The Much Married Mrs Minshull

 

As I entered Bath Abbey last week, I noticed a plaque high on the porch wall that mentioned the name Craven - twice! I had known that members of the Craven family were said to be buried in the Abbey, the first being Sir Robert Craven, master of the horse to Elizabeth of Bohemia, and the other a sister of the 6th Baron Craven. I had never been able to trace a memorial for Sir Robert and when I asked a verger their records contained no reference of a plaque to him, although they did tell me that some early burials such as his (he died in 1672) had been moved and subsequently lost. The plaque that I did see, however, is the one on the left here. Apologies for the poor quality of the picture: It was high up and the light was shining directly on it, making it difficult to photograph.

The wording is as follows: "Jane, the wife of John Minshull Esq of Swansea, sister to the late Lord Craven and aunt to the present Earl departed this life Dec. 2nd 1807. Aged 64 years. Abi Lector et Aeternitatem animo contemplare. (Roughly translated as let the reader go and contemplate eternity with his mind.)

This intriguing plaque certainly made me contemplate. I have a fairly comprehensive Craven family tree on Ancestry as part of my research and although it has gaps it is accurate and supported by documentary evidence from many sources. (You can see it here.) However the name John Minshull did not feature on it. 

Therefore I did some reverse genealogy from the plaque itself. I knew from the name, date and wording that the Jane referred to had to be the sister of the 6th Baron Craven since she was the only "Jane" to be sister to one baron and aunt to his son, the first earl of the second creation. In fact William, 6th Baron Craven had three sisters: Maria Rebecca, who was his elder by a year, Jane who was born in 1743 and Anna Rebecca, the youngest. All of them had been baptised at Stanton Lacy in Shropshire, where their father the Rev. John Craven was appointed vicar in 1736.

Jane Craven's first marriage took place at St Bartholomew's church Binley, the parish church for Coombe Abbey, in September 1769 when she was 26 years old. Her brother William had inherited the Craven barony earlier the same year. Perhaps it was this social promotion that led to her becoming a more attractive marriageable prospect as the sister of the baron rather than the daughter of a country rector. Her husband was the Rev. John Shuckburgh who, at sixty five was a widower almost forty years her senior. He came from a family of landowners that had risen to prominence in the Tudor period and his home was at Bourton Hall, Bourton on Dunsmore in Warwickshire. Less than a year later, John was dead and Jane a widow.

Within a year, Jane had married again this time at St George's Hanover Square in London. Her second

husband was William Stratton Liddiard whose estate at Rockley near Marlborough in Wiltshire was close to Craven Berkshire estates. (Rockley House is pictured on the right.) William and Jane went on to have five children. William was also a vicar and in 1776 he succeeded to the living of Stanton Lacy that had been Jane's father's earlier in the century. It is perhaps no surprise that this living was in the gift of Lord Craven.

Two years later, in 1778, William Liddiard died leaving Jane a widow for a second time at the age of  thirty five and with her youngest child only a year old. It was a full ten years before Jane remarried to John Minshull and at the time of their nuptials she was living in Walcot, a suburb of Bath. Although William Liddiard was buried in Wiltshire and had been an (absentee) vicar of Stanton Lacy in Shropshire, documents suggest that the family already had a home in Walcot during his lifetime which was inherited by his son, also William.

I have not yet been able to discover much about John Minshull Esq. of Swansea. He was living in the St James area of Bath and was a bachelor when he and Jane married. Evidently he took on her young children as well, for Jane's youngest daughter Louisa was married in Swansea in January 1800. There is still much to discover about Jane Craven's life and about her third husband. Curiously there is a Minshull/Craven connection in earlier generations of the family when some Craven relations married into the Minshull family of Cheshire. It may be that this connection, several generations earlier, had been maintained and was the catalyst for Jane's introduction to John. 

The Elusive 5th Baron Craven

 

You don’t hear much about the 5^th Baron Craven. Sandwiched between Fulwar the 4^th Baron, a supreme sportsman, and William, the 6^th Baron, whose personal life has eclipsed much of the rest of his story, William, 5^th Baron Craven seems at the same time both stolid and shadowy. 

The History of Parliament, noting that he served as MP for Warwickshire between 1746 and 1764, comments that “William Craven was returned unopposed as a Tory for the county. He is not known to have spoken nor is any vote of his recorded.” It’s not much of a tribute to a man who served for eighteen years. In fact, he has two entries on the record and both agree that he appears to have contributed nothing to any debate or had any kind of influence.

In dynastic terms as well, the 5^th Baron was something of a side step. He married Jane Berkeley in 1749 but they had no children together. He was the cousin of his predecessor, who was unmarried, and was succeeded by his nephew. However, no man is an island and the 5^th Baron’s family played a crucial role in forming both the man and his role.

William Craven was born in 1705, the son of John Craven. John, who died in 1726, was a younger brother of the 2^nd Baron Craven and uncle to the 3^rd and 4^th barons. He was one of the many children of Sir William Craven of Coombe Abbey and his wife Margaret Clapham, and grew up at Benham in Berkshire and then Coombe Abbey in Warwickshire. He benefitted from his relationship to the Earl of Craven by gaining a commission in the army whilst still in his teens and when he was looking to marry and settle on a country estate, he was granted land at Whitley in Warwickshire, close to Coombe Abbey. The 2^nd Baron Craven had taken a lease on the estate of Cheylesmore in Coventry shortly before. (The manor house is pictured above, painted by Brooke.)

John Craven married in 1700 to Maria Rebecca Berkeley Green. It made sense to make an alliance with another local well-connected gentry family and the Greens held land at Wyken in Warwickshire and at Cotheridge in Worcestershire. Their history was an interesting one. Henry Green, Maria’s father, was the grandson of a prosperous yeoman from Wyken in Warwickshire. His father had taken the leap into local and then national politics, buying land and property along the way. Their manor house has been identified as being the extant “Wyken Manor Farm” on Henley Road which has an L-shaped ground plan and contains some early 17^th century features. It seems probable that this was the original Green family house before they purchased the manor of Wyken from the Willoughby family in 1596, after which it became the manor house. (Picture of Wyken Manor farm from Geograph.org). 

Henry Green married well, to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Rowland Berkeley of Cotheridge. The Berkeleys were a junior branch of the Barons Berkeley of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire and they owned Cotheridge Court, an ancient manor in Worcestershire. When Sir Rowland’s only son died, his daughter Elizabeth inherited the manor and her husband Henry Green adopted the name Berkeley. Their son Rowland went on to inherit Cotheridge whilst their daughter Maria Rebecca inherited Wyken. The Wyken estate passed to her eldest son William Craven on her death in 1729.

When William Craven was born in 1705, there was no indication or expectation that he would one day inherit the Craven barony. William, 2^nd Baron Craven, was still alive and he had no fewer than three sons to follow in him. The children of John and Maria Craven therefore followed a typical upbringing for their period and their class; William studied and Emmanuel College, Cambridge (pictured below) and went on to become an MP whilst two of his surviving brothers went into the church and a third into the Navy. The only surviving daughter, Maria Rebecca, made a very good match to the 4^th Baron Leigh of Stoneleigh in Warwickshire.

With his family annuities plus the Wyken estate, William Craven would have lived very comfortably. He showed no urge to marry young, being forty-three when he married Jane Berkeley, who was ten years younger than he. In fact, she was a first cousin of his, one of the daughters of his mother Maria’s brother Rowland Berkeley Green. 

The 2^nd Baron Craven had died young and intestate in 1711 leaving his son William a minor, which had cause a great deal of litigation. When William 3^rd Baron died without a male heir in 1739, his younger brother Robert was already dead, leaving only Fulwar Craven to carry on the line. This, Fulwar (pictured) seemed disinclined to do; whilst he had a long-time female companion, he did not marry. As time progressed, it must have become apparent that his second cousin William would be next in line. Yet he too was childless.

In the event, William, 5^th Baron Craven lived only five years longer than Fulwar, dying in 1769 at the age of sixty-three. His short tenure of the barony was spent largely at Coombe Abbey. He was one of the trustees of his nephew Edward, 5^th Baron Leigh, and the correspondence between him and Lord Leigh, and also with the agent for the Stoneleigh estate, suggests a man of sound and steady character and influence.

Newspaper reports from the era also give an insight into the 5^th Baron and his activities. In April 1765

the Coventry Standard reported that Lord Craven had been sworn into the office of High Steward of Newbury and gave a very handsome entertainment to the corporation and gentlemen of Newbury to celebrate the occasion. An interesting side note was that the Recorder for the Corporation requested that Lord Craven have a portrait painted so that they could hang it in the town hall; his lordship agreed and it was to be painted by Mr Taylor. There are no portraits of the 5^th Baron, as far as I know, so I wonder whether this was completed. Perhaps there is still a portrait of Lord Craven hanging in the council offices, or perhaps it was sold long ago.

The same newspaper report went on to note that Lord and Lady Craven subsequently travelled from Berkshire to their house in Upper Grosvenor Street in London. This was number 11, previously occupied by Fulwar Craven and after the death of the 5^th Baron, by his brother Rear Admiral Thomas Craven.

In sporting terms, it seems that the 5^th Baron had the family interest in the turf. Reports of race meetings record a number of his horses running; many of these had been bred by his predecessor Fulwar Craven.

In January of 1769 the newspapers reported the 5^th Baron Craven to be dangerously ill and he died in March of that year after what was described as a “tedious illness”. The obituaries were generous, observing that “his many eminent virtues rendered his death universally lamented.” He was buried at Binley having requested a quiet funeral with no pomp, leaving in his will a substantial annuity to his widow Jane and also a sum to enable her to buy and furnish a suitable house of her own choosing. He also left her his private effects including silver, china and his best carriage and horses for her use. There were other annuities for family members and recognition of all the servants. The bulk of the estates and possessions, of course, went to his nephew William Craven who was to become the 6^th Baron on his death. Jane, Dowager Baroness Craven, lived until 1791. Hers is another story I hope to tell in the future. 

There is one other rather nice way in which the 5th Baron Craven has made his mark on history and that is via an apple. It is said that when Thomas Craven returned from a tour with the Navy he brought with him the seeds of an apple from Holland which were planted in his brother's garden at Wyken Manor. From these grew a yellowish-green apple with a sweet aroma and a tangy flavour, which became popular in orchards of the 18th and 19th centuries. This apple was the Wyken Pippin, an ancestor of many popular modern apples.

Ashdown Village and the Old Stables

Over the years I've done a number of blog posts about Ashdown village, the old farmhouse and the stunning Victorian stables. (You can find the posts if you search on Ashdown village in the search box top left). The village is to the south of the white gates at the bottom of the drive and it's possible to do a circular walk from the house, down the drive, out of the picket gate, turn right past what is left of the village, and right again up the ha ha to Alfred's Castle where there is a footpath taking you back into the woods. It's a fantastic walk and there is so much history to see on it, but it's not publicized because I imagine the National Trust doesn't want hordes of people walking through the village. However with an OS map it's easy to follow the paths and although there isn't a guided walk, you can look out for the following landmarks along the way:

1. The white gates at the bottom of the south avenue are modelled on the original ones which can be seen in early paintings, such as the Kyp drawing of Ashdown House from 1708 and the series of paintings by Henry Seymour.

2. Opposite the gate at the bottom of the drive is a paddock where once there was a pond. This has dried out in the last century but it was once the place where the ice was cut to be stored in the ice house.

3. Immediately opposite and to the right of the paddock is the old stable yard which is now the National

Trust's site office. These are old barns and stables dating to the 18th century in some cases. The barn that borders the road has been restored and is absolutely beautiful (see picture above). Some of the old beams still remain. Behind the southernmost stables is the kennel where the hounds were housed for the Vine and Craven and the Old Berkshire Hunt when these were based at Ashdown. 

4. The biggest and most impressive building to the left of the road is the red brick Victorian stables, which were built in the mid 19th century in a gothic style. Look out for the little clock tower and the Earl's coronet and horse and carriage on the weather vane. The Craven initials and coronet are also on the rainwater heads on the downpipes. Very smart! I've had the pleasure of seeing inside the stables on a couple of occasions and whilst they are in dire need of renovation, you can see what a prestigious building it once was, with huge box stalls for the most valuable horses. The grooms lived on the floors above; the censuses from the 19th century give details of who they were. Look out for the magnificent chimneys as well.

5. The small set of stables to the right of the square is much older. They are the original early 18th century stables with a Flemish Bond pattern to the brick on the north side. Look out for the ghost sign on the wall that dates from when the stable block was used to store ammunition in the Second World War. "No Smoking." Good idea.

6. Beyond the stables there is the village green with the old farmhouse, incorporating an earlier medieval forester's cottage, a grain store standing on staddle stones (those ones that are shaped like mushrooms) and a laundry. It's probable that the green was originally a tenter ground where the washing from the house was dried in the open air.

7. Before you get to the end of the road, where you turn right to go up the ha ha path, there is a  paddock on the left with a huge wall in which you can still see the outline of a hearth. This was the heated kitchen-garden wall, where espaliered fruit trees would grow. There were also mushroom houses and vegetable beds to supply the house in the 19th century. In the field in front of the wall there was once the Ashdown House Chapel but no trace of this remains now.

8. There is a T junction and the road turns left, up towards what was the gamekeeper's cottage and the

choristers' lodge. This is private although you can continue walking straight up the path along the edge of the upper wood. This is the line of the medieval park pale and it takes you to the top of the hill and some spectacular views. In order to do the circular walk, though, you need to take the path that goes straight on at the gate and then bend to the right, keeping the house on your right as you go up the hill towards Alfred's Castle. Here you pass the ha ha at the end of the West Avenue. When the house was originally built, the west avenue stretched across the field as far as the coppice on the left. You will reach a gate that takes you into the hill fort and from there another that takes you back to the Ashdown House woods.

Enjoy the nature, the views and the history along the way!

New Light Through Old Windows

It's hard to believe that it's seven years since I wrote any new posts on this Ashdown House blog. In the meantime, I've written five new dual-time books, raised several more guide dog puppies and dealt with lots of difficult family issues. However, I'm still (just about!) working at Ashdown House and finally, after many years of good intentions, I am writing a non-fiction book about the history of the house. 

During those seven years, so many people have told me how much they enjoyed the blog and found it so useful in discovering more about the Craven family, Ashdown House itself and the local history associated with it. It's been amazing to get such wonderful feedback! Perhaps, at the time, I thought that I had discovered everything I could about Ashdown and didn't have anything left to write about. How wrong I was. In the intervening years, I've studied the Craven papers in the Bodleian Library in Oxford and made many more astonishing finds. I've been to museums and records offices around the country and will continue to do so for my research, and I've had the amazing experience of cataloguing some of the original and previously-unseen Craven papers. All of this I'd like to share here with you as I have a passion for Ashdown House (no surprises there!) and love to share all the history bits that the official site doesn't mention. This blog is not affiliated to the National Trust in any way - they are the people who own and run Ashdown and organize the tours of the property. But this is the place where the magic happens <G!>

There are a number of other places where you can find out more about the history of the Craven family

and their historic homes including The Craven Society Facebook Page and Elizabeth Craven and her World, a blog run by Dr Julia Gaspar. You may also be interested in the Jane Austen side of the family at Kintbury and Beyond. As we go along I'll be including recommended books and places to visit for those discerning tourists who like to see all the famous sites but head off the beaten track as well for something different. And if you are a genealogist interested in Craven family history, please do get in touch as well.

I hope you will rejoin me in stepping into Ashdown's story once again for new light through old windows!

Debunking the Curse of the Cravens

Curses. They’re rather fun in fiction. As someone who has written a book featuring a cursed pearl, I’m the first to admit that I like the Gothic, spooky element of a curse story, especially as the nights draw in towards Halloween and the ghosts start to gather.

However, I have a different attitude towards real-life family curses. They make me feel pretty uncomfortable because these are real people the curses refer to, not fictional ones. Someone might get hurt. And really… Can they possibly stand up to the light of historical enquiry?

One of the biggest, spookiest and most notorious family curse stories that pops up every so often (I

was reading about it again only yesterday) is the so-called curse of the Craven family of Ashdown Park. When it comes to family curses this has all the classic elements; a heartless nobleman who gets a maidservant (or gypsy girl, depending on which version you read) pregnant, casts her out and is cursed for his cruelty. The curse itself is blood-curdling in its threat: That no son and heir to the title shall outlive his mother.  And it comes true, striking down each generation of the family with death and destruction.

Except in one generation this doesn’t happen. Or maybe in two. Or three… Well, you can see where I’m going with this.  Can we talk the incidence of illness in any given historical era? Or the dangers of war? Perhaps not, because that would spoil the story... Well, I’m going to do it anyway because I'm a spoilsport.

What is the truth behind this apparent curse that no son of the Craven family would outlive his mother? Well, first it’s a bit vague, isn’t it?  The Craven family has produced a great many sons across all branches of the family over the years and plenty of them have outlived their mothers. So for convenience sake the curse has been interpreted as “no heir to the title shall outlive his mother” which is a lot easier to check. And if you do check, you’ll find that there is no historical basis for the story of the curse. Not one reference. The first mention of it is in The News of the World in the 1980s.

Never mind. Let’s look at the actual detail behind this claim because it could be true anyway.

If we start with William, First Earl of Craven, who was supposed to have been the philandering

nobleman who brought this on the family, he was born in 1608 and died in 1697. His mother Elizabeth died in 1624, so he outlived her by quite a long chalk.

William was succeeded as 2^nd Lord Craven by the grandson of a cousin. This William was born in 1688 and died in 1711. His mother, Margaret also died in 1711, but in April to William’s October. Foiled again.

William the 3^rd Baron and Fulwar the 4^th Baron were brothers. They died in 1739 and 1764 respectively. Their mother Elizabeth died in 1704 before both of her sons.

William the 5^th Baron died in 1769. There is no record of when his mother died.

William 6^th Baron died in 1791. His mother Mary also died in 1791. William predeceased her by 2 months. At last we’re getting somewhere!

William, 7^th Baron and 1^st Earl of the 2^nd Creation was born in 1770 and died in 1825. His mother, the “beautiful Lady Craven” was alive and causing scandal until three years later!

William 2^nd Earl was born in 1809 and died in 1866. His mother, the actress Louisa Brunton, had died in 1860. Oops! After only 2 generations the curse fails again.

The second Earl’s heir was Viscount Uffington who was born in 1838. He pre-deceased his father, never mind his mother, a not uncommon occurrence. It was his brother George who went on to inherit the Craven Earldom. Both sons were outlived by their mother Emily who died in 1901.

And it’s here that the story of the curse really kicks off because it is the case that in the subsequent four generations the Dowager Countesses of Craven have outlived the son and heir. Which all goes to prove…  Not very much in my opinion, especially as the 5^th Earl was badly wounded in the First World War which affected his health throughout the rest of his life. However there are others who are more open to the idea than I am and I’m sure they will carry on telling the tale of the wicked earl, the pregnant maid/gypsy and the subsequent curse that has wreaked havoc for ten generations. As for me, I’ll just keep looking for some historical evidence to back up the tale and in the meantime wish the Earl of Craven (and his mother) a long and happy life untroubled by these stories.

The apples of Wyken Manor

Aficionados of Ashdown House and William Craven will already know that he was a man of wide-ranging interests. I had not previously realised, however, that one of them was horticulture. Last week I discovered that when he came back from the Netherlands after the Restoration of King Charles II in 1660 William Craven brought with him the seeds of an apple which he planted at Wyken Manor near Coventry. This grew to be the Wyken Pippin apple tree. On Thursday, wandering in the orchard at Stanton Park near Swindon, I found a Wyken Pippin tree and learned of its history. Apparently the fruit is creamy white, moderately firm, juicy, sweet and aromatic, which sounds delicious. At Stanton you can pick the pippin and other heritage apples, which is a rather lovely idea!

Seas of Blue

The first bluebells are starting to come out in the Ashdown woods. In a week, or perhaps two, there will be a carpet of blue beneath the trees, mingling with the yellow primroses and the white of the wild wood anemones.

Spring in the Wood

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade." Charles Dickens, Great Expectations.

Ashdown, the fairytale house, is waking from its winter sleep. It is spring in the woods, with snowdrops and primroses, and soon the house will be open again too.

We Are Open!

Today Ashdown House opens for the 2015 season! Opening hours are 2pm - 5pm every Wednesday and Saturday. The house is open by timed tour only at 2.15,3.15 and 4.15pm.

Here are a few of the highlights of a visit to this most unusual of NT properties (and yes we may be biased but we think it is fabulous!):

The Landscape. The Sarsen Field is the first thing you see on the left of the drive as you approach the car park. This is open to everyone to walk in and is a fascinating are of Special Scientific Interest where the huge, ancient sarsen stones lie amongst the grass as they have done for thousands of years. Legend says they are an army turned to stone by the magician Merlin.

High on the hill to the east is the weathercock. If you fancy a climb up onto the Downs this gives a

wonderful panoramic view of the park and the surrounding countryside.

The woodland dates back to when this was a medieval hunting ground and the deer still live here.

Landscaped in the 17th century, the woods are full of walks and glades where you can picnic and play and catch sight of the wildlife. The badgers have been digging up the area around the grand avenue for almost 1000 years! There are also hidden geocaches, a tree trail and our Pixie Path. In the fields behind the wood the Balleroy ponies graze.

To the west of the park lies Alfred's Castle, an Iron Age encampment. Smaller than Uffington and Liddington forts it nevertheless commands a wonderful view and at one time controlled the track south from the Ridgeway. Anglo Saxon weapons have been found here; legend states it was the place where King Alfred rallied his army before the Battle of Ashdown in 871 AD.

The house. A stunning 17th century hunting lodge, Ashdown is

well worth a view for the  architecture alone. Of the interior, only the hall, grand staircase and roof terrace of the house are open to visitors because the rooms are privately let. However the wonderful

guided tour weaves the story of Ashdown and its owners over the three hundred and fifty years since it was built. From Queens and cavaliers to Victorian servants, the characters come alive!

We hope to see you soon!

The Antiquities of Ashbury

One of the things I love about print on demand is that antiquarian books that previously you could only access by visiting the British Library are now available to own at a modest price. So it is that I am now the proud owner of Henry Miller’s book: “Some Account of the Parish of Ashbury in Berkshire etc” written in 1877. Henry Miller was a vicar and fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford. His book is short, a mere 17 pages, but it is fascinating on the history and folklore of the area and as a window into how the village was seen in the Victorian era. For example he bemoans the use of Sarsen stone and chalk in building because so many cottages are as a result dilapidated and “worthless rubble.” How times have changed!

Miller traces the history of the parish from 400 years before the Norman Conquest when it was first

mentioned as the boundary of the lands of Kinewulf, King of the West Saxons who ruled from AD 688 to 757. It was disputed land between the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia for two centuries, the site of battles and encampments along the Ridgeway. He explores the legends and tales about Wayland’s Smithy, including the suggestion that it is the burial site of King Bagseek of the Danes, killed at the Battle of Ashdown. However Miller does not seem very interested in the rival theories over where the name of Wayland’s Smithy came from, or the old (even in his time) arguments about whether the name Ashdown is specific to this area or covered the whole area of the Downs.

He writes:

“To enliven a dull subject I may add that at a distance of about two miles below the hill… among a clump of trees, there is a large stone partly embedded in the ground…Weyland Smith hurled it from his forge at his familiar imp when he was attempting to run off. From the tears the imp is supposed to have shed, the spot is appropriately called “snivelling corner.” Snivelling Corner still features on the OS maps today and I have always wondered about the derivation of the name!

On the subject of Ashdown Park, Miller exercises some poetic licence as to which member of the Craven family bought it, when and why, and also gives some fanciful tales about the family. He does however fix the date for the building of the Victorian extensions to 1850, which was within thirty years of when he was writing. He also gives a tantalising glimpse into life in that country house: “In the modern billiard-room is a large picture representing one of the great coursing meetings held on the downs near the house.” This is the original picture by Stephen Pearce or which there is a copy at the top of the stairs. It was commissioned by a committee of coursers and presented to the Second Earl of Craven in 1862.

The Illustrious History of the Craven Mixture

Of all the unusual connections to Ashdown House, the Craven tobacco mixture and the Craven A cigarette must surely be one of the strangest and most intriguing.

In its day the Craven Mixture, produced by the Carreras Tabacco Company, was world famous. The antecedents of the Carreras Tobacco Company business stem back into the eighteenth century (their products and advertising materials consistently bore the legend 'Established 1788'), and forebears of the family were Spanish apothecaries. The founder of the business was a Spanish nobleman, Don José Carreras Ferrer, who served with distinction in the Peninsular War and later established himself in London. He was a pioneer of cigar development and his son Don José Joaquin specialised in blending both tobacco and snuff.

As a supplier of tobacco to high society, Don José had many fashionable and distinguished customers, including George Grimston Craven, the 3rd Earl. George would frequent the Carreras store in Regent Street along with the rest of the rich and the fashionable. In 1860 Don José created the Craven Mixture especially for him. The blend spread in popularity throughout the world. It is no surprise that the Victorian wing additions to Ashdown House included a smoking room. This fits perfectly with the image of the 3^rd Earl and his friends retiring after dinner to smoke their Craven Mixture!

The concept of the smoking room was quite a specific Victorian idea. Amongst other purposes, it was intended to restrict the smell of smoke to one room of the house since the smoke was considered to ruin the furnishings. Smoking rooms were frequently decorated in velvet - velvet drapes, velvet upholstery even velvet smoking jackets - as it was thought to absorb the smell. Smoking rooms also contributed to gender segregations since they were seen very much male preserves whilst the ladies spent the after dinner period in the drawing room. It would be interesting to know how the smoking room at Ashdown was decorated but whilst we have photographs of the drawing room none of the interior of the wings appear to exist.


Some of Don José's other tobacco brands also became world famous, including Guards' Mixture and

Hankey's Mixture. Over one thousand brands of cigar could be bought from Carreras, together with snuffs, cigarettes, pipes and all the usual requisites of the trade. After World War I Carreras developed the first machine made, cork tipped cigarettes and named them Craven A, a brand that also became a huge success and is still sold around the world today. When the renovations to the house took place in 2012 quite a few packets of Craven A were discovered, left by builders who had worked on the house in the past century.

On the Edge of the Wood

On a stormy day like today you can hear the wind roaring in the trees as soon as you step into the Ashdown woods. Although the eastern flank of the wood is protected from gales, if you cross the main avenue and head west towards the edge of the trees you enter a wilder place altogether. Here, as you follow the path around the edge of the 13th century park pale, you catch a view of the house lying to the south, looking deceptively peaceful in the sunshine.

Once you climb the stile, however, and head out

across the paddock towards Alfred's Castle Iron Age fort, the wind hits you with the strength to catch your breath and steal it away. Here the grass is grazed short by the Balleroy ponies. It's fortunate they are from Scottish Highland stock or they would be shivering out here on the exposed western flank of the hillside. Alfred's Castle might not be as huge or impressive as the forts at Uffington or Barbury or a dozen other places along the Ridgeway but this was a strategic point for the rulers that controlled this land, a vantage point giving the view south as well as northward to the old straight track. The sarsen stones of the ramparts - those that are left and are not buried beneath Ashdown House - peep through the rough grass. It's a place with an ancient feel to it that has never been worn away.

When I stand on the edge of Alfred's Castle I'm always reminded of the poem On Wenlock Edge by A E Housman, a different wood and a different county but a similar sensation of the past melding into the present. Alfred's Castle is a place where you can stand and dream - until the wind buffets you back towards the wood again and the trees close around you and offer shelter.

Do you have a favourite place where the past and present meet and where you go to stand and dream?

The Who's Who of Ashdown House

One of the highlights of a visit to Ashdown House is the opportunity to view the portrait collection that adorns the walls of the hallway and stair. The portraits are a small part of the collection that Elizabeth the Winter Queen bequeathed to William Craven on her death. If every picture tells a story then these have a whole host of tales to tell. They are members of Elizabeth's family and her court, the people who formed an important part of her daily life, each with a story of their own.

The hallway itself is dominated by a large picture of William Craven, painted in

full armour, flanked by Frederick of Bohemia on the left and Elizabeth on the right. Also featured in the hall are Elizabeth's daughter Princess Louise Hollandine (pictured), the artist of two of the paintings in the collection, and her cousin Mary, Princess Royal, the daughter of Charles I. Mary married the Dutch ruler William of Orange and went to live in The Hague with her mother Henrietta Maria in the 1640s. To complete this family ensemble, there is also a portrait of Mary's mother-in-law Amelia, who was at one time Elizabeth of Bohemia's lady in waiting!

The first flight of steps introduces us to three of Elizabeth and Frederick's sons; Charles Louis, the heir to Frederick's princedom, the dashing Prince Rupert of the Rhine (pictured), whose life Craven saved in battle, and Edward, who made an advantageous marriage to one of the richest women in France. There is also an early portrait of their cousin Charles II, painted when he was only nineteen.

On the first landing are portraits of three of Elizabeth and Frederick's daughters; Elizabeth, the eldest, the "philosophical princess," a great scholar, Henrietta Maria, the tragic bride of Prince Sigismund of Transylvania, and Sophie,the mother of King George I, "the best queen we never had."

As you climb higher you pass soldiers and statesmen, Prince Christian of Anhalt, Elizabeth's cousin, who rode into battle with her glove as his talisman, and Frances Coke, the runaway bride.

The huge painting on the second landing of Prince Rupert, Colonel Murray and Colonel Russell is a story in itself, painted by William Dobson, court painter to Charles I, and richly decorated with symbols of loyalty. I've blogged about the Dobson painting before - like all the others in the collection it is well worth a view. Come and take a tour of Ashdown and step into the history of the house and the people connected to it!

The Mystery of the "lost King."

First it was King Richard III who was discovered under a car park in Leicester. Then part of King Alfred’s pelvis (or possibly that of his son Edward) was found in a box in a museum in Winchester. There is a sudden interest in “lost” kings.

Here at Ashdown we have a connection to two “lost kings,” Alfred himself, who fought at the Battle of Ashdown, and also the unfortunate Frederick, King of Bohemia.

There is something intriguing about the idea that the burial place of a historical figure is not known. In the case of Richard III the contested nature of his reputation gave the discovery of his burial site an extra dimension. Perhaps that is why it seems no one has gone looking for Frederick of Bohemia; his was a tragic and unsuccessful role in a bigger history. Perhaps it was felt he was best forgotten.

Frederick was born in 1596, and from 1614 ruled over the County Palatinate of the Rhine, a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Frederick married Elizabeth Stuart, daughter of King James I in 1613 and they made their home in Heidelberg where Frederick transformed the castle and its gardens into a palace worthy of the daughter of a king. In 1618 the kingdom of Bohemia rebelled against its catholic ruler and invited Frederick to take the throne. Perceiving it to be his holy duty, Frederick did so, putting himself in opposition to the Holy Roman Empire and losing his throne a scant year and four days later at the Battle of the White Mountain. He, Elizabeth and their young family forced to flee into exile in Holland.

In 1632 Frederick had his best chance of regaining his ancestral Palatine lands. The Swedish King Gustavus

Adolphus had entered the Thirty Years War with significant success. In January 1632 Frederick travelled to Mainz to join the Swedish king’s forces. William Craven of Ashdown went with him and shortly after his arrival fought alongside the Swedish forces at the taking of Kreuznach Castle. This was the famous occasion on which Gustavus praised Craven for his courage in battle. Sadly Gustavus had less of a good opinion of Frederick’s abilities and refused to give him a command.  Instead, Frederick went to visit his Palatinate lands, which had been devastated during the ongoing conflict, with towns burned and ruined.

It was still Frederick’s hope that the Swedes would take the rest of the German lands from the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor and that after this he would be restored as ruler of the Palatine. In November Gustavus Adolphus won the decisive victory at Lutzen, but it was at the cost of his own life. Frederick wrote to Elizabeth telling her that he would be coming to fetch her now that his German lands would be restored to him. Alas it never happened. On November 19^th 1632 Frederick died of plague in Mainz in Germany.

It was another sixteen years before Charles Louis, Frederick’s heir, finally succeeded to the Palatinate. In 1632 he was only 15 and his uncle, the Duke of Simmern, was appointed administrator of the Palatine lands on his behalf. Meanwhile Elizabeth corresponded with her brother Charles I about a suitable place for Frederick to be buried. His embalmed body lay in Mainz for many months before it was taken to the town of Frankenthal and interred.

Peace did not last long.  In 1635 Frankenthal was threatened by enemy troops and the Duke of Simmern felt it would be wise to move Frederick’s body for fear it might be dug up and desecrated. Simmern fled to Metz, in France, taking Frederick’s coffin with him. From there the intention was to take him to Sedan for reburial in the mausoleum of his uncle, the Duke de Bouillon.  With an increase in hostilities, however, it was deemed to dangerous to travel.

Reports vary as to what happened next. Some historians suggest that Simmern arranged for Frederick’s burial secretly in Metz. Others suggest that he finally took the body to Sedan in September 1637. However when the mausoleum at Sedan was opened in the early 20^th century, Frederick’s body was not there. Where Frederick’s tomb is we do not know. Elizabeth made no reference to her husband's burial in any of her correspondence and thus preserved the mystery of the final resting place of this “lost king.”

Welcome to the 2014 season at Ashdown House

The Ashdown House blog will re-open next month in preparation for the new season, which starts on 2nd April.  We'll be featuring new photographs and new articles for 2014 including stories from our visitors and guest blogs. A very Happy Spring to everyone!

Remember, Remember the 5th of November!

By virtue of its connection to Elizabeth of Bohemia, Ashdown House has a link to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and the 5^th November Guy Fawkes’ celebrations. Coombe Abbey, the main family seat of the Cravens, has a far greater connection, being the house in which Elizabeth was living at the time of the Gunpowder Plot.

It was the intention of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 conspirators to kill King James I and his eldest son and heir, Prince Henry, plus all the nobility sitting in the House of Lords and all the members of parliament sitting in the House of Commons. They wanted to put a Catholic monarch on the throne. The plot was thwarted when Henry Parker, 4^th Lord Monteagle, received an anonymous letter warning him not to attend parliament:

“My lord out of the love i beare to some of youere frends i have a caer of youer preseruacion therfor i would advyse yowe as yowe tender youer lyf to devys some excuse to shift of youer attendance at this parleament for god and man hath concurred to punishe the wickednes of this tyme… for thowghe theare be no appearance of anni stir yet i saye they shall receyve a terrible blowe this parleament and yet they shall not seie who hurts them…”

Monteagle was married to the sister of one of the Gunpowder Plotters, Thomas Tresham. Monteagle took the letter to Robert Cecil, who informed the King. The king ordered a search of the cellars at the Palace of Westminster. The plot was discovered and Monteagle became the hero who saved Parliament. He was rewarded to the sum of £700 a year - £500 in cash and £200 in the value of land donated to him. He invested the money in business ventures in Virginia.

One of the lesser-known aspects of the Gunpowder Plot is what the plotters intended to happen if they had

actually succeeded. Their aim was to put James I’s daughter Elizabeth on the throne as a catholic figurehead. In 1605 the nine-year-old Elizabeth was living at Coombe Abbey in Warwickshire.  Lord and Lady Harington, staunch Protestants, had been charged with "the keeping and education" of the young Princess, as was the wont with royal children in those days. At Coombe, Elizabeth was taught amongst other things, French and Italian, music and dancing. King James did not approve of the education of women, stating that: "to make women learned and foxes tame had the same effect - to make them more cunning." However I think we may assume that by most people's standards Elizabeth was very well educated.

In late October 1605 strange rumours of a plot to overthrow the monarchy were circulating in Warwickshire, which was a stronghold of Catholicism. Lord Harington was warned of a threat to the princess and Elizabeth was taken for her own safety to the city of Coventry, for it was suspected that she might be seized should a rebellion take place. She was lodged in the city with an armed guard. Later, after the gunpowder plotters had been arrested and tortured, it emerged that it had been their intention to kidnap "the person of the Lady Elizabeth, the king's daughter, in Warwickshire, and presently proclaim her queen." The plan had been to seize her from Coombe Abbey and carry her off to Ashby St Legers, a Catholic safe house and the home of Lady Catesby, mother of one of the conspirators.

It is said that when Elizabeth heard of the plot she said: “What a Queen I should have been by this means! I had rather been with my royal father in the Parliament House than wear his crown on such condition.”

For the blog post about other houses connected to the Gunpowder Plot, click here:

http://ashdownhouse.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/houses-of-gunpowder-plot.html

Happy November 5th!

St Hubert's Day

It's a busy week for anniversaries at Ashdown House. On Sunday it is St Hubert's Day. Hubert was born in about 656AD and was the first Bishop of Liege. He is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians and metalworkers. Interesting mix! He features in full bishop's regalia in the picture to the left which was taken in the Craven Chapel at Ashbury Church.

During the Victorian and Edwardian period, Ashdown House had its own chapel and private choir (which is another, fascinating story). The chapel was located in Ashdown village and was dedicated to St Hubert as the most appropriate saint for a hunting lodge. Choosing St Hubert as Ashdown's patron saint also underlined the importance that the 3rd Earl of Craven and his Countess placed on hunting, which was one of their great passions. They lived permanently at Ashdown and kept a pack of hounds in the kennels there.

The chapel was demolished in the early 20th century and rather curiously was divided into two parts which became the church halls in two local villages. Half of the chapel is pictured to the right!

The Craven Chapel in Ashbury Parish Church  is also dedicated to St Hubert. It contains a beautiful stained glass window of a hunting scene, pictured left, as well as various memorials associated with the Craven family.

Next week here on the blog we are also celebrating Guy Fawkes Night via The Winter Queen and her links to the gunpowder plot. Check back on the 5th for the whole story!