Downton Abbey Revisited March 19, 2015
On Monday, as promised, John and Mary took us on an adventure to an "estate" house, meaning a house that had been the center of an estate in earlier times. We didn't know where this would be - only that it would be outside of London. They had devised this plan after hearing us gush about Downton Abbey, a show which they also enjoy. In fact, since Mary is an artist and John is an art connoisseur and they both are interested in architecture and old things, they were eager to visit this estate house for the first time, too.
It was a typical damp and chilly English day when our hosts picked us up mid-morning. After that, we proceeded to wander through the countryside north of London for a delightful 12 hours! Our first stop was the ancient market town of Hitchin, known in the past as a center for trading in wool and corn. It was a charming town with a central cobblestoned plaza surrounded by old buildings. John and Mary remembered one of them as a meat market run by a persnickety old fellow who was the only employee allowed to cut the ham. It's now an atmospheric coffee cafe, located just across from a Starbucks. Guess which one we chose for our cuppa?
Back on the road, a small detour brought us to Ashwell, an even more charming town, where the residents have worked hard to maintain its pristine old look. John and Mary had once designed and built a cluster of small homes to fit into the town's existing character. We saw them through the car window but didn't stop.
Wimpole was our real destination, a National Trust estate with a mansion, formal gardens, a parish church, and a working farm, surrounded by acres of land. Looking out across the fields, no signs of modern life disturbed the impression that we had entered another time. Over the course of its long history, Wimpole had been owned by various families and was used mostly as a hunting lodge in the late 1800's. It was last owned by Elsie Bambridge, the only surviving child of Rudyard Kipling. With the inheritance from her father's royalties, she and her husband bought the estate in the 1930's after it had been largely abandoned for several years.
The Bambridges worked hard to bring Wimpole back to a semblance of its former grand self. While adding a few modern touches, they had been forced to tear down one wing to better manage the costs. It definitely is smaller than the massive mansion where Downton Abbey is filmed, but it was fun to wander through this elegant home, trying to imagine living there. The library had 10,000 leather bound volumes with a special ladder on wheels to fetch a particular book!
The volunteer guides, retirees like us, were almost as much fun as the home - and very knowledgeable. We learned from them that, even among the downstairs staff, names and titles indicated a class system. For example, Mr. Carson and Mr. Bates are accorded the dignity of Mr. in front of their names, and Mrs. Hughes and Mrs. Patmore go by Mrs., even though they are not married and are not allowed to marry. Next down on the ladder are the folks who are called by just their last name, as Branson was when he was a chauffeur. Further down are the men and women who are called by their first names alone, as are Daisy and Anna and Thomas. I think I've got it. It's a bit complicated (since upstairs, Branson was called affectionately and properly by his first name of Tom.)
Arriving at the horse stables where we bought our tix for Wimpole Estate.
4-poster bed with ornate - but tasteful - adornment
A "plunge bath" which holds 3000 gallons of water! I hope the water gets used more than once.
Gardeners working in the formal garden
Downstairs: everyday life - a mundane, but lovely, sewing machine.
Bells in the basement, rung from upstairs, to call the servants. What a life - for everyone involved!
As dusk was approaching, we left the indulgent life of the past and set off for nearby Cambridge. It's a place that combines the ancient with the modern - buildings and institutions that proudly hold onto centuries-old traditions while vibrant young students give them life.
King's College Chapel, from where the Christmas Eve service is broadcast by BBC (and on public radio in Maine). It had just closed for the day so we couldn't go inside.
Just across from the august Kings College, signs of today.
Punts waiting to be used on the River Cam.
Punting on the river, behind several colleges.
Our day concluded with dinner at the Green Dragon, an 18th century pub outside of Barnet. Despite the photo below, taken earlier in the day, it was dark when we arrived. As we sat down, a warm fire blazed beside us, other diners created a pleasant hum, and beautifully presented meals were brought by a friendly wait person who seemed to know John and Mary. Bruce strayed over to the bar and caught sight of a Shipyards beer on tap! Nice to know that a Portland product is a player in a land where good beer is appreciated.
The Green Dragon gastro pub in Barnet.
This was our last meal with John and Mary, who had been so generous, and, as always, such interesting friends to spend time with. Mary has an intriguing connection to Maine - and, I suppose, to me, quite indirectly. As a child, Mary loved the book Hitty, a story about a wooden doll owned by a ship captain's daughter. The story tells of Hitty's adventures after she was lost at sea, going from one new owner to another around the world. Rachel Field wrote the story - and was a friend of my father's family (the Carpenters)! Maybe John and Mary will make a visit to the land of Hitty's birth.
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