I spent a fascinating few hours at Westonbirt today - at the house, not the arboretum - attending the Hugh Shirreff memorial lecture for the Historic Houses Association. This is an annual event which moves around the country and which, since 2000, has been hosted by various of the HHA's member houses.
This year the lecture was held in Westonbirt, and given by Dr Joseph Mordaunt-Crook, a pre-eminent historian who specialises in the lifestyles of the Victorian millionaires, and the rather personal idiosyncrasies of their individual styles. Dr. Mordaunt-Crook gave a fascinating and entertaining tour of the (in some cases quite ghastly) examples of Victorian over-spend by the industrial 'arrivistes' seeking to establish for themselves a level of credibility commensurate with their wealth, concluding that it was unlikely that a period would ever be seen again in the UK where such extravagance was displayed so widely.
I wonder whether the same can be said for India, China and the other developing economies though? A good time to be a luxury builder in those countries one might think!
Iford has been an HHA member for as long as I can remember. For anyone that doesn't know (and therefore should!), the Historic Houses Association is an organisation that represents 1500 privately-owned historic houses, castles and gardens throughout the UK. These are listed buildings or designated gardens, usually Grade I or II*, and are often outstanding. Many are considered to be iconic symbols of Britain's unique heritage. Interestingly HHA properties represent more than the sum of National Trust and English Heritage properties put together!
About 300 of these properties are open to the public and HHA Friends can enter for free. Friends membership is excellent value and offers a range of further benefits, including the opportunity to take part in exclusive tours of otherwise 'not open' HHA properties.
The joy of visiting an HHA property is that there is almost always someone 'there' - a resident, a presence, creating the soul which turns the house into a home. For more information, or to become a Friend, visit:
http://www.hha.org.uk/about-us.html
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