MANY ancient houses of the Crown having been demolished, we have taken a liking to Audley End and purchased it from James, Earl of Suffolk, for £50,000.’ So wrote Charles II in a letter to his attorney general on April 17, 1669. The King was attracted to this leviathan house largely because of his enthusiasm for racing and its proximity to Newmarket. The Earl, meanwhile, was eager to sell because he was overwhelmed by immense inherited debts of more than £150,000, a product both of the proverbial extravagance of his father, but also by the cost of the house itself. This had been erected by his grandfather more than 60 years earlier and was out of all proportion to his needs.
Audley End is, in origin, a Benedictine priory, founded in about 1140 by Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex. It was established as part of his wider development of the manor of Walden with a market and castle (in what is now Saffron Walden) during the conflict between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda known as the Anarchy. Walden Priory was later promoted to the status of an abbey and, with an income of about £400 per annum at the Dissolution, it was a rich foundation. When the community surrendered to Henry VIII on March 22, 1538, its buildings and estate were passed to the Lord Chancellor, Thomas Audley.
Denne historien er fra June 07, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra June 07, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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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
