Old houses

How many shades of green are there? When we thought about it on our drive into the Welsh countryside on Saturday we weren't sure but decided that during our trip we had seen almost all of them. The sun shone down upon our little yellow car and our heads (as the sun roof had a rare opening that day) and on the countryside, trees, canals and lakes.  It was one of those 25 degree days that we will treasure as we know there won't be many. Our destination was an 18th century house known as the Hall at Abbey Cwm Hir. We arrived a bit early - we had left in plenty of time as we were unsure how long it would take us knowing that we often get distracted or lost.  So with the owners permission we sat outside in the chairs eating our picnic and talking to Rosie our guide. After lunch Rosie took us to the walled garden - running ahead, turning and looking around for us, coming up for attention, or looking slightly miffed when we took a bit too long or decided that the path she wanted us to follow was more suited to her four little legs than our two. She amused us without that incesssant chatter you get from some guides while she took us through the walled garden overlooking St Mary's Church (5 years of growing with lots more to do), past lots of spring colours in the woodland (blue bells and rhododendrons), and to the green, peacefulness at the old ruined 12th century Cisterian abbey across the road.

The house was built in 1834 by Thomas Wilson - it took a few more decades to double its size and then add a snooker room. It is hard to describe the house as it is today. The words 'history in the making' came to mind when we were told that the house was being renovated to the tastes of the owners rather than to past residents.  These talented interior decorators and gardeners have turned a Gothic house into a house with 'lots of other eras' with its beautiful plastered ceilings, architecture and tiles. Each room and there are 52 of them have their own character and reflect something of the personality of the owners. As we wandered from room to room I was reminded of Snowshill Manor - there are similarities - lots of collections with no one interest a focus (royal doulton china, books, chess boards, cycles, motor bikes, kitchen utensils, paintings, indonesian furniture, bed linen, hats, knitted cup cakes, white ware and furniture). We can imagine the number of paint brushes and pots used, metres of wall paper and trips to shops and jumble sales to search for the right item - this house has dominated the owners life for 13 those years - what a difference to our current lifestyles. The interesting thing though, is that in all the other places we have been to the owners are dead or ancestors are living in part of the house not open to the public (and the building has been done up to reflect what it was like when the dead were living). At this house the living are creating something to pass on to generation after generation (if they want it and can afford to keep it with the enormous inheritance taxes one has to pay over here). We were allowed in every room - even where the owners slept, cooked or showered. Nothing was secret - well not quite. Half way through the tour I began to wonder how they organised themselves so that the kitchen looked pristine (the stove had arm chairs in front of it and there wasn't a toast crumb anywhere).  Imagine, having to put your book back exactly at the right angle after reading a chapter, or putting your wet towel in a cupboard because it can't be folded just right over the edge of the bath, or folding your dressing gown every day so it can lie just so on the bed. And where were the tins of paint, paint brushes, overalls, sewing machine, left over scraps of material and wool etc etc.  We can only summise - was there a cellar, or some cupboards we didn't look into. I could imagine 200 years later people (just like us) will probably come and look at this creation and wonder the same things as us, delight in the same creations as us, and think about the number of people who lived like this back in 2010. The answer is obviously not every one - cos we don't - all we will leave behind is this blog!! A lot of old houses have masterpieces hanging on the walls - sometimes too many to be able to appreciate each one individually. The house did not have paintings by artists painted centuries before. But it did have its own artist. Robert Parkin has painted the hall in a number of different centuries and seasons. The paintings are all about how he envisaged it back then -  a personal gift to the house and its owners and descendants. We were particularly taken with two of the paintings  "Home before the Storm" and "The Gathering". Robert is a local artist and I enjoyed reading about his background and some of his quotes provided an interesting insight to his creativity....

"When I'm working on a large canvas I'll often leave it, sometimes for weeks, waiting for an idea to develop, or perhaps a certain light one morning to inspire a change to an already completed section… To me, paintings evolve. You should never be rigid enough to deny your instincts". 

He grew up in an industrial area - you know the one iron, coal, grey smoke lifestyle that is less evident today but still around.  But he managed to see beyond that ...

"The natural world offered a window I found impossible to ignore; it provides the inspiration for all my work".
"I was lucky, and inspired, to discover the Derbyshire Dales and Peak District National Park, practically on the doorstep, at a very young age. There, the stone framed fields and age-old industrial and agricultural workings held a fascination for me. I have always been intrigued by the way that, what seem to most people untouched wild places, have in fact been shaped by generations of people; all with their own unique knowledge and skill. For me, landscape art must capture that. Constable knew it, and although his work is often criticised as being over sentimental and romantic, for me he is the greatest ever true English landscape artist".

Having seen where Constable lived and painted we would tend to agree. 

"Look around and see what really matters. Often it's right on the doorstep in simple things that generations before have toiled to achieve. Look at the fields that still show the ‘ridge and furrow’ of agriculture from the Saxon age - a misty brook flowing alongside a water meadow. Don't put a price on their future". 
All this and more from http://www.robertparkin.com/biography.html

And then Sunday it was back to Longleat to see the bits we had missed the last time.  Our last visit was all about wildlife and daffodils - the season has changed and this time we were struck with the wisteria and birdlife. We wandered around the house - it was quite a quick walk through as the only thing that really grabbed me was the range of wall papers in the rooms (leather, sheets of chinese, heavily embossed) and the sun was beckoning us towards another picnic in the warmth outside.