picture is the idea of them using the ferry to get from one bank to the other during the Regency. It definately provokes some ideas.


April 1812 was noted as being unusually cold. That year was recorded at the coldest Spring since 1799 and not as cold again until 1837.

As usual in England, the weather is always of great interest. Until next time, happy rambles.

More Paris after Waterloo

Because I wanted the British Embassy to appear in my novel, I had to do some research. I looked at the website, but also made contact with one of the secretaries there, Diane who was exceedingly helpful and mailed me a beautiful book showing the house.

Ambassadors to France since 1814
The Duke of Wellington 1814-1815
Sir Charles Stuart 1815-1824

The British ambassador's Residence in the rue du Faubourg St Honoré was bought by Duke of Wellington bought the building on behalf of George III in 1814. In 1803 the widow of the 5th Duke of Charost (guillotined) sold it to the beautiful Pauline Leclerc, Napoleon Bonaparte's favourite sister, then aged 22.



This Embassy is bang smack in the middle of Paris and just look at that garden. This is the opposite to those picture from Wednesday. This was French nobility — and of both kinds. The aristocracy and the revolutionary.

What was going on in Paris at the time?

I talked a bit about the army of occupation, but this was also a time of regrouping. I think one of the figures who fascinated me most was Talleyrand



Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord was a unique individual. Possessed of extreme self-confidence that some called arrogance, he became one of the most important diplomats in Europe during the late 18th and early 19th century. He was a Bishop who gave up the Church in favor of the Revolution. Talleyrand, through skill, cunning and plain luck, managed to survive the reign of Louis XVI, the revolution and reign of
terror, the Directory, the rule of Napoleon, and the reigns of both Louis XVIII and Louis Philippe. He was incredibly skilled on France's behalf at the Congress of Vienna.

Even though Napoleon was gone, banished to St Helena, the French people still took opposite political sides calling themselves Bonapartists and Royalists. One example of this was a fight over a play called Germanicus in 1817 written by ex Bonapartist. Half-pay Bonapartist officers, and royalist gardes du corps and officers of the Garde Royale seized the opportunity. They identified each other - royalists wore black waistcoats and white ties, Bonapartists white waistcoats and black ties. Both sides carried long sticks weighted with lead at one end and engage in a battle at the theater. Duc de Berri, the King’s nephew, Richelieu, Decazes and Wellington were present at the melee. Marshal Victor, Duc de Bellune took command his soldiers from his box, and restored order.

The next day gardes du corps and officers of Garde Royale, with large white ribbons in their button holes and half-pay Napoleonic officers wearing bunches of violets and the cross of the Legion d’Honneur in theirs, walked round the Tuileries garden and the Palais Royal exchanging threats and insults in some cases snatching each other’s flowers or issuing challenges to duels. After that, guns and sticks were banned from the theatre.

I looked for some pictures that might be of interest for this last tidbit, to no avail. But I hope you enjoyed the story.

Happy Rambles.

Paris in the Spring after Waterloo

For my novel "No Regrets" I did a considerable amount of research on Paris after 1815---right after the battle of Waterloo.

There was a flood of visitors during the brief peace between England and France after the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. Bonaparte was first consul at the time. It was then that English ladies and gentlemen realized that Paris fashions had left them behind. While their waistlines were natural and the men still wore the frock coats of the previous century, the ladies of Paris were wearing diaphanous high-waisted gowns and the men were in tight fitting pantaloons and high cut coats. The Parisiennes of the time definately looked down on them. The English rushed to catch up.
The English had also flocked to Paris when Napoleon was locked up on Elba. Wellington was appointed as Ambassador and his wife joined him. He did not prove a particularly popular Abassador with the French, his manners apparently were far too informal and brusque. It all came to a crashing halt when Bonaparte escaped for what proved to be one hundred days.

After Waterloo, June 1815, Paris was put under an army of occupation headed by Wellington. The city was as Bonaparte had left it and the Bourbonnes had returned. This is when my characters visit.

The mood is bitter. Everywhere there are soldiers in foreign uniforms, cossaks in brown baggy trousers, Austrians in embroidered white, and the British in red. One book describes the resentment of the populace. French soldiers fighting in the streets with allied troops over women or attempts of French soldiers to tear off allied soldiers victory medals and sprigs of oak leaves. They constantly challenged their occupying officers to duels.
‘A look of blasted glory, of withered pride and lurking revenge’ could be seen on the faces of French soldiers in Paris -Auguest de Staël.

Paris didn't look the way it does today, although it was the second largest city in the world after London. I'm guessing that it certainly didn't look any better than it does in this 1840 picture of the Notre Dame and the Seine. Unlike London, Paris had no street lights apart from the occasional lantern strung across the road. Off the main streets the alleys were twisty, narrow, dark and dangerous, and ran with ordure. That is waste of all descriptions, night slops horsemanure etc. The Palais Royal, however, standing in the midst of all this, was described as an island of light. It was lit with hundreds of lanterns. I imagine them to be like fairy lights today. There were elegant shops with an amazing array of goods from all over the Continent that the English had not seen for a long time, as well as restaurants for the well-to-do tourist and of course cafe's everywhere. The English at this time sent a great many artifacts home. The French were only too happy to sell them, because they were broke.

Apparently prostitutes lived in the attics of the Palais. It was in fact the center of all things Parisienne. The Englishman’s Mentor a guide book said they would take you to a room in the attics or a cellar or cabinet noir where there were scenes such as no Englishman can conceive of frightful and unimaginable sensuality. Hmm. Sounds like a good spot for a villain. bwahhaaa.
Licenced brothels called were called maisons de tolèrance and unlicenced ones were known as maisons clandestine. Prostitutes were required once a month to the Dispensiare de Salubrité in the Rue Croix des Petit Champs to get checked out for venereal desease. Paris and the French were a lot more liberal and much more organized than the English in that regard.

One of the most fashionable places to visit was Tortoni’s on the Boulevard des Italiens founded by a Neapolitan brought to France by Napoleon to provide Paris with good ices. Needless to say, this is one place my couple just had to visit. I can't help it, I love ice cream. According to a writer of the day Tortoni's were excellent. With his ice cream the patron received iced water in a neat carafe lined with a shell of ice. Sounds like something we could enjoy today.

This next view is of the Tuileries exactly how it looked when the English went to Paris to make their bows to the restored King and Queen. Apparently they really never did get the hang of just how it was done.

Of course I have 16 pages of notes on this stuff, and will provide some more later in the week, you'll get a little bit of politics, some characters of the day and a visit to the British Embassy, always a good location for a hero to visit, especially when you can be sure it was there at the time.
If you are interest in my source, the principle one I used was "Paris Between the Empires" – Phillip Mansell
Until next time, happy rambles in Paris in the Spring, or whereever you happen to be.

Regency Underwear Continued

Okay so perhaps the lady in pink was a bit hot for a Regency Blog, but I thought I would have a bit of fun.

I am going to finish this post about underwear, because while it is not glamorous, it is interesting to me.

Our dolly bird has got as far as her petticoat, but what next.

Stockings
This is an example of stockings and their garters. Garters tied around the leg, no elastic remember, but some, like these did have metal springs. These could be worn above the knee, but most were worn below. Here is a selection of stockings All the detail and embroidery is close to the foot or at the ankle, because that is all that anyone saw -- apart from one's husband that is.




Chemisette
This would be worn beneath a gown to cover shoulders and neck during the day. I am providing a drawing, and then a picture of one which seems to me must have been designed for evening wear. I just love this red gown. It calls to me every time I flip through my pictures.








Now, I have a choice of what to do next, so I thought I would ask you. Pictures of my short trip to Portugal?
or some stuff on Paris?
or food?
Until next time, Happy Rambles.

Underwear, or just what did they wear under there?

So what did they wear under those gowns. They certainly didn’t wear knickers, as I called them when I was young, or underoos or panties, at least not in the Regency. Nor did they wear bras invented way later, or corsets, picture the young ladies being cinched into their whalebone by a maid a la Scarlett O’Hara. That was definitely Victorian.

Okay, now we now what they didn’t wear. How helpful is that?

Patience child. I am getting there. Oh I do love to blog, one has so much power.

Those gowns were very flimsy, but they do seem to have hidden an extra ordinary amount of “stuff” under there.

First and foremost came the Chemise. I always thought of this as a modern day equivalent of a petticoat or slip. But not quite. The Chemise, a cotton or linen garment worn next to the skin was primarily there to protect the outer clothes from sweat. Remember, no dry cleaning in those days. So whereas the muslins and brocades were hard to wash, the chemise could be bashed around in lye soap by the washerwoman with little ill effect.


As you can see from these examples, they have short sleeves, and those for ballgowns had no sleeves, The chemise in this era did not show. They came mid thigh or just below the knee, and sometimes had a bit of lace trim or embroidered initials. They were loose and boxy with a draw string neck. The second picture is from the 1820's and you can start to see gathering at the neck as we move toward Victoriana.

Stays came next. A vital piece of underpinning, pun intended. And I do mean over the top of the shift for cleanliness. Without stays, a woman would look flat-chested, or worse flop-chested, in those under the bust gowns that had little in the way of tailoring, despite all the frills and lace.
Most stays were laced at the back, by tapes, through holes in the fabric. Get metal eyelets out of your mind. And this was the reason they were not particularly tight. They did have some boning, and there were even the lift and separate kind, with a central busk to emphasize cleavage. But definitely no pulling tight or the fabric would tear. To my Regency writerly delight, there were also stays that fastened in front. We need these, either for our girl to get out of them, or for our handsome rake to get into them. All my heroines have a partiality for front closing stays. Independent creatures that they are. I have a picture of one, just not right now. If you want proof, add a comment and I will post next time. This example has a busk down the centre. Not great for bending I should think. Might account for all the straight-back curtseys think you? Also, they were not always as long as this example. their main function was to keep those creamy globes up as high as possible, not to cinch in.


The next layer was the Petticoat. Yes, they wore petticoats as well as chemise or shifts. Remember in the last century robes, or gowns, did not close all the way down the front. These three are 1805, 1815 and 1820 (ish) and they change with the fashion of the day. But note the decorated hem. Petticoats were meant to be seen, along with a flash of well-turned ankle. Those of the Regency are nothing like the stunning creations of the earlier century or the next era, Victorian, but they went under very slender gowns designed to show more the shape of the figure that those other styles.



and the petticoat was a vital piece of outer clothing. this also happened in the Regency. Sometimes the robe would open at the front, I am pretty sure we have seen some examples here, and somtimes the petticoat formed the lacy trim at the ankle, with the gown shorter.

Well darn it, or dash it. I don’t have room for more. But there is more to come. Catch up on what a Regency Lady wore under there on Thursday.

In the meantime Happy Rambles through Victoria’s Secret for your own hidden treasures.

Almack's Regency Ladies' Club

First some exciting news!
http://www.rio-reviewers.com/rae/index.html
RIO - Reviewers International Organization - www.rio-reviewers.com or www.book-reviewers.com

Nominees for DEBUT BOOKS
Pistols at Dawn - Michele Young
click the link to see all of the other great nominees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I thought after showing all of those wonderful gowns -- and don't forget to go to my website to see the rest of the gowns for March -- we might talk a little bit about the places ladies would go to wear them.

And first up is the hallowed halls of Almack's.

This is a picture of the building as it was at the time. Alas it has been replaced by an office building. But it has a plaque! Anyway, it was considered to be unpretencious. It was located on King Street and opened in 1765. Almack's wasn't only a ladies club, but during the Regency, its fame was mostly related to its exclusivity and of course it was a major spot for those on the marriage mart to see and be seen.
From the first, Almack's Assembly Rooms were governed by a select committee of the most influential and exclusive ladies of the ton, known as the Lady Patronesses of Almacks.
At different periods in the club's long history, there were six or seven of them. In 1814, they were reputedly:
* Lady Castlereagh
* Lady Jersey
* Lady Cowper (later married Lord Palmerston)
* Lady Sefton
* Mrs. Drummond Burrel (whose husband, a notable dandy, became Baron Gwydyr after 1816)
* Countess de Lieven (wife of the Russian ambassador)
* Princess Esterhazy (wife of the Austrian ambassador)
But there is lots of dispute about exactly who was a patroness and in what year.

Apparently it was after 1816 when Lady Jersey came into her own and things got much more strict, but it was interesting exactly what kind of thing could give offense. For example, Lady Caroline Lamb was barred from Almack's. This was not due to her making a spectacle of herself about Byron or even the suspicion of a suicide attempt in public. No, her crime was including the leaders of society in her novel Glenarven in unflattering guise.

Over the years a great many legends about Almack's have become treated as fact, some of them misinterpretations, such as stale bread and cake, because the sandwiches were cut thin day old (not stale bread) was used and dry cake, which simply meant cake without icing (frosting to North Americans).

Men were supposed to have dueled the patronesses husband's when their wives were excluded, though there is no actual record of that having occurred.

A rare picture I obtained is a floor plan of the inside of Almack's



Like many hallowed institutions, they start off as leaders and turn stuffy. Almack's was considered old-fashioned by many. Both the quadrille and the waltz were not danced at Almack's until long after they were accepted dances everwhere else. But woe betide if you didn't get a voucher. A voucher was issued by one of the lady patronesses. This was then taken to the owner of Almack's who would issue tickets to the balls. These tickets had to be bought. Balls were held on Wednesdays. There were also cards available for gentlemen, but no alcohol, very unusual for such a hard drinking era.

This last picture is said to be of the first time the quadrille was danced at Almack's and pictured are The marquis of Worcester, Lady Jersey, Claronald Macdonald and Lady Worcester.




I hope you enjoyed this brief ramble amongst the ton. There is so much more to talk about, and so little time. Spring is just around the corner.
Happy Rambles.

Regency Fashion March

Well I only managed one post last week, blame it on jet lag. Hopefully things are back to normal and I can get back on my normal schedule. There is just so much I want to do. Fashions and houses and update my website. I am working on a newsletter and I also want to add more links to this blog. When I changed to the new format I lost some of my neat links and I really want to put them back. But... I am just finishing up my next novel. I have done a huge edit on the manuscript and am about to enter them in the computer. I tell you, when I get writing, I just cannot drag my self away.

But 'ere we go (as the earwig said as he went over the cliff)~~Fashions

As it turns it turns out I have oodles of fashions for March.
Here we have 1804
March 1804 Fashions reprinted from the 1804 Lady’s Monthly Museum.

1. The dress to the left is described in the Ladies Monthly Museum as "A short round Dress of White Muslin, with a Pelisse of Purple Velvet. A straw hat, ornamented with a Pink Wreath. Feathers to match the Pelisse. Bear Muff. Purple shoes."
As you can see, the hem is much shorter for this walking dress than those called full dress, to the right, which would have been worn at home, rather than dragging around the filthy streets. And look at the size of that Muff. I have a pair of purple shoes.

2. A Cap of French Velvet and lace Ornaments, with Roses in front. A Dress of Plain or sprigged Muslin. Sleeves trimmed with lace. Fashionable shawl. Buff Gloves. Fan.
I always loved it when Georgette Heyer talked about "sprigged muslin". It sounds so romantic.In this picture of course they show the plain muslin.
3. A Mameluke Turban of White Satin; White Ostrich Feather, with Gold Ornaments. A Tunick of Pink crape, trimmed with white Lace, and White Tassels. White Muslin petticoat. Pink shoes.
Don't you wonder who wrote this stuff? Look at the crazy spelling of tunic. Or is it us?

I found this from The Ladies Monthly Museum 1807 quite intriguing. It really is all about the hats!
Fig. 1. Mantle of fawn coloured Kersimere, trimmed with white velvet; Bonnet of Velvet, ornamented with black.
Fig. 2. Pelisse of puce coloured Silk, trimmed round the neck and down the front with white lace; Bonnet same colour as Pelisse.
Fig. 3. Dress of fine Muslin; Sleeves of white Sattin; Sash tied in front; Cap of white Sattin, with small Feathers.
Fig. 4. Train of pink Silk; Lace let in the back; full top Sleeves of white Crape; Turban of pink and white Crape , with Ostrich Feathers.
Fig. 5. Robe of Primrose Crape, trimmed down the front and round the breast with white Lace; Sleeves striped alternately with sarsnet and lace; white sarsnet Petticoat; Kid Gloves.



Moving on to 1809, this dress is from Ackerman's Repository.
The collar is very high. Here is how they described it in the magazine. ". A Polish cap, and pelisse of silver grey cloth, trimmed with gold or silver, buttoned down the front with small round buttons, a high collar, with a lace ruff; boots of same colour as the pelisse, and both embroidered with gold or silver. York tan gloves.
This dress was transmitted to a lady of high rank from Warsaw, and would alone evince the taste and elegance of the ladies of that country, were they not already sufficiently known." They often used York tan gloves, and they always color them yellow in the pictures.



1815 Elegance Again from Ackerman's
"Pelisse of short walking length, made of evening-primrose coloured velvet, ornamented down the front with satin trimming; round capes, trimmed to correspond; full lace ruff. A French bonnet, composed of white velvet and satin in reverse plaitings, trimmed round the edge with a quilting of lace; full plume of ostrich feathers in the front. Half-boots of tan-coloured kid. Gloves, Limerick or York tan."
When I read evening primrose, I expected yellow. I really must take a look and see just what an evening primrose is!

Our last picture is from 1818, and if you look across the fourteen years you get a good impression of the evolution of fashion.

Note the bell-like hem and the heavy trim around the skirt of the gown. And what about those stripes. They remind me of the deckchairs we used to rent on Brighton Beach as children. Isn't he a cute little dog?

Well, that is March. I have put up a few more on my website for you to take a peak.
Happy Rambles, see you on Thursday!

Regency Flora and Fauna - March

On a Personal Note:
Well, it was a sad occasion but we visited with family and offered each other comfort. There is certainly a big hole in our hearts for my mother-in-law was a wonderful lady, always smiling, always on top of the world. She didn’t want any miserable sods at her funeral, or anyone in black, so we wore our spring blues and greens and pinks and we sang All Things Bright and Beautiful in a tiny 18th century church in the Welsh hills. The sun shone and I think Kit, aka Grannie, would have approved.

Our trip crossed two months, but given the mild winter experienced in England and given everyone’s comments, “things” were early by perhaps a week or so. We were in Wales and as you might have guessed from the picture above. Yes, it was St. David’s day while we were there. Apparently the costume pictured here came into being in the 18th century with a revival of nationalistic feeling. We passed a schoolyard and all the little girls were dressed in their national dress with a daffodil pinned to their shawls and all the boys had leeks pinned to their sweaters.
Do you like this Welsh dragon? I do. And I love the way the Welsh speak English. It is very musical. Of course the Welsh are a very musical people. If you ever have a chance to listen to a Welsh male choir grab it.


Everywhere we went in England and Wales daffodils bloome, crocus and primroses grew on the banks of the highways, nodding in the breeze like sleepy children. In No Regrets, my heroine picks a primrose bouquet.


The hedgerows and trees were bare of leaves, but the white blooms of the blackthorns were a beautiful contrast and the gorse was covered in yellow flowers.












Spring was truly in the air, especially for the rooks who were clearly visible rebuilding their nests in just about every stand of trees. Do you remember a few blogs ago when I promised you a picture of a rookery? Well I found one. Here is the picture I took just off the M4. This is a small rookery, sometimes there are as many as a dozen or more nests, but I think you can get the idea. Those big black birds are the rooks!!!!





The fields were very green, and of course we had a fair bit of rain, but the weather was decidedly balmy, with patches of blue sky and wind-whipped clouds. I noticed that the bluebells were already sending up shoots. I love bluebells. But more about them later. The next pictures are views of the Vale of Neath from the top of a very high hill. I think it gives a great sense of the countryside, the weather and the green of the fields.




It’s good to be back. I think next we will do March fashions.

Happy Rambles.

February News

The fashion post will remain up for a week or so and I may try to post the odd tidbit while I am away. I have just lost a very close family member, and while I hate not to post, I will be flying to England in the next day or so, and have many arrangments to make. My mother-in-law aka Grannie, will be greatly missed by all of those whose lives she touched. She was a great supporter of mine, and I am truly grateful that she was able to read my first book. She was wonderful to our children, she came every summer to be with them, and she made many friends here. She had a good life, a happy life and brought sunlight into everyone's hearts.
I apologise to my regular readers, but you are all such wonderful people I know will will forgive me and you will return in a week or so, when I promise you many more Regency Rambles.
Best wishes
Michele Ann Young

More Regency Fashions for February

I blogged at American Title II today, so drop by and read a little of my writing philosophy. Because I blogged there, I am only going to give you a couple of fashions here today. I am just finishing my next novel and so I am a little pushed for time, but I will get the rest of them up on my website in the next day or so. I promise.

Exciting News
Oh oh, must tell. A bit of gossip. My youngest daughter is visiting family in England, not to mention a quick trip to Paris, and while in Harrods on Saturday she and her cousin were invited to be part of the launch for Kylie's new perfume, Darling. Here is one of the pictures. We're famous. Who'da thunk it!

Fiona, my daughter is in white. On the other side of Kylie, in checks, is Maria. If you would like either of the girls autographs drop me a line (joking). Can't do anything about Kylie I am afraid. lol.


OK. Enough about the family. Here are the fashions I thought you might like to take a look at.

These are the descriptions exactly as they appeared in the La Belle Assemblee

No. 1.—A New Spenser Walking Dress.

Incognita hat of French grey, or pigeon’s wing, formed of sarsnet, velvet, or the Georgiana cloth. Tassels and trimming of chenille, velvet, or Trafalgar, contrasted agreeably to the taste of the wearer. A Tuscan spenser, the same colour, formed with a round lappel, continued from the back and round the bosom on one side, with a full flowing robin on the other; descending a little below the knee, and terminated with a rich tassel. A chemisette, with high standing collar, fastened with a brooch at the throat, the whole trimmed to correspond with the hat. The hair in loose curls; gold hoop earrings; York tan gloves; and shoes the same colour of the spenser. The hat, as worn by Miss Duncan, is of pink sarsnet, trimmed with black, but the colour is necessarily changed by those fair fashionables who have selected it for a walking dress, to shades of less conspicuous attraction, amidst which the most esteemed are those mentioned in the above description.

No. 2—Full Dress.

A Roxborough jacket of soft white satin, flowing open in front, and down each side of the figure, in regular pointed drapery. A plain full sleeve, and short jacket flaps; black and gold Turkish ribband down the back; trimming and tassels of gold. A round train dress of the finest India muslin over a satin petticoat, embroidered round the bottom, in a light pattern of gold. The hair twisted in a fanciful form, and short corkscrew curls flowing at the temples, and in various directions from the crown of the head; a tiara of fine pearl blended with the hair, and placed rather towards the left side. One row of fine pearls forms the necklace, which is fastened in front with a diamond brooch. An armlet of hair, in a new patent plait, with a row of the finest pearl on each side; bracelets to correspond. Earrings of pearl, with a diamond in the centre. White satin shoes, with gold trimming. Fan of Italian grape, with gold spangles, and devices in transparencies. French kid gloves.




Now let us move to a little later in the Regency. 1818 to be precise. The difference in style is quite marked, the earlier gowns still showing the classical soft draped lines, while these below have the stiffer belled skirts and the heavy decoration at the hem.





This is a purple velvet pelise from 1812.
It is so pretty and soft and feminine looking. I'm not exactly sure how warm it would be.





Well, that's all from me for today. See you on Thursday. Fiona will be back home tomorrow, so we will here all about her venture into the pop world.
In the meantime Happy Rambles.

Regency Fashion for February

Brrr. It's cold. Brass monkey weather, as my old mum likes to say. And if you don't know what it means~~ I'm not telling. But the minus 10 or so here in Toronto would never be replicated in England. Which is why the fashions are so delicate. One of these days I really must try to find Russian fashions from the same period. It would be interesting to compare.

I thought I was being pretty brilliant with this monthly fashion thing. Then today driving to work I thought - Oh but. If the fashions advertized in February are like today's fashion meant for the next season, have I made a bloomer? A fashion faux pas. (Holy corset batman.)
Guess what. I don't plan to figure it out. If it came out in La Belle Assemblee in February, then its gonna be here in February.

February 1811
1. EVENING dress. -- Shirt, of apple-blossom silk, buttoned down the front, and trimmed round the bottom; sleeves and bosom with lace. Head-dress of the same materials. White gloves and shoes, with an Indian shawl either colored or white.

2. Morning dress. -- Shirt of muslin, high to the neck, and a robe front, forming part of the dress, fastened at the waist -- worked at all the edges and round the bottom. Bonnet of satin, with a feather.

Don't you love the ways that sounds "apple-blossom silk"?



DANCING DRESS.
February 1809
The head ornamented with bandeaus of frosted gold; gold necklace, ear-rings, and armlets; white satin opera dress, trimmed all round with gold, tied in front with a gold cord and tassel; white satin shoes, trimmed with gold, and gold button in front; white gloves, and fan edged with gold.

This is so pretty. It makes you want to dance just looking at her. There's a bit of Isadora Duncan there, don't you think?



February 1800

MORNING DRESS. First Figure. Cambrick muslin dress drawn close around the neck; shawl cloak; round bonnet of willow or chip, generally slate colour or brown, with feather.

Second Figure. Dress of the same as First Figure of coloured cambrick muslin; bonnet of green velvet, with white muslin handkerchief round the brim, tied behind in a bow, the ends hanging down the back.

These are much mor on the practical side, and a bit 18th century, as if this designer hadn't quite caught up with the classical style.

I have a few more pictures and descriptions for February. So I will post some more here on Monday and some more on the website over the weekend. Actually, I have decided to organize my pictures in the same way I am running the pictures here. I will put them in month by month folders. I do have some that do not indicate a month, so I am going to double file them by year. I do like to organize and index things. Must be the historian in me.

Have a wonderful weekend. See you Monday.
Until then ~~~ as always ~~~ Happy Rambles

February Flora and Fauna and general tittle tattle

Feb.6 1811: His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales (Prinny) was sworn into office of Regent. This is actually the day that the official period known at The Regency began. I suppose all of us Regency lovers should celebrate this day, but somehow, while we love the era, the man himself is not quite so popular. I sometimes feel a bit sorry for him. But I haven't found many sympathetic to the man.

Tittle tattle is Regency speak for gossip.

February seems to be much like January, although one sees snowdrops appear later in the month, which is a lovely early sign of spring..

The Naturalist Diary has this to say:
“This month frequently presents a most wintry appearance; the ground is covered with snow; all Nature is wrapped in a robe of dazzling whiteness; and the ‘bitter-biting cold’ showers of sleet, and sudden gusts of wind, drive us to our homes for shelter,
against the inclemency of the season. The sudden thaws, also, which take place in

February, --the return of frost and snow—and the change again to rain and sleet, render this month particularly unfavorable to the pedestrian and the lover of out-of-door exercise and amusements.”

Hmm. Sounds pretty grim to me. I think I will move on to something more pleasant.

Timelines. What was happening in those long ago February months that might be of interest.

Well of course there is Lent. England being a protestant country, did not have the madis gras of the Catholic countries, or Carnival as we know them today in such places as Trinidad and Brazil. The day I most remember is the day before Lent. Shrove Tuesday. Pancake day we always called it. Did they celebrate Pancake Day in the Regency?

Yes they did, since it is the day before Lent on which all fats must be used up, and that was a church requirement stemming long before the 1800’s

But did you know that Shrove Tuesday used to be a great day for cock-fighting in England? I didn’t. Apparently so. Here are a couple of pictures. Can you believe that the one pictured indoors was to celebrate a betrothal? Now I am not condoning this sport. It is history. Our ancestors did it and enjoyed it, whether we like it or not.









Shrove Tuesday was also the day that a church bell, called the the ‘Shriving Bell’would have been rung signalling the start of Lent and to call people to church to confess their sins. The church bell was rung at eleven o’clock in the morning, as a reminder to housewives to prepare their pancake batter and so the bell became known as the ‘Pancake Bell. Of course in those days many ordinary people did not own watches or clocks and so the church bell was a way of keeping track of important times.

I should also mention, that pancakes in England are more like what North Americans call crepes. They are eaten with lemon squeezed on them then sprinkled with sugar and rolled up.

February 1, 1804 the Concert of Ancient Music was held at King's Theatre, Haymarket. (A composer had to have been dead twenty five years before his works were played.)


Feb.23 1811: A decree by Bonaparte ordered prisoners of war to be employed as laborers. Not very well thought of by the British as you can imagine.

Feb.26 1811: John Liles sentenced to seven years transportation, for bigamy. An interesting commentary on the British justice system I think.

February 1817, Princess Charlotte is expecting a child. The British populace is wildly elated. Poor Princess Charlotte was bled frequently to keep her calm. Can you imagine? Thank goodness they don’t do that any more. I do feel for the poor princess, who was thought to be rather spoiled. Who knows what Britain would have been like had she lived. Just think, no Queen Victoria. Now there is an interesting thought!

Happy Rambles

More Regency Shopping

As you may have noticed, my blog changed colors and some of my links went on their own little ramble. I will get it all back together, but I hope you will be patient while I figure out new blogger.

Bookshops
I love books. I can't pass a bookstore without looking in. Hatchards is a very special bookshop in London. Opened in 1797 by John Hatchard at No. 173 Piccadilly it still exists at No. 187. I have posted a picture of Piccadilly as it was then looking down Air Street, and a picture I took of Hatchard's myself two summers ago.









In Regency times, bookshops were social places not only to browse the shelves, but to read newspapers by the fire and chat to friends. Byron is known to have popped into Hatchard's from time to time and most of my heroines always visit at least once in my stories. There were benches outside for the customers' servants. They were booksellers to Queen Charlotte and still hold the Royal Warrant.

This is a bookshop called the Temple of the Muses at Finsbury Square. By the Regency it was owned by Jones and Company. It is just such a beautiful interior. And I think it demonstrates the social nature of bookshops. Isn't it interesting that places like Chapters here in Canada and I believe others in the U.S. have added coffee shops to their bookstores and places to sit. What goes around comes around. Not everything in the old days was bad.

Did you know that they had libraries in the Regency? They were quite the thing and very popular. One of the most well known is Hookham's Lending or Circulating Library on Old Bond Street. Sadly I have been unable to locate a picture for you. I think you can imagine it much like the interior above, perhaps without the upstairs.
These are only a sample of the bookshops and booksellers of the time, but they serve to illustrate what they would have looked like.

Since we are talking about books today, I did want to remind you about The Regency Reader, a monthy newsletter from The Beaumonde which lists all of the Regency books out each month and adds a couple of articles for interest. I would love to see you on the list because I am editing the newsletter this year. You can subscribe by following the link. Or sending an email to TheRegencyReader-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Next week is the beginning of February, so we will do our usual beginning of the month features - Regency flora and fauna for February, and then February fashions, which will also be featured on my website. If you want to see more of January there, be quick, because a new page will go up.

In the meantime, happy rambles.

Regency London - Shopping

I watched Jayne Ayre on PBS tonight, after I watched Rome. I feel like a glutton, but I deserved it. I worked hard on revisions for my editor for the last two days, and I needed to be drawn into another world. Both of these programs certainly did that for me, but of course Rome is a series so I will be watching it for weeks. Polo (not sure how you spell it) but Verinas’s friend, talks just like our friend Derek the winemaker, looks a bit like him too. I really like his character. At the moment, I am not too drawn to any of the women, though they are fascinating, they are not very likeable. Interesting thought that.

Anyway, I was trying to think where to go next with the blog. We will have our regular features at the beginning of the month. But since London and its ton are the center of most Regencies. I thought we might focus the great Wen for a while although next novel features London very little. However, the great metropolis is and was the center of commerce and politics in Britain, to be ignored at your peril.

But where to start?

Gentlemen’s club’s we did. So what do you want? Where would any good English lady of the aristocracy start. I know!!! Shopping.

The streets of London offered everything you can think of , but a list would be dull and dry so I will try to provide some pictures of a selection of them. There were also street vendors, so you will get to see some of them, and then of course the great markets, Billingsgate, Covent Garden, Smithfield. Lots to see. Put on your walking shoes.

This is what the insider of a drapers shop might look like. At Harding and Howell in Pall Mall pictured here they stocked furs, fans, silks, muslins, lace, gloves etc, jewelry, ormolu, perfumery and millinery and dresses, the latter would most likely have been made to order from those fashion plates that we look at each month.

Rundell and Bridge on Ludgate Hill were silversmiths, by order of his Majesty the King and also to the Prince Regent. Here you would stock up with candelabra and trays and teaservices and of course those beautiful snuff boxes we always here about. It sounds so elegant in novels, but in real life I think snuff is kind of nasty. I can remember the odd old gentleman taking snuff in my youth, but I haven’t see it for years. Below is a very elegant silver snuff box.

And what could be better than a visit to a tea shop after hours of choosing your latest outfits or setting your table in style.

And the place to go was Gunter’s Teashop in Berkely Square. Gunter's was a confectioners, centered on the East side of Berkeley Square. It became one of the most fashionable Mayfair rendezvous because it so well catered to the custom of a gentleman taking a lady for a drive in his open carriage.

The ton flocked to Gunter's to enjoy his ices and sorbets. Yes, that is right ice cream. I even learned of a famous icecream maker in Paris, a Neapolitan whom Napoleon brought to France.

The practice of eating the confections outside in the Square developed and waiters were obliged to dodge across the road taking and carrying their orders. Gunter's Tea Shop was the only establishment where a lady could be seen eating alone with a gentleman who was not a relative without harming her reputation. The ladies would remain seated in the carriages in the shade of the Maples. Their gentlemen escorts would step down from their equipages and come round to the passenger side of the curricle or barouche and lean against the Square's railings sharing the lady's company and the treat.

A medley of superb Georgian ices on an eighteenth century English glass salver. Front - from left to right - bergamot water ice and punch water ice. Back - left to right - royal cream ice, chocolate cream ice, burnt filbert cream ice and parmesan cream ice. It all sounds delicious and I even have detailed instructions on how to make them.

Well, we have only just started on our tour of London shops, but that is quite enough for one trip. More later in the week.

Happy rambles.

An Intriguing Manor House in Kent

Whenever I travel to England, we always go to Kent. It is where I met my husband and where he grew up. Strangely enough, my father was born in Kent, at Dover, so it was almost like coming home, when my family returned to that county after many years of traveling throughout England.
The last time I was there, I discovers Ightham (pronounced eyetam) Mote. The above pictures are from the National Trust Website. As you can see the house is surrounded by water, in fact a moat just like a castle. This was common in medieval times, when fierce knights and outlaws roamed the land. the house is located in the picturesque village of Ightam near Sevenoaks. You get to it down a narrow (one car wide) winding country lane overhanging with trees. It feels like time travel into the past.
To our dismay, the day we went it was closed, but we were able to wander around outside. I was so taken with the house I could not help taking photos and learning a bit of it's history. It will definitely make an appearance in a novel. It is soooo romantic. I will make sure to go back another day and you will get many more pictures. I adore this house.

This is my shot of the bridge to the front door. The green on the water is a pretty water weed, not scum. :) Look at the crenelated tower, just right for firing arrows at the bad guys. Of course, who knows, the bad guy might be inside with the poor benighted heroine. You can make up your own story.

The builder of Ightham Mote is apparently unknown, but the first known owner was Sir Thomas Cawne (c1360 -1374). See that? 700 years old. My spine is tingling. And people lived in it during the Regency. Oh my fingers are twitching with a story to fit this gorgous house. This house will be a character all by itself.

It is the most complete small medieval manor house in the country.

I am not going to say too much about it in this post, but I hope I can share some of my excitement, and I will have more information on it after my next visit.
But look at this! Can you guess what it is? Of course we historical writers are always having our handsome heros leap aboard their horses, but not everyone could leap and certainly not our heroines in long skirts.
It is of course an ancient mounting block. Er.... I think. I could not get through the fence to read the information on that board there.
So it could be the steps to a door. But I really want it to be a mounting block.
I will let you know, after my next visit.
You can see some of the gardens in the background and the high hedges and the wonderful stone wall that is so typical of houses in England, even today people put walls around their gardens. An Englishman's home is definitely his castle.
This is the back of the house. Look at those Tudor chimneys. Have you ever seen such a broad chimney. I am just rubbing my hands together thinking about getting inside that place.
And what about those timbered walls. By the way, we were there in June, look at that lovely blue sky and the puffy clouds.







The next two photos are pictures of the countryside behind the house, fields and woods. Again, it looks as if it might have appeared all through those seven hundred centuries. The farming methods would have been different, but the shape of the land and the feel of it has not changed one bit.


















I hoped you enjoyed this little ramble. I promise there is more to come. Next week, I am going to start a series on something I mentioned earlier this week -- the Theatre.

Regency Entertainment

What did those Regency folk do for entertainment. There was no TV. Music played a big part in people's lives then as it does now, but there were no cd's or radios or ipods. They had to make their own music. They would use everything from a tin whistle to full scale orchestras and of course their own voices.

In my forthcoming book "No Regrets" my hero and heroine attend a musicale evening at a Parisian drawing room. While they have a professional opera singer, the guests are also expected to entertain.

Young ladies would often play the pianoforte or the harp.


Reading was an option, often a family would sit together in the drawing room beside the fire and one member would read while the others sewed, or simply listened. Reading was an art, unless one wished to put the listeners to sleep and sneak out for a quick slap and tickle with the eager swain.

Big country houses would be expected to provide all kinds of entertainment, from billiards, shown here, to amateur theatricals, where all the guest would take a part. These were private performances, and considered a little risque, since actors and actresses were considered a little on the low side, definitely not haute monde or ton.





But there is no doubt that the theatre, both in London and the cities around the country, were relied on for entertainment for all walks of life in the Regency. Below is a picture of Drury Lane Theatre. It still exists today. As does Covent Garden. Pantomime and other more vulgar forms of entertainment were also popular.






Card parties were another form of entertainment that took place at home, and not just in those gentlemen's clubs we are always so fond of talking about. All members of society played cards, and not always for high stakes.


But best of all were the balls and parties. Dancing. And the men always danced. Or at least most of them did. Can you imagine a world where nearly all men enjoyed dancing. It sounds like heaven to me.




Until next time, Happy Rambles.

Regency Public Transportation

It seems hard to imagine a world where there are no buses, or trains or planes, doesn’t it? A trip from England to North America could take a very long time on a sail ship. A trip from London to Dover, a scant 50 miles, just over a hundred clicks to you Canadians and Europeans, took all day by carriage. I can recall in my teens popping down to Dover and back from the outskirts of London for a meal of Dover sole.

It also took a good few days to get to Gretna Green in Scotland, in case any of you were thinking of eloping, apparently the roads were very bad. You can read a little about this in my novel "No Regrets" coming out in November.

So the rich people had those gorgeous carriages we looked at on Monday, but what about the regular folk, the farmers and business men, the maids going home to visit their families. Well there were several kinds of vehicles.

The mail coach was one way to get around. They did not take a great many passengers. Their job was to deliver the mail. But they did have room for inside and on top and they were really the fastest mode of public transport because they had set routs, set times for arrival and departure and they did not have to stop at the toll gates, if you remember from Monday.

Mail coaches were painted maroon below and black above with red wheels and undercarriage. The royal arms appear on the door and the royal monogram is on each side below the driver’s box. The stars of the senior orders of chivalry (#159) were painted on the four upper quarters, garter, thistle, bath, and St. Patrick. The mail locker carried the route designation on the back, with the coach number on either side. Mail coaches carried at most seven passengers – four inside, one next to the coachman, and two on a roof bench just behind the coachman. The passengers’ limited luggage was stored in the compartment below the driver. The guard sat at the back (#160) in a single seat lined with bearskin for warmth. It was deliberately fastened to the coach with iron rods that transmit every bump and sway, so no guard would become so comfortable that he fell asleep.

There were also private companies that ran stagecoaches. These were also quite efficient by the Regency, when the roads were in a much better state of repair than they had been in earlier Georgian times. It was collecting money at the tollgates that made this possible. Stage coaches also kept to schedule, though they moved slower than the mail, in part because they had to stop at every tollgate, in part because they were more heavily loaded than a mail coach, in part because they were extremely top-heavy and prone to overturning if they cornered too fast, but mostly because they usually stopped for the night – stages often had financial ties to coaching inns, so only express coaches ran at night. This stagecoach is going up a steep incline, so all the passengers have to get out and walk

However, these were only the main roads. There were still lots of cart-tracks and country lanes with ruts in the hot weather and muddy quagmires deep enough to swallow a carriage in the rainy weather. And once in a while there was snow to contend with. My story, Christmas Masquerade, involves a heroine stuck in the snow. I may have mentioned that before, but you know this blog is about me and I am a writer, so live with it. (that was me been Miss Snark for a sentence.)

Other forms of public transportation were hackney carriages, used only in Town and primarily in London. Of course, you could still call a sedan chair. This would have suited some of the older generation. Can you imagine having to carry people around in a box. Looks a bit too much like a coffin for me.

In the country, there were wagons on which you could buy a seat. Not very comfortable, but not very expensive either. This is a freight waggon in the snow. Look at the little lantern on the side. Great headlights!

Some people who lived on the coast might catch a ship to make their journey to England.

Well, I’ve run out of time, and we have only scratched the surface. But I hope you had fun on our Ramble.

Seen you Monday. I think I will do some timelines as an added bonus, but not sure about my theme. I will think about it on the weekend, unless you have a request. No promises, mind you. It depends what I have access to.

Regency Transportation

Ok, did you guess what the above picture had to do with transportation? When we were in England in the summer we took a drive from Hampshire to the coast. We meandered across country through Dorset and found ourselves in Dorset. Hardy country to be exact, the area around Sturminster also known as the Vale of Blackmoor. It is a beautiful spot and is of course where Thomas Hardy lived and set many of his novels. Interestingly enough, he used different names for all the towns and villages in his novels, but apparently never minded identifying them. Anyway, we found the above building quite by chance and pulled over to take a look.

If you were to look more closely at what the notice board says, it is a list of prices.

Coaches 4 1/2 D

Horse, mule, waggon, wain, frame cart, dray 4D

Droves of oxen, cows, calves per score 10D

Swine per score 5D

Every Ass 1D

It goes on to talk about wheel sizes as "at the soles"

Translation: D refers to pence, 12 in one shilling. Droves would be a herd on the hoof

If you guess that this is a tollgate, you were correct. it is the Horsington Turnpike Gate now on the side of A357. I never imagined them quite like the hexagonal building you see here. And this is how it would look in the Regency. Did you read Georgette Heyer’s novel The Tollgate the hero discovers an unattended gate and stops to man it for a while. He uncovers all kinds of secrets and a future wife. It is a charming book.

As you can see from above a tollgate was a significant structure and everything using the road had to pay a toll according to wheel size for a vehicle or according to the type of animal (if it was on the hoof) in order to pay for the upkeep of the road. It had to be manned day and night, and so the gatekeeper lived in the gate.

Here are some pictures of other tollgates. These are in London. The first is Hyde Park and the Second Tyburn. Look at the Tyburn Tollgate, it is very similar to my picture of the gate from Dorset.

The mail coaches traveled the toll roads free of charge so the post horn call was sounded to alert tollgate keepers to immediately open the gate under the pain of a 40 shilling fine should they fail. Members of the Royal Family, soldiers in uniform, parsons on parish duties, funeral processions and prison carts were also exempt from tolls. Had to be some advantage to being carted off to prison I suppose. I doubt that any prisoner would be willing to pay to open the gate.

Here are some of the vehicles which you will read about in my novels and I have provided some pictures of some of them. As always there is not enough room.

Barouche--a four-wheel fancy carriage with a fold-up hood at the back and with two inside seats facing each other. It was the fancy carriage of the first half of the 19^th century.

Berlin--A big four-wheel carriage with a hood.

Curricle--A two-wheel carriage that was fashionable in the early 1800s. It was pulled by two horses and deemed sporty by the younger set.

Gig--A two-wheel vehicle intended for single-horse driving by an owner.

Landau--Open, fancy carriage with four wheels with a hood at each end and two seats opposite each other. It was popular in the first half of the 19^th century. Two horses pulled the landau.

Phaeton--A light four-wheel carriage with open sides and drawn by one or two horses.

There was also a high perch phaeton, a very dashing vehicle as shown below. Now that is my kind of carriage!!!

Post-chaise — A chaise used with rented horses (see "post"). The postchaise was always yellow and was sometimes referred to as "a yellow bounder." It was controlled by a postillion riding one of the horses.

Well, that is all from me tonight. I hope you enjoy this little peek into Regency travel. Of course we did not talk about public transportation. I will save that for Thursday.
We have a little snow at the moment, but even though the weather may not be the best wherever you are, I still wish you, as always, Happy Rambles.

English Country House - The Vyne

I promised you a house today. I think I have mentioned more than once that my dear old mum lives in Hampshire. I worry about her a lot. She is all by herself. Fortunately, she loves to visit old places with us when we are there and she has lots of good friends nearby. But still I worry.

My mum lives in the heart of one of the most historical parts of England, bordering on Dorset and Wiltshire and near Marlborough Downs. Salisbury and its cathedral is a local shopping center for her, and so is Winchester. Did you know that in the time of William the Conqueror, Winchester was the capital of England. Our kings were crowned there. I will take you to Winchester and Salisbury on another occasion. But as you can see, when I say in my biography that I go home every year to steep myself in the past, you really can’t help it.


Of course, this is not a travelogue. I don’t organize it in any way that you dear reader could follow in my footsteps. I leap from lily pad to rock, landing on whatever takes my fancy. Today I thought we would visit The Vyne and since this house is in Hampshire, we went there with mum. Which is why my introduction.

The house dates back to Tudor times. Little remains of the original Tudor house, it has been updated over the centuries. I love writing that. Updated over the centuries. Imagine. This house was lived in when Henry the VIII, the fat one with all the wives, walked the earth. In fact, his chamberlain, William, first Lord Sandys built the first house.

It passed into the Chute family in 1653, who owned it, renovated it from time to time and then handed it over to the National Trust in 1956.


As usual, I harken back to my reminder, that this house was not built during the Regency, but people of the Regency walked in these rooms, lived their lives in these rooms and in some cases ruined these rooms. Wellington was known to have been a guest of the Chutes in 1817 and after, since he lived nearby.

The Vyne is a charming mishmash of periods. It has a Tudor chapel not seen anywhere outside Royal Palaces. It has a 16th century stained glass window, in all its glory and
it has a fine example of linen fold paneling – paneling carved to look like fabric.

The pictures that are scattered through the blog are things that can be seen today that would have been in situ as my builder husband would say, in the Regency. Please note, that Some of the shots are taken by me – those outside, the inside are culled from the guide book.

I finish with a favorite picture, taken by me in the Spring. Bluebells in a sun-dappled copse that we discovered as we drove around the outskirts of the estate. We saw a deer jumping through wheat on one side of the road and bluebells on the other, with black pheasant running around amongst the flowers.

Enjoy and happy rambles. Next time I think I will take you to an interesting little edifice that I found in Dorchester.