Friday, January 6, 2012

Daylesford House, Gloucestershire, Chimney-piece

Daylesford House, Gloucestershire Chimneypiece*


A night of entertainment at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Phillips:


When this information was given, and they had all taken their seats, Mr. Collins was at leisure to look around him and admire, and he was so much struck with the size and furniture of the apartment, that he declared he might almost have supposed himself in the small summer breakfast parlour at Rosings; a comparison that did not at first convey much gratification; but when Mrs. Phillips understood from him what Rosings was, and who was its proprietor, when she listened to the description of only one of Lady Catherine's drawing-rooms, and found that the chimney-piece alone had cost eight hundred pounds, she felt all the force of the compliment, and would hardly have resented a comparison with the housekeeper's room.


I think even Lady Catherine would have been impressed by this chimney-piece. Jane Austen visited Daylesford in 1806. It was the home of Warren Hastings, the first Governor General of India.

8 comments:

  1. LOL! I think Lady Catherine would have been pea green with envy. A bit ornate for my taste, but impressive nonetheless. Cool to think that Jane was there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow-sers! That is impressive. Wish I could see the detail work.

    Thanks for the share!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well, that's a good fireplace but not as good as the one in my dining room. When we moved into our 1930's house 20 years ago, Marilyn wanted an ornate Victorian fireplace. We found one rusting in the back garden of a house in Bisley, Surrey. It was advertised in our local paper. We had it transported home, sandblasted it; it's made mostly of iron, blacked it, and polished up the ornate tiles. I kid you not, it's better than the one in the photograph. I'll have to post a photograph of mine now.

    We tend to get pieces like this from architectural salvage firms over here.

    Tony

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mary, what a beautiful fireplace! I dream of having a fancy sitting room someday, but not tht ornate!
    Tony, I would love to see a picture of your fireplace! It sounds beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This fireplace is a little smaller than the one I have in my great room here at Simonsen House. :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. You crack me up! I am sure the glazing on your windows is nothing but the finest as well! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yes, the glazing is impressive (double pane E glass), but you should see my Arras tapestries. Huge, but tasteful. :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yes, the glazing is impressive, but you should see my Arras tapestries. Huge but tasteful. :)

    ReplyDelete