Chatsworth (2010)

One of the things about being awarded, or inheriting, a peerage or baronetcy in the Early Modern period was the necessity to keep up appearances. Great families would compete to have better servants than their contemporaries. Whilst employing a better butler or housekeeper would be a relatively inconspicuous maintenance issue, a designer or gardener could… Continue reading Chatsworth (2010)

The Book of Lismore goes back to Ireland….

Here is another priceless treasure of a book, the Book of Lismore, which is written in Irish, going back where it belongs!  Although, the English did have some good input in that although it went to England, the aristocratic English Cavendish family donated it to the University College Cork, so we’re not entirely the bad… Continue reading The Book of Lismore goes back to Ireland….

The Devonshire Tapestries showing scenes of medieval hunting….

  The four 15th-century Devonshire Tapestries, which depict a Boar and Bear Hunt, a Swan and Otter Hunt, a Deer Hunt and a Falconry Hunt, were accepted by HM Government in lieu of tax payable on the estate of the 10th Duke of Devonshire and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum. To see the Boar and… Continue reading The Devonshire Tapestries showing scenes of medieval hunting….