How the Other Half Lived

We've stayed close to home this week, working on course syllabi and arranging upcoming trips and guest speakers (not to mention the constants of cleaning, minor repairs, plumbing, etc. at the student flat). But on a couple of nice afternoons we ventured into the local countryside.

Wednesday we visited Newstead Abbey which was the family home of the poet, Lord Byron. It was originally an Abbey and was converted to a manor house after the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII in the 1500s.

Even though Lord Byron didn't live there very long (he inherited it from his uncle at age 10, in a very dilapidated state, and sold it in still worse condition when he was in his early 20s), it is still one of Nottingham's claims to fame.

The inside of the home is only open once a week, so people mostly go to enjoy the grounds. The expanse of gardens have walkways and pathways going through trees, flower gardens, lawns and around two lakes.

We went on a weekday afternoon and there were quite a few moms out with their children walking and playing on the grounds.

Newstead Abbey

On Friday we visited Clumber Park. This was another grand estate, used as a hunting lodge by the Dukes of Newcastle. Like many such places, it fell on hard times during the Great Depression and in the period between the World Wars. The manor house was demolished in 1938. Only the stables and some servant quarters remain, along with the chapel (which is quite beautiful).

Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin at Clumber Park

The grounds, which are vast, were used by the British military during World War II as an ammunition dump and weapons testing ground. But today, this wooded expanse is popular for all sorts of outdoor activities. We were surprised at how many people were there on a Friday afternoon, and how much activity there was.

The number of these manor homes all across England is amazing. Each was a community unto itself with a highly regimented hierarchy headed by the lord of the manor, down to the myriad lowly servants. The amount of wealth necessary to maintain this essentially feudal system through the 19th century is quite astounding.

Many of these properties have now been given to the National Trust and/or local governments, because the families who originally owned them can't afford the upkeep.