Echoes of the Past
The way we were – Halswell in the 1870´s
In 1908 and again in 1989, Country Life published illustrated articles on Halswell in its decaying grandeur. While both articles portrayed an architectural old lady in gentle but seemingly terminal decline, recently discovered archive material paints the Quantock estate in a somewhat different light. The photographs here, dating from the 1870s show a majestic, albeit ramshackle, Halswell very much alive and holding its own.
A number of buildings, namely the Orangey and Venison Hut are sadly no more, victims of the passage of time and financial constraints but the current restoration programme begun in 2004 is gaining impetus and thereby asserting this country estate's position in the annals of architectural and picturesque garden design once more.
For more detailed images, please click the relevant thumbnail below.
Temple of Harmony - Mill Wood
The Mansion House from the Temple
Temple Pond Mead
Venison House and Orangery in the Park
Stable and Stable Yard
Lodge and Drive
Dinner reminisces of 1850
Below are two snippets supplied by a local resident which give a glimpse of the social life at Halswell in 1850. They are taken from a bound volume of "Temple Bar" Magazine for 1893. The article, entitled "A Packet of Old Letters" was written by Cornelia Crosse, the widow of Andrew Crosse of Fyne Court, Broomfield.
Dinner Conversation
I found two other old newspapers, these were copies of The London Evening Post of May 14th, and June 1st, 1745. These papers contain accounts of the Battle of Fontenoy, with the names of the principal persons killed and wounded. I remember in the autumn of 1850, that my husband and I were dining at Halswell Park, when our host, Colonel Tynte, then nearly eighty years of age, told me that his father was present at the Battle of Fontenoy, and heard the gallant bidding of the French, when they called out for the gentlemen of the English guard to fire first. I believe some writers consider the anecdote as among the mock pearls of history; others aver that the sly Frenchmen under the guise of courtesy were but propitiating the Fates, who are said to be unfavourable to those who strike the first blow. Colonel Tynte told the story in the spirit that Thackeray accepts it, as an instance of the "grace and beauty, the splendour and lofty politeness of the French."
Country Etiquette
The mention of this dinner at Halswell reminds me of a little incident, a survival of an old custom, which amused me somewhat, for it was the first time I had been the guest of Colonel Tynte and his widowed daughter, Lady Cooper. We had dined at seven, it was rather a ceremonious party, and the servants were more numerous than the guests. At ten o´clock, to my surprise, two footmen appeared bearing into the drawing-room a table capable of seating half-a-dozen people. Then, like a scene in a theatre, came more servants bringing in a dainty, hot supper. When the repast was announced to be ready, our host pressed his guests to partake of supper, specially inviting the gentlemen to have "a stirrup cup." Everyone declined, Colonel Tynte himself seemed to feel no surprise that the supplementary meal was declined, but it was a fad of his to keep up an old custom.
