Sunday, December 02, 2012

Christmas, 1802

Today we visited Sudbury Hall in Derbyshire.  The morning was cold and frosty as we walked from the car park to the hall.

 The trees look wonderfully stark and sculptural against the sky and the light frost on the grass

Sudbury is a very elegant red brick hall built in the 17th Century

 We walked around the outside first, the lake was frozen over in places

I love this view of the back of the hall


Let's go inside to warm up our fingers and toes.  A Regency Christmas of 1802 was the theme inside.  Now I was wondering about that as I'd always been taught that the Regency period was from 1810 to 1820 when  George, Prince of Wales, later George IV, became Regent during the illness of his father George III, but another school of academic thought would say that it ran from 1790 to 1820 and others that it runs through to 1837.  I've put a link at the end of this post for those who are interested in following this up.  I have to say that when I think of the Prince Regent, which surprisingly isn't that often,  I can't help but see Hugh Laurie in Blackadder III, one of my all time favourite comedy series but I digress so back to 1802!


The lovely white staircase which you may recognise from the BBC TV series of Pride and Prejudice - yes that one!  Some of the interior, including the staircase,  was used for Mr Darcy's home, Pemberley.

It was decorated from top to bottom and looked stunning far better than my photos show as the lighting levels were difficult to work with.


There were seasonal decorations in all the window sills, on staircases and around all the fireplaces  I loved the swags and central display on this one.


The cool and elegant grandeur of the long gallery was lit by sunlight, just the right setting for an early 19th century Christmas with scenes based on the diaries of Georgiana Vernon who lived at Sudbury Hall.


What or who can we see in here? Mr Darcy? Mr Bingley?  Mr Wickham? The Misses Bennet?


No, they were as yet taking shape in Miss Austen's imagination!
Dancing, of course!

When I see dancing like this I remember the books of my teenage years written by Georgette Heyer, where the spring muslin clad heroines danced the Quadrille and the Cottilion at Almacks Assembly Rooms or those at Bath perhaps.

These dancers were very entertaining and energetic and the costumes were lovely.  I've made a couple of photo mosaics below so that you can see more of what was on offer in the hall.

There was also a marquee with crafts and homemade goodies but it was so crowded and the queue to see Father Christmas in the Museum of Childhood was very long, as was the queue for the cafe and the queue of cars waiting for a space in the car park.  It was time to give up our space and move on, back to the 21st century.

Link  to more about the Regency Period

28 comments:

  1. It looks like a wonderful visit. I've been to Sudbury a few times but have never been at Christmas.

    I wasn't taught anything about the regency period at school (my history lessons were all about world wars) so I wouldn't know anything of the dates but if you mention the Prince Regent, I also always think of Blackadder!

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    1. It looked lovely inside! If I'm feeling down I always reach for a Blackadder DVD, series three is my favourite and there is one episode with Stephen Fry as the Duke of Wellington that always makes me laugh:)

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  2. Oh Rosie thank you so much for taking us on this visit, I really enjoyed it. I love history and visit these houses often. How lovely to see it decorated for Christmas. That staircase is wonderful. I also loved Colin Firth's Mr Darcy!!
    Patricia x

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the visit, Patricia. I bet Mr Firth set a few hearts racing whilst he was filming there:)

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  3. The decorations look fabulous. I'd much prefer to use natural materials than their modern equivalents. I can just never find enough of it! Perhaps as a hard winter is forecast there will be more berries on the holly this year? Or perhaps the blackbirds have had them all already!

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    1. There was a lovely 'pineish' scent about the rooms. Most of the berries we've had in the garden have been eaten by the blackbirds, not many holly berries though:)

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  4. What a lovely Christmassy atmosphere - you captured it so well. I remember visiting Sudbury a few years ago - a lovely place. And wasn't it cold!!!! xxxx

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    1. It was cold on Sunday morning, when we left we found a place near Ashbourne to have hot soup for lunch - it was very welcome:)

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  5. How lovely to see this place all in its Christmas finery - I love the Regency period and it must have been such a treat to see all the costumes too. My husband isn't one to visit stately homes so I have to get my 'fix' by reading your posts.

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    1. There were costumes on stands around the place too but they were too hard to photograph in the darkened rooms, some of them had those wonderful feathered turbans that the ladies used to wear:)

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  6. We have visited Sudbury many times but never at Christmas, it must have been a wonderful sight.

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    1. It is lovely! Apparently they had a choir on the staircase too but we didn't see or hear that:)

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  7. I love Sudbury, and it's not too far from us. I should make the effort and go to see it again. Thanks for sharing your photos - specially the 'ring the bell' sign, which I've photographed in the past too.

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    1. Not too far for either of us, one each end of what I call 'the big road' - such an easy journey. I love that sign:)

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  8. Looks wonderful and not too far to travel.

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    1. I think it took us less than half an hour to get there:)

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  9. I love the detail in the Christmas decorations. What a lovely way to get into the Christmas spirit! Jx

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    1. I'm having difficulty getting into the Christmas spirit this year but it did help:)

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  10. There is a lovely serentity about your photos Rosie. Sudbury Hall looks very welcoming with the brightly coloured walls and white staircase. I bet it costs a fortune to heat though! x

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    1. It must indeed cost a lot to heat, there were one or two open fires but compared to outside it was really warm:)

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  11. I did not know that Hugh Laurie was in Black Adder. He is so amazing that in the tv show House, he actually sounds like an American. I loved watching Mr. Darcy and Pride and Prejudice - I watch quite a few shows from the BBC on our public tv station. I am also a fan of Dr. Who.

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    1. He was in the third and fourth series of Blackadder and before that in Jeeves and Wooster. I haven't seen House. My husband always watched Dr Who:)

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  12. Oh Rosie...thank you so much for taking us along with you here. I really enjoyed being able to see the Hall with you. The decorations for Christmas are so beautiful and natural.

    Hugs from Holland ~
    Heidi

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed your visit, Heidi:)

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  13. Hi Rosie, just in case you hadn't noticed, my Blogger account has reached maximum, so I have had to start a new one. To view further postings about Derbyshire, or to change your 'follow' status, my new blogs are www.walkpeaks2.blogspot.com and www.furtherafield2.blogspot.com I hope you are well, and continue to enjoy my blogs. Les

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    1. Hi Les, thanks for letting me know, I've noticed quite a few people are running out of space with blogger at the moment! I've copied and pasted your addresses but the first one says that the blog doesn't exist. The second I've found but with no 'follow' button at the moment. I'll look again later:)

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  14. I would love to visit a Regency Christmas. How about taking a turn in the long gallery....?

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    1. We could stroll along and talk about our favourite Christmas things:)

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