Lives Remembered

Visiting stately homes is a national obsession with the British and a must for visitors from overseas. But do we ever spare a thought for the last occupants of these remnants of a once glorious past?

While visiting Lyme Park in Cheshire last week, I sat in on a talk given by a National Trust volunteer. He told his listeners the story of the family of Lyme Park, generation after generation of the one family until the general decline of these old estates came after WWI and eventually the surrender of what had always been the family home, after WWII. A fate which befell so many of the British upper class.

When you scratch off the top layer people are mostly the same underneath, so loosing your home is a painful for a baron as it is for anyone else. That pain would be accentuated by the thought that of all those past generations who built up this vast estate, it is you who is dropping the ball.

The person 'dropped the ball' was the 3^rd Baron Newton, Richard Legh, a descendant of the Legh family who had been at Lyme Park since 1398. It was reported that he and his wife were in a state of despair as to what should be done about this no-longer-manageable estate. Gifting it to the National Trust seemed the only option and one that would preserve the family history, which was not just the story of the Legh family but also the story of the people who worked and lived at Lyme Park. A quote from a local newspaper is on display recording the leaving of Lyme Park:

“Shortly after the war when Lord Newton gave Lyme Hall and its deer park to the National Trust, the parting with old employees who gathered in groups outside the hall, along the road through the park, and at the gate to watch them motor away, had a sorrowful note.”

The National Trust have chosen to focus on the Edwardian era at Lyme Hall, a time of great social activity. Life at Lyme was much like life at Downton Abbey: dinner parties, dances, weekend shooting parties and picnics. And like Downton Abbey, the servants were well treated and became treasured employees. A charming painting done by the 2^nd Baron Newton's thirteen-year-old daughter, Phyllis Legh, records the occasion of the Servants' Ball on New Year's Eve, circa 1906*. These annual events took place in the great entrance hall and, after wishing all the servants a Happy New Year, the family would retire and the servants would dance until dawn (then set about their day's work). Apparently they thought it a small price to pay for a great knees-up.

Amateur theatricals became part of life at Lyme Hall in the early 20^th century. A stage, complete with velvet curtains, was made in the Long Gallery, the space behind being used as a dressing room, and plays were performed by family members and probably those of the guests that could be persuaded to join in.

This passion was embraced by the junior members of the family and a wonderful silent home-movie exists of a Sherlock Holmes story (written by one of the boys). It is performed, with suitable dramatic flair and musical accompaniment, by various family members, some wearing false moustaches and puffing on empty pipes. In a small room a screen and chairs are set up where visitors can take a break and watch the film while touring the house.

Lyme Hall had the honour of becoming 'Pemberley' in the BBC's 1995 production of Jane Aiusten's novel, Pride and Prejudice. Rather fitting for a home that loved to put on a good show.

*Photo from BBC 'Your Paintings'.