14 - 16 May - Rain, rain, go away

May 14 and 15 were very rainy. We thought about going to the Imperial War Museum in Cambridge, but further research revealed that it mostly houses airplanes. Visits to IWMs in Liverpool and London were really interesting, focusing on Britain's role in WWII. Nothing, however, could match Bletchley Park which we visited in 2022. Bletchley was the headquarters of the people who worked to break the Enigma code and I'd really like to return again someday. Bruce had pubs to crawl, but not wanting Blanchie to have to stay in her pen all day I stayed home, read a bit and worked on my coat.

May 16 was rainier still, but we decided to venture out to Ickworth Estate, a National Trust property. We joined the Royal Oak a few years ago to support the National Trust after visiting some National Trust properties on our first trip to England. Membership gets you free admission to Trust sights. The Royal Oak also offers wonderful lectures online and in certain American cities. I'm always delighted by the welcome we're given when we show our membership cards. Anyway, at the welcome center we learned a bit about the house and the church that's on the property.

Ickworth has quite a history. It was described in the Doomsday Book of 1086 as a settlement of 16 houses belonging to the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds. About 200 years later the Crown granted Thomas de Ickworth land here to create a deer park. When Thomas died in 1432, the Ickworth estate, which now included a manor house, passed into the hands of Jane Drury. This was highly unusual, since women were not allowed to own property. Jane married Thomas Hervey in 1460, therefore he acquired the site. By 1700 the house had become derelict, so John Hervey, who had inherited the estate, converted a farmhouse on the estate to a new manor house. He also refurbished the church. In 1779 Frederick Augustus Hervey, the 4th Earl of Bristol inherited the estate. He had spent years traveling through Europe and was determined to build a grand manor that would, in his own words, 'unite magnificence with convenience’. Round buildings could be found everywhere in Europe and the Earl (or Earl-Bishop as he was known) had a particular love for all things Italian. Thus, the design for the house included the massive rotunda. The Earl had spent his life collecting art and treasures from all over Europe, which he planned to display in this new house. That plan was thwarted when, in 1798, his collection was confiscated by Napoleon. Though he tried for the rest of his life to get his treasures back, he was only able to reclaim a few of them. His son Frederick inherited the estate and completed construction of the house in 1829, adding the wings. I found the change of titles a bit confusing (I'm American, after all), but this Frederick was now called the 4th Marquess. He married Alice Theodora Wythes, the granddaughter of a Victorian railway contractor and holder of an immense fortune which she inherited. The docent leading our tour described her as "middle class" (!) She was quite a visionary, though, even installing electricity in the second decade of the 20th century.

In 1956, the 4th Marquess presented the house and estate to the Treasury in lieu of death duties. The Treasury passed Ickworth to the National Trust.

Our docent welcomed us to the guided tour and told us that the house used to be called Ickworth House but had "gotten an upgrade" and was now called Ickworth Estate. It was also recently named a National Trust treasure house because of its extensive art and silver collections. It's truly grand.

In the entry way is a glorious table whose legs are carved into the shape of snow leopards, the symbol of the Hervey family. I don't believe they ever actually saw snow leopards because they are depicted as having skinny little tails, not just on this table, but on the family crest as well.

The entry hall features marble columns, or so it would seem. Actually they are scaglioli. Scagliola is a technique whereby an interior frame is built, usually of wood, and then covered by a composite substance made from plaster of Paris, glue, and natural pigments, imitating marble and other hard stones. This gives you an impressive look with a fraction of the weight.

In the inner hall is "The Fury of Athemas" which depicts the mythical king Athamas killing his son and derives from a tale in the book of Metamorphoses by the Roman writer Ovid. It was sculpted by John Flaxman, one of the most accomplished sculptors of his time.

From the hall we proceeded to the drawing room, with its tremendous collection of portraits and treasures.

On to the library. Alice Theodora Wythe was greatly concerned with the contents of the house. She catalogued, cleaned and rehung the picture collection, as well as having the book collection listed and rebound, and the furniture and objets d’art restored.

One interesting item in the room was the card table. At each place at the table there was a little depression called the guinea bowl, where one's money was placed for betting. The little rounds at the corners were where candles were placed. We were told that if a player was losing too much, he could blow out his candle and end the game.

The last room we visited was the dining room.

Among the treasures in the room are two silver candelabra which were gifts to the 4th Marquess from his tenant farmers. During times of drought, the Marquess didn't collect his rents, allowing his farmers to remain in their properties. To show their gratitude once times were good, they had these beautiful pieces made, and presented them in gratitude for his kindness. One is significantly larger than the other; we were told that was due to competition between two groups of farmers. Sadly, I didn't get a photo of the smaller. Sorry.

After the tour we ventured upstairs, past more scaglioli, to the silver room.

There are so many beautiful items in the silver room, many featuring the snow leopards.

One of my favorite cases displayed seals that were used for sealing letters.

Bruce's favorite was the cabinet of little fish. Some were filled with herbs and used to flavor oils or vinegars, some were simply for decoration.

We walked down the hall to the bedroom with its colorful chandelier,

then downstairs to the servants' area.

The kitchen was the largest room downstairs, of course.

After a quick trip to the cafe for a Cornish pasty, we trudged through the rain and mud to the Ickworth Church, the foundations of which dates back to Norman times .

The font dates from the 13th century.

There's a very unusual triple decker pulpit and a "squint" an opening cut into the wall of the church to allow worshippers outside to see the main alter.

My favorite part of the day was the walk back to the rotunda from the church when we were surrounded by ewes and this year's crop of lambs. This little lamb is asleep next to the tree.

I fell in love with this little guy. We trod on past the lovely trees

to the parking lot, leaving Ickworth and Bury St. Edmunds behind. I would dearly love to go back there to explore the 1800 acres when it wasn't pouring down with rain. Conveniently, one of the wings of the estate has been converted into a hotel. Oh, yes, that would be fun.