For me, one of the joys of being an historical author is
visiting stately homes. We are so lucky in the United Kingdom in the number of
properties run by the National Trust, English Heritage and other such
organizations and thus open to the public. If I can visit a country house in
the company of another author or a good friend, then even better. I love first to
go for a walk around the grounds with my dog and then take my time absorbing
details of architecture, furniture and furnishings.
I write Regency romance and am proud to do so, but I also
like to weave real historical detail into the fabric of my stories. If, therefore,
I can come across real-life romance and true scandal I can use, then all the
better! In few places could you find a more newsworthy and juicy story than at
Hanbury Hall.
On St. Patrick’s Day, I met up with lovely Regency author
Elizabeth Johns and we spent the afternoon at Hanbury. We went first to view
the Ice House, which is set in the grounds of a cottage a short walk from the
Hall. Ice Houses vary in design; this one is approached via a low, dark tunnel
which I confess I found somewhat claustrophobic even though it was only a few
yards long. At the end is a railing, because the tunnel opens into a circular
chamber which drops three metres below ground level. It was rather
disorientating, looking down into the shaft and with the air temperature
considerably cooler than outside, even though it was quite a cold day. Water
from a pool was drained into the ice house via a sluice gate and when it had
frozen, was removed via the tunnel. It was used all the year round, for drinks,
cooling foods, ices, sorbets etcetera. Having seen the base of the chamber,
where there is a drainage hole for meltwater, I am very glad I have a fridge!
We then returned to the house for a guided tour, something I
had always missed on previous visits. The house dates from 1701, according to
the date on the stone plinth over the doorway, but this may be disputed. The
house was built by wealthy lawyer Thomas Vernon, although the estate was bought
by his grandfather Edward Vernon in 1631. Somehow, Thomas persuaded Court
painter Sir James Thornhill (the first English artist to be knighted) to travel
into Worcestershire and execute various paintings in the house. Hanbury Hall is
justifiably proud of the works, particularly the staircase murals. According to
Nikolaus Pevsner, the staircase dates from c. 1710 and can be compared with
those at Hampton Court, Drayton and Boughton, both in Northants. This then
dates the paintings to that time. The main mural depicts Achilles being found
by Odysseus.
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| Finding of Achilles Attribution Sjwells53 |
Intriguingly, although this is ostensibly a painting of
classical mythology, Sir James Thornhill was the Court painter and one piece of
salacious gossip is wickedly referred to by the artist. The two ladies to the
rear and right of the painting were ‘bosom buddies’, you might say. The lady in
turquoise, who looks enceinte, is
Queen Anne. The little boy peering behind her is Prince William, who suffered
from Water on the Brain (Hydrocephalus). The lady on the left is Abigail Masham
(née Hill, cousin of Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough). A former
servant, Abigail was brought to Court by Lady Sarah.
Brought up together in the household of the Duke of York,
Princess Anne and Sarah Jennings (Jenyns) became the most devoted of friends
and companions. They even coined the names Mrs. Morley (Anne) and Mrs. Freeman
(Sarah) in order to exchange letters and converse freely on an equal footing.
Anne was a bit of a dull, easily coerced personality, while Sarah was forceful,
blunt and opinionated. Sarah’s close friendship with and influence over
Princess, and later, Queen Anne led to her becoming a most powerful figure of
the Court, with a meteoric rise to fame and fortune. She was made Lady of the
Bedchamber, among several other titles. This success was in no way hindered by
her marriage to John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough and later 1st Duke
of Marlborough, a soldier and statesman who rose to Captain-General of the
British Army. The Queen described her relationship with Sarah as a ‘most sincere and tender passion’. Unfortunately
for their Graces, however, Sarah’s political manoeuvrings eventually tried the
patience of even her close friend the Queen and they drifted apart. When she
discovered that not only was Abigail occupying apartments in Kensington Palace
Sarah considered hers, she was spending two hours a day in privacy with Anne,
Sarah was furious. It is suggested she may have instructed her secretary,
Arthur Maynwaring, to produce satirical pamphlets and poems proclaiming the ‘sweet service’ and ‘dark Deeds at
Night’ that Abigail allegedly provided to Anne the ‘sweet service’ and ‘dark Deeds at Night’ that Abigail allegedly provided to Anne.
Whether or not there was a ‘romantic friendship’ between
Anne and Abigail, a rift occurred between the Queen and the Duchess which was
never repaired. Sarah was made to resign her offices and the Churchills were
dismissed from Court.
So, to return to the painting at Hanbury, Abigail is pointing
towards Achilles (centre, with the spear) and smirking. Achilles has the face
of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, and is depicted looking away. Sir James was
having a little laugh at their expense. If you now cast your eye to the
foreground, dear reader, you will espy two more tongue-in-cheek inclusions. The
lady in green is holding a hand glass and in the arms of the seated lady behind
her is a King Charles spaniel. Of course, neither of those things existed in
Achilles’ time!
No matter her personal preferences, Queen Anne conceived
eighteen children. For those of us who love the Georgian and Regency eras, it
is perhaps as well none of them lived beyond infancy, or we would not have had
the Hanoverian rule which has given us so much in the way of architecture,
furniture and literature, not least Jane Austen. Without her, Sir Walter Scott
and others, Georgette Heyer would not have created the Regency genre, so loved
by readers across the globe, nor would the many wordsmiths writing now have
been inspired to bring their own Regency stories to life.
We continued our tour of the ground floor, progressing via
the Smoking Room to the Dining Room, once part of Thomas Vernon’s own
apartments. In about 1830, a wall was removed and the ceiling aligned to conjoin
his withdrawing room and lobby. On the ceiling of the Dining Room (Withdrawing
Room) are two more Thornhill paintings, one of the North Wind, Boreas; the second
of Apollo and his chariot. My apologies for the quality of the photo.
Emma made the acquaintance of one Henry Cecil (1754-1804), both
nephew and heir of the 9th Earl of Exeter, incumbent of one of the
great stately homes, Burghley House. One cannot help wondering if Lady Vernon
had a hand in the marriage, for it was certainly not a love match. How many
were in those days? The bride had a portion of £6,000 a year and the groom
£3,000.They married in 1776 at St. George’s Chapel, Hanover Square and on
removing to Hanbury, set about landscaping the gardens in the style of
Capability Brown, who had completed the sweeping vistas of Croome Court, near
Pershore (also in Worcestershire) for the Earl of Coventry. They did away with
the formal parterre, but thanks to the detailed plans commissioned by Bowater,
the National Trust has been able to restore the original gardens. The interior
was also substantially remodelled.
Nevertheless, despite a combined fortune of £9,000, the
marriage ran into debt and disillusionment. Emma had a mind of her own and was
inclined towards wilfulness, while Henry was, on the whole, disinterested and
detached. The one child of the union died when but a few weeks old. Possibly as
a result of this loss, Emma began to imbibe Madeira and Norris’ Drops, a
Georgian cure-all. The latter contained opium, but she may have taken them to
combat early symptoms of Consumption.
Then, in 1785, just weeks after his arrival to assist the
rector, she fell in love with the new curate from Lichfield, William Sneyd,.
They had a passionate affair, conducted over four years. William also suffered
from tuberculosis, so did they share the Norris’ Drops along with billets doux? In May1789, with her lover
convalescing in Lichfield, Emma finally confessed to her husband. The marriage
was in disarray. Henry had had no idea, but it would appear he was more bemused
than irate. Emma was deeply in love with William and after much soul-searching,
eloped with him whilst on a business trip with Henry to Birmingham. In an
ironic twist, the lovers travelled first to Exeter, followed by Devon and
thence to London. The Countess acquired lodgings and was visited there by
William. Cecil sued Sneyd in 1790 and was awarded £1,000 in compensation.
Deep in debt, Henry shut up Hanbury and assuming a new
identity, departed to a village in a remote part of Shropshire to lick his
wounds. A year later, he had a nine day sale and sold the contents of Hanbury
Hall. While in Shropshire, he met and bigamously married (albeit under his
false name of John Jones) the sixteen-year-old daughter of Thomas Hoggins, a local
farmer. This was a serious matter at the time and he and Sarah had to undertake
a second wedding ceremony in London in October 1791. Known as the Cottage
Countess, Sarah never quite settled into her role as the mistress of a large
house when Henry succeeded to his uncle’s estates in 1793 and they moved to
Burghley.
Following an Act of Parliament, Emma and Henry were divorced
in 1791, enabling Emma to marry William. Since he was in poor health, they
moved to Lisbon, but he died only two years later. Distraught, Emma came back
to England, but she could not mourn for long. A further two years on, in 1795,
she married for the third time, to John Phillips, a friend and executor of her
second husband. They moved to a house near Bewdley to live retired from
Society. However, Fate had not finished with Emma. In 1804 she once more took
up residence at Hanbury
Hall, following Henry Cecil’s death. Much work on the estate then had to be
undertaken, in the way of repairs and rebuilding work to the farms, due
to neglect. She had returned to where she belonged and the Vernon name to the
family seat.
Emma herself lived at Hanbury until her death in 1818. Whether
or not she was happy with John Phillips, we shall never know, but it is said
she refused to be buried in the Vernon family vault, instead choosing to be
wrapped in a sheet which had once covered William Sneyd, thence to be buried near
the Hanbury churchyard wall.
Life is often stranger than fiction, but love did at least
triumph in the end!
We didn’t get to the Orangery on this occasion, but one of
these days I will post some pictures of that. However, here is a view towards the house along the Cedar Avenue. You can imagine what it must have been like in the house's heyday!
Unless otherwise
stated, all images are the property of the author and may not be copied or
republished without expressed permission.
© Heather King
