A festive walk around Oxfordshire’s Asthall Manor conjures images of the famous ‘child hunts’
I WAS thinking of Christmas Day at home,’ said Linda. ‘I always feel sentimental at Christmas.’ Linda is the fictional alter ego of the author Nancy Mitford and her family home, Alconleigh, is Asthall Manor in the Cotswolds where the six Mitford sisters and their brother, Tom, grew up.
Both Nancy’s The Pursuit of Love and her sister Jessica’s (Decca’s) Hons and Rebels describe a chaotic country upbringing with the clever girls—they were virtually uneducated in the formal sense—sharing secrets and teases in the ‘Hons’ (airing) cupboard.
It was the last gasp of a society in which coming-out balls and ridiculous clothes were being put aside by determined young women capable not only of fearful scrapes, but of penetrating the highest echelons of political life: fashionable Paris (Nancy), the Spanish Civil War and American Communism (Decca), Hitler’s Fascists (Diana and Unity) and England’s aristocracy (Debo). After Tom’s wartime death, only the oldest sister, Pam (‘Woman’), kept out of the public eye, absorbed by dogs, horses, chickens and gardening.
Denne historien er fra December 13 & 20, 2017-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 13 & 20, 2017-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
