Tuesday 26 August 2014

Tredegar House - Downstairs

As I mentioned, one grand house blends into another without something special to see or some personality to remember. The downstairs portions of these places are fairly predictable as well, though I'm always open to being surprised. There was one house we visited on this same trip where the kitchen would have been the envy of most modern chefs if only for the architecture. 

Otherwise the standard features include the bells that called the servants to the various rooms in the house. I never see these without thinking of Downton Abbey. (BTW, the next series of Downton Abbey is being filmed at Alnwick Castle, of Harry Potter fame. I'm looking forward to seeing if I recognise anything in common between the two films. Also, must find out how to visit inside Alnwick Castle, not just visit the gardens - it's not a National Trust Property. Have a feeling it might need to involve running their 10K race, but even that could be fun, exploring the grounds!)





There is almost always some sort of fake food around, hopefully to help children's imaginations. Everything I've read about living in grand houses is that the food was definitely not great. By the time it got transported from kitchen to dining room and served it was almost never hot. Which would help all those ladies stay skinny, right?

Better than the fake food, I love seeing the rows of copper pans. Those alone would cost a fortune, surely?





Of course there is always some hulking great stove - or two. 


I am particularly fond of menus. Usually there are not a lot of things there I would be excited to eat, if I even knew what they were. I'm more intrigued by the idea of knowing how to make those things and to present them beautifully. One day I'll have to do a series on 'Master This Menu'.  This is the menu for the Servant's Ball in 1921. Surely it must have been a buffet? One does find that there was an extraordinary amount of meat eaten back then, veggies being what poor folks could raise and eat. Also there seems to be a lot of desserts. My tummy hurts just reading the list, though I could fancy a bit of 'cream vanilla'.







Loved the art nouveau pattern on this platter. Art nouveau preceeded the inter-war years, but if anything I love it even better than art deco...


These 'jelly moulds' would likely have been as much for savory fare as for the gelatin and fruit concoctions I recall from my grade school days. Can't say I would be terribly excited about cold meat served up in cold gelatin. It wasn't until I moved to Britain, where vegetarians are quite common, that I realised gelatin was an animal product, even the stuff used to capture fruit. Doesn't bear thinking about, so I don't; I just eat it.



That is one of the things in my pantry shelves that needs 'used up', packets of gelatin. Can't wait to see the expression on Bill's face...






7 comments:

Gam Kau said...

Your attention to detail is formidable! While I enjoy viewing historic places, it's mostly as a visual treat, I simply am unable to concentrate on or retain historic facts. Your blog is great the way in condenses information!

Shelley said...

GK - Well thank you, I think! My eye for detail sometimes drives Bill crackers. He finds it tedious that I can be interested in EVERYTHING! I don't retain a great deal of specifics, but my photos do remind me a lot of what to look up in the internet.

Beryl said...

Thanks for all those pictures. The kitchen is great and I agree about all the copper. If you really have to use up the gelatin packets, how about a nice Tomato Aspic? It was one of my mother-in-law's specialties - she served it with shrimp.

Shelley said...

Beryl

We're going to the States soon and I may try to find an aspic to experience it in a warm climate. There is something about chilled savory food in a chilly climate that doesn't work well for Bill. He's pretty choosy about when he'll eat salad even - only in a warm summer. I have given up fighting and have joined him, especially since growing our own lettuce and eating more seasonally.

Beryl said...

That is how my French grandparents would plan their meals, so I can totally agree with Bill on this. My Grandmother always said the real rich would never eat out of season produce. (I know, sounds silly now, but you had to be there and hear her deliver her opinions - you would agree with her even if you had no idea where those ideas came. The one about not drinking water with meals because, among other things, it would make your fat get lumpy was one of my favorites.)

Shelley said...

Beryl - That is hilarious! Yes, people of firm opinions do manage to be very convincing at times. Love the lumpy fat tip!

sanda said...

The size of those kitchens is amazing. I can see why the food wouldn't be great, for the reasons you mention. The copper, of course, is to die for. I am so envious of you, getting to see Downton Abbey Season 5 a full four months before we in the US. Your pictures capture the essence of that place quite well!