A Quick Trot Around Burghley House
The last full day of vacation, I demanded we return to Burghley House (as it was my birthday trip, after all), which was only about fifteen minutes away from our friends. I didn't feel like I could leave that area of the country without seeing it, because it's quite a drive from anything and I likely wouldn't get another chance.
We got there as soon as it opened, and Elowen's mood decreed that I go in alone while they played outside (fine with me, as I wanted to really soak in the historic house instead of darting at Elowen in a panic should she decide to charge at something ancient and priceless). As I mentioned in my last post, the royal treasurer started constructing the house in 1555 as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth I and as a place for her to stay; as you can see from the pictures, it's truly massive. Its many chimneys and spires were designed to look like a small city from above, and it has 35 major rooms and 80-odd lesser rooms. Also, it was built in the shape of an E to further honor Queen Elizabeth.
Before you go into the actual house, you stop for a really clever little video display where the previous owners of the house are projected onto the walls above you, chatting to each other in a way that educates you about the manor's history (and in the case of an earlier ancestor, snarking that it was inappropriate to do something so gauche as to open to the masses). I did learn though that it wasn't unusual at all for people traveling to visit grand houses, even when they weren't tourist attractions for the masses--the aristocracy commonly opened up some rooms of their grand estates to show off their wealth and taste. As early as the 1760s, some houses were already printing up guidebooks. (In other words, when Lizzy Bennet visits Pemberley with her aunt and uncle, it really wasn't so weird...just something people did when they were in the area to gander at the wealthy.)
Then you cross the lovely little courtyard into the house, where your first stop is the cavernous kitchen, complete with a small display of sea turtle skulls on the wall (they're unsure of why, but perhaps they were used for turtle soup--note the giant brass turtle tureen). It's one of the few Tudor kitchens remaining today. It's hard to capture the scale of the kitchen, but it was huge!
After that you pass through the antechapel and into the Billiard Room, paneled in Norwegian oak and filled with portraits; the billiard table itself was made from oaken taken from the wreck of a battleship that sank in 1782 and was raised in 1841 (bet you can't tell who bought the guidebook and then actually read it!). I'd also like to mention that every room had at least one attendant who was full of facts and truly passionate about sharing. It's from one of them I learned that the row of paintings depicted members of a drinking club at Burghley in the 17th century; each man had an animal nickname and some of the animals made it into the portraits (one was Guineapig, much less dignified than Stag or Wolf).
From there you visit the Bow Room, where a godson of Louis XIV painted scenes from the life of Marc Antony and Cleopatra on the walls as well as scenes from classical mythology; it has served as both a state dining room and a music room for performances.
I won't subject you to a description of every other room, so let's hop to Queen Elizabeth's bedroom, though a smallpox outbreak prevented her from actually staying there. The tapestries date from around 1680 and the chest and side table are from the 17th century as well.
The second George room, a state room, was decorated in honor of Queen Victoria's visit in 1844 and was used by both the queen and Prince Albert.
And then the highlight of the house for me--the Heaven Room and the Hell Stairs (you can see the Heaven Room in the 2005 "Pride and Prejudice," by the way). I can't do them justice--you walk into the room and you're surrounded by a gorgeous panoramic painting that flows from the wall to the ceiling (Antonio Verrio painted the ceiling, and he completed the works between 1697 and 1699), with so much detail and expression and rich glorious color...I could have stood in there gawking for a long time (though I did not, as I knew Elowen was waiting for me). Also, that big silver thing in the middle is a 230-pound silver wine cooler, the largest in existence, and we really should eat the rich.
Then you exit onto the Hell Stairs, which are somehow even more impressive because the art is so eerie and ominous--it shows the mouth of Hell as the gaping mouth of a cat with tormented souls within, and all around humanity waiting to be scythed by the Grim Reaper.
Burghley House is considered the finest Elizabethan house in England, and I'm so grateful I unwittingly was nearby and got a chance to see it--if I'm ever there again, I'd love to do the audio tour and stand and chat with the attendants and just soak up the history. Walking through its grand rooms is overwhelming and breathtaking--the history, the art, the antiques--it felt like a treasure on top of my vacation. (Though the gift shop really is missing an opportunity to sell Pride and Prejudice themed merchandise, because they'd have gotten me right by the wallet with that).
The great hall and the orangerie, which was enclosed to be a restaurant.
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