Author Archives: diane

About diane

Diane Gaston is the RITA award-winning author of Historical Romance for Harlequin Historical and Mills and Boon, with books that feature the darker side of the Regency. Formerly a mental health social worker, she is happiest now when deep in the psyches of soldiers, rakes and women who don’t always act like ladies.

Stratfield Saye

Updated on October 6, 2014 by diane

One of my favorite stops on the Duke of Wellington Tour was at Stratfield Saye, Wellington’s country house. Like when Amanda and I visited the house in 2003, the weather was incredibly beautiful.

Here’s a view of the house from the back. It is so beautiful!

After the victory Waterloo, a grateful nation gave Wellington the funds to buy a property commensurate with his status as a duke and the hero who finally vanquished Napoleon. What was envisioned was something along the lines of Blenheim Palace. It was supposed to be called Waterloo Palace. Wellington liked Stratfield Saye because it was near enough to London and close to the property of a friend, but he ultimately abandoned plans for the Waterloo Palace because of the expense. He did improve the house, adding central heating and water closets….but not until after his wife passed away.

We could not photograph the inside of the house, but that was okay with me, because the house is still a family home. The present Duke of Wellington, who is 99 years old, still lives on the estate in another residence. His grandson and grandson’s family live in the house at present. As you go through the house you can see evidence of this fact, including a desk with stacks of paperwork, pens, and sticky pads on it.

Front of the house:

Another sign that this is a country home still in use, was the sight of horses in the paddock.

No visit to Stratfield Saye would be complete without a visit to Copenhagen’s grave. Copenhagen was Wellington’s horse during the battle of Waterloo. The Duke rode Copenhagen during the entire battle. Copenhagen retired to Stratfield Saye and, after his death at 28 years, was buried under a beautiful oak tree on the property.

In the stable buildings are exhibits of memorabilia from Wellington’s life. Also on display is Wellington’s funeral coach, made in part from the iron of cannon from the battle of Waterloo. It is a Victorian monstrosity that the Duke would have hated, but it was lovingly created by teams of workers and seamstresses in a remarkably short period of time.

In the room housing the funeral carriage a recording of the accolades recited at Wellington’s funeral plays over and over. When I first heard this recording in 2003, I burst into tears, realizing that, in a way, I was in the presence of a truly great man.

Ever since that time, I’ve been a Wellington groupie and remain in armed combat with Kristine Hughes as to which of us is Wellington’s favorite!
(I am….)

Posted in History, Regency | Tagged stratfield saye | 8 Replies

Basildon Park

Updated on September 29, 2014 by diane

One of the stops on The Duke of Wellington tour was Basildon Park–not because the historic house has any connection with the Iron Duke, but because it was nearby, open, and a treat to see.

Basildon Park also represents the rise and fall of fortunes which so often inhabit our Regency books.

It was built between 1776 and1783 for Sir Frances Sykes, the son of a yeoman farmer who made a huge fortune in the East India Company and was friends with Warren Hastings and Clive of India. It was built in the Palladian style by John Carr and its interiors were in the style of Robert Adams.

Almost as soon as Sykes purchased the house his fortunes began to decline and had diminished by his death in 1804. His grandson, the third baronet, became a part of the Prince Regent’s set, further depleting the Sykes fortune. After a scandal involving his wife, Sykes had the humiliating distinction of being the model for Charles Dickens’ “Bill Sikes,” the villain in Oliver Twist.

Sykes sold the house in 1838 to James Morrison, a self-made Victorian millionaire, who wanted it to display his huge art collection. After his death, his daughter inhabited the house and upon her death in 1910, the house’s fortunes again turned bleak. The nephew who inherited the estate again depleted his funds and had to sell it in 1929 to a man who wanted the land, not the house. This man tried to sell the house, even offering to dismantle it and rebuild it if some wealthy American would pay the price for it.

The house continued to decline, even suffering a fire, until 1953 when it was purchased by the 2nd Baron and Baroness Iliffe, who lovingly restored it to its present glory. Here is some of the beauty they rescued:

Entry Hall

Stairway

Upper rooms

Dining room ceiling

The original dining room had been sold and now exists as the Basildon room of the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.

Basildon Park has played Netherfield Park in the Keira Knightley Pride and Prejudice, and, more recently, Grantham House in Downton Abbey. It became a National Trust property in 1978

Posted in History, Research | Tagged Basildon Park | 2 Replies

The Regency Town House

Updated on September 22, 2014 by diane

As part of our Duke of Wellington tour, we visited The Regency Town House in Hove.

The Regency Town House was built in the mid-1820s when sea bathing became popular and the Prince Regent made nearby Brighton fashionable. It was conceived much like vacation properties are conceived today. The investors and the builder created the project, Brunswick Square, pre-designed town houses built around the square and in sight of the sea, and then they sold each unit.

The result is a beautiful of example of Regency architecture at its finest.

One of these beautiful houses is being restored to how it would have appeared to those first buyers. It is both a historic site and a restoration project in process. I visited the project in 2003 so this project is a very long-standing one, limited only by the funds available to do the work.

The drawing room has been restored to its original Regency colors and I’m sure you will be a little surprised. The decades and centuries of paint were carefully sanded away until reaching the original paints. Minute samples of these paints were analyzed chemically and then recreated.

The restoration is far from complete, as you can see in this photo of the stairway. But some of the glory of the original house can be imagined.

In another unit on the square, the lower level of the town house is being restored. This is the “downstairs” that the servants inhabited and it is complete with housekeeper’s room, wine storage, servants’ dining room, and the kitchen.

The kitchen is in the far back and is illuminated by skylight, which also serves to draw the heat up and out of the kitchen.

One of the most interesting parts of this level was the meat locker, which may be the most intact meat locker of this era. The walls are a sort of screen that allows air to circulate but protects the meat.

Here are some more photos:

The kitchen and the servants stairs:

The hall floor tiles and a view of the front door from the stairway:

After our visit to The Regency Town House we went on to the grandest beach house of all time–The Royal Pavilion!

Unfortunately, I could not take photos inside the Pavilion, but it is not to be missed. You can see some images of the interior here.

(Gosh, I miss being in England!)

Posted in History, Regency, Research, Risky Regencies | Tagged Brighton, Hove, The Regency Town House, The Royal Pavilion | 5 Replies

Walmer Castle

Updated on September 15, 2014 by diane

I arrived home yesterday at about 9:30 pm, which was like 2:30 am in the UK, so I am a little tired today but already missing England. There were so many wonderful experiences on this trip, it is hard to pick out one to share today.

Since this was The Duke of Wellington tour, most of the sites we visited related to the Duke. One I knew little about was Walmer Castle.

The Duke of Wellington was appointed Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, a post he held for 23 years. The Cinque Ports are five ports on the English Channel that were originally formed for military and trade purposes, but is now entirely ceremonial. Henry VIII built Walmer Castle as a defense against possible invasion.

Wellington spent part of each year at Walmer Castle. One of the reasons he liked it so well was that it was enough distant from London that he was not inundated by visitors. One notable visitor, though, was Queen Victoria who came with Prince Albert and their two oldest children.

We saw Wellington’s bed chamber at Walmer. There was a writing desk under a window where Wellington wrote letters early in the morning, looking out at the sea as he did so. Wellington wrote letters standing up and the desk looked somewhat like a lectern. In that room was his camp bed where he preferred to sleep and also the arm chair where he suffered his fatal stroke.

Wellington used to walk every day and he was a favorite with the local children. He’d keep a number of sovereigns each suspended from a red or a blue ribbon. He’d ask the children if they were for the navy or the army. Navy received blue ribbons and army received red ones.

The gardens of Walmer, now beautiful, were reputed to be a shambles during Wellington’s tenure. He’d hired a gardner with no knowledge or experience in gardening. One day in London a Sergeant Townsend wrote to the Duke to complain of being discharged from the army without a pension. Wellington gave him the job of gardener at Walmer.