Erdigg House: The Great, The Good, And The, Um, Interesting

Shorter version: WWI was not kind to the Yorke family nor the house. In 1922, Simon Yorke, eldest son, inherited the place. He disconnected the electricity and phones, reduced the already reduced staff, forbade wheeled traffic on the estate (even prams), and lived for 40 years as a relative hermit. Interesting. Sometimes, this is how things get preserved. (Getting buried under volcanic ash also works). He died in 1966 and was succeeded by Peter Yorke, III, who is the hero of the story. He garnered support from many sources to put things aright, and it was he who gave the estate, and its incredible collection, to the National Trust in 1973. Below are a few of many pix of the upstairs, so to speak, a few with commentary.

Recently restored Victorian home organ

The tubular bells; guests were summoned to full breakfast
(9:30AM), luncheon (1PM), afternoon tea (5PM), warning
to be dressed for dinner (7PM), and dinner (8PM), each
with a different tune played on the bells

Waste not, want not...the legs here are from a disused bed

The V&A examined and restored the state bedroom and returned it to
Erdigg  on the condition it be displayed behind glass and in controlled light/
temp/humidity...said to be the 2nd best-preserved state bedroom in the Nation

Moving right along...a Victorian shower 

Now in the play room

Thus

Doll house; note same Steiff bear we saw in Ireland

Noah's Ark set

In the chapel

A display room of Victorian oddities and curiosities

Another National Trust gem

Erdigg House: Service

The great house at Erdigg is not that great. When negotiations began, the Trust did not want the house, which was structurally undermined. (It got better). But the Trust did very much want the 30,000 artifacts within. (Now the 2nd largest single collection in the National Trust). Over three centuries, the Yorke family simply never threw anything away. Moreover, the Yorkes were not that wealthy, so that in order to retain a staff, they had to treat them reasonably well. Consequently, much is known about the staff, at least from Edwardian times, and Erdigg is one of the few sites where one can see nearly all of their living and working quarters. The 18th century gardens have been restored to their original design and are an attraction by themselves. Consequently, Erdigg will get several posts here. The tour begins in the work areas, so we'll start there, proceed upstairs to the areas of the Great and the Good and the, um, Interesting, and then proceed to the gardens.

Erdigg House from the formal gardens

A really, really old Rover, so old the graphic appears Art Nouveau,
reminiscent of Hector Guimard maybe

It's easy to forget that bicycles were a late 19th century innovation, the first
chain-driven models appearing in 1885; here's an Edwardian collection, including
at least one earlier velocipede

Frozen in time...Peter Yorke not only treated his staff well, he documented them
extravagantly, and memorialized them in his poetry

One example

The family

In the kitchen

Laundry

Some of Peter Yorke's poetry

Hod for carrying firewood up the servants' stairs

You have been warned

This is a pedal-powered vacuum cleaner--worth the price of admission by itself;
you step on the pedals as with a stepper and thus work the bellows which thus
create the suction...ingenious, those Victorians!

Instructions

Interesting ceiling decor in the servants dining area

Thus

You rang, sir? Episode #403,689

Attic room of one of the senior servants

Back in the engineering sections

Transportation department

Mill

In the beautiful carpentry shop

With Peter Yorke's tribute to the joiner

And beautifully exhibited by the Trust

Preview Of Coming Attractions

I'm a bit behind. I was within five posts of caught-up, but then we hit London, and then grand-daughter Penelope (and parents) arrived, and tonight we're at the port of Dover, awaiting transport tomorrow to beloved France. As I catch up, there will be posts on Erdigg House and Gardens, Stowe House and Gardens, Highclere (Downtown Arby's), Ascot, Waddesdon, Hampton Court and Gardens, Tate Britain, Kew Gardens, the British Library, V&A, Hever Castle, Bodiam Castle, and more. Stay tuned.

PS. July 26. Le Touquet/Paris Plage. We're in France now, with P, so it may be a while before I post again!

Chirk Church

After Chirk castle and gardens we parked at the Chirk RR station. One of the things we have learned on this trip is that the train stations, especially way out in the boonies like Chirk, can be very quiet and safe places to savage-camp, with no prohibitions and no cost. The provincial lines simply don't run at night. After dinner, we walked into Chirk town and visited Chirk Church, an old parish church that was a hub of activity that evening, decorating for a Saturday wedding.

Chirk RR station

No ordinary station; even though it is not staffed (you just board the train and see
the conductor about a ticket), it is still beautifully landscaped and appointed

Chirk Church, dates from 15th-16th centuries, though
predecessors stood on the site much earlier

Double nave, the right side younger

Painted carvings on the terminals of the arch
braces; 15th-16th

Not funny faces

But close

Nice Perpendicular windows, 15th

16th

On the south side, many memorials, mostly to the Myddletons

And these cute little paddles, offering an English translation
of the Latin memorial inscriptions

Interesting place