AS one of the smartest architects in Georgian England, James Wyatt was the natural choice for the 3rd Duke of Richmond when he wanted to build a new dwelling on his Goodwood estate in West Sussex. Wyatt, who had already remodelled and enlarged the main house, set to work on the new project in 1787. The fine, flint Palladian building with two long, low wings that sat so gracefully in its Classical landscape was notable not only for its elegance, but for an early form of central heating. Rooms were lined on one side with metal plates, heated from behind by large fires.
That the occupants of The Kennels were the Duke’s prized foxhounds—it would be another 100 years before Goodwood House itself had central heating installed—is one of those classic English country-house scenarios, where dogs and horses matter far more than the humans. (Historic England notes, rather sniffily, that Goodwood’s stables, designed by Sir William Chambers, are ‘more distinguished architecturally than the outside of the [main] house’.) As distinguished visitors shivered in their bedrooms, the Duke of Richmond’s hounds luxuriated in what must have been the finest quarters in the country.
Queen Victoria paid similar attention to her dogs’ creature comforts when the royal kennels were built at Windsor in 1840. An article from an 1894 issue of the children’s magazine St Nicholas explained that ‘the yards are paved with red and blue tiles and the compartments in which the little dogs sleep are warmed with hot water’. Outside, the Queen’s pugs, collies, dachshunds, Skye terriers, her toy Pomeranian ‘Gina’ and prize-winning Spitz ‘Marco’ (a total of 55) were allowed to ‘scamper to and fro over green lawns’. There were ‘umbrella-like affairs on these lawns’ where they could lie in the shade and pools of water where they could take a bath.
この記事は Country Life UK の October 23, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Country Life UK の October 23, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
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
