Wollaton Hall, Nottingham

Before the milonga at Beeston I decided to visit Wollaton Hall, 15 minutes drive away. You can park in the deer park (£2 for up to 3 hours and £4 for the day).

I had done no research before visiting. Approaching the hall I thought it was a nineteenth century mock-up but it is an Elizabethan mansion, a “prodigy house” and apparently one of the most important Elizabethan mansions in England. 

On my way from the car to the hall I wandered into the stable block housing the cafe, shop and Nottingham Industrial Museum. I had skipped breakfast and it was lunchtime. The cafe was very family friendly but relaxed, serving good soup. The staff everywhere - in the cafe, in the shop particularly and in the museum were warm and informative. I wondered if that was the working culture of the hall or if it was a reflection of the local people more generally. The pleasant, helpful lady in the shop told me about the Lazy Daisy tea room (reservations only apparently) inside the hall. 

It seemed busy with many families and I did not have long. Someone at reception manually clicking in the numbers reckoned there would be about 2000 people that early Bank Holiday Monday in May which was probably busier than on a Sunday, but I had the sense not necessarily by much.

Entrance (in modern times)

Graham was one of the staff on reception. In response to his question I said I was interested in social, economic and political history. In fact Wollaton Hall is Nottingham’s natural history museum (free), with the Industrial museum (£2) in the grounds. 

Notwithstanding that the hall is not really a museum of any of the things that most interest me historically and I was there a scant two hours, the history of the building and the story of the early Willoughby family of some three to four hundred years ago quite captivated me. This despite that - the natural history collection apart - I felt more might have been made of the building itself, even largely stripped as it is. The interesting Siberechts painting, for instance showing the gardens in their golden age is wedged behind a glass cabinet with a life-size model of a former housekeeper. 

The Great Hall (and reception) was the most striking room I saw and is largely structurally unchanged since the hall was completed in 1588.  At that time a different entrance was used, I think a fireplace has moved and the heraldic shields were added in the nineteenth century but that is about all.

Great Hall

By John Whitehurst (1713-88)

Graham was experienced.  He captivated me immediately with a tale of the 6th Lord Middleton who had a pre-occupation with defending his property, which was justified - the hall was attacked by rioters in the 1830s. He told me at that time Nottingham was biggest slum in the Empire outside Calcutta. People came to work in the town, particularly lace workers. They were predominately women which reminded me of the women jute workers in Dundee (See the excellent Verdant Works).

As the numbers increased in the town there was no room to expand. The people could see the land around the town but it was not their land. Enclosure had emphasised to whom it belonged and reduced the common land. When the 1831 Reform Act failed to extend the vote to working class men angry rioters rose up across the country. Nottingham castle was burnt down and the next day Wollaton hall was attacked but the rioters were repulsed by Lord Middleton’s private militia. See People's Histreh: Nottingham Radical History Group - this entry.

There is some information in the hall about the life of the building before it became the museum but I was advised the better way to learn about this aspect is the tour which takes you to parts of the house closed to visitors such as the kitchens. It takes 40 minutes and costs £5. I had just missed one and did not have time to wait for the next so I walked around the hall briefly.

For much of its history the hall was not inhabited - only ten years according to this claim. Despite being modern in design and drainage the Sir Francis Willoughby who built it used the hall only for special occasions yet lived in old Wollaton Hall in Wollaton village, possibly for reasons of expense. A fire in 1642 rendered it uninhabitable for forty years and in the late 19th century the town was thought to have encroached upon it, the hall was let, then vacant, then sold in the early 1920s to Nottingham council whereupon it opened as a museum. Summary of the Hall’s history on Wikipedia.

I wondered why the building was home to a natural history museum specifically. Initially I thought it was created because of the link with Francis Willughby, ornithologist and ichthyologist. He was revolutionary in thought in that the taxonomical system he and his tutor John Ray developed forms the basis of current classification of plants and animals directly influencing the more famous later work of Carl Linnaeus. They challenged some ornithological inaccuracies of Aristotle and Francis wrote a scientific study of games.  More about Francis here. 

In fact, the natural history museum started life as an interest group of the Nottingham Mechanics Institute - one of the remarkable nineteenth century institutions for the "improvement" of ordinary people; a bit like In Our Time, I suppose today.  The Mechanics Institutes, as an aside became an internationally popular concept, with hundreds of branches across the Empire.  It was co-founded by George Birkbeck, its first President who also founded Birkbeck college in London which offers part-time tuition for working people and is where I studied for a philosophy degree some ten or twelve years ago, until in the third year of four my first son was born.

One of the most captivating stories of the house for me was of Willughby’s three children.

Francis Willughby the naturalist who, though often ill travelled extensively in Europe with his tutor. At the time of his death of pleurisy aged 36 in 1672 he was planning to travel to America to study further. He left behind three children. His eldest son, also Francis ran away at twelve from his stepfather. He seems to have had a similar independence of mind to his father and after taking his stepfather to court over his inheritance moved into the abandoned, fire damaged property aged 19, inviting Cassandra (later, Duchess of Chandos) aged 17 and his younger brother Thomas to join him. These dauntless three must have had great plans but Francis the instigator died only two years later. Biography.  Thomas and Cassandra remained at the hall. She seems to have been a fairly remarkable woman. Together they did restore the hall, creating apparently magnificent gardens. The eighteenth century was the glorious age of British gardens.  Note in that last link the Jan Siberechts painting of the hall gardens she revived, which hangs in the hall - one of three he painted.   The Camellia House (installed later in 1823) is reputedly the earliest cast iron glasshouse in Europe.  Cassandra also wrote a history of her family and catalogued her father’s works

Cassandra Willoughby

She married her widowed cousin at 43, moved away and looked after his children. Her husband employed Handel for some two years and if you are interested in such things you can see the organ he may have played at the Hall, now restored and used for recitals. 

Thomas, her surviving brother married, had many children, became a notable man of the county - JP, Sheriff,  other county offices, also MP and was later raised to the peerage becoming second baron Middleton.

There are various sources of good information about the hall:

Background to the family prior to building the hall (Section: “Historic development “) 

Design and architecture: The house is brick built, encased in stone from Ancaster, Lincolnshire and one of the first great homes to look spectacular rather than being primarily defensive, with an upstairs and downstairs having separate purposes, and no clear front or back, being impressive to see from all sides. It was built by Robert Smythson who had been master mason on Longleat and who became the first person to have the title architect. John Thorpe here is claimed to have been the designer, with Smythson perhaps in charge of the build (architect apparently had a wider meaning than now).  Architectural detail in again, the useful Historic England entry.

Other sources of information about the hall:  Nottinghamshire History.

There is superb children’s guide and activity sheet (for older children) - one of the best for a historic attraction that I have seen.

Sunday in Stuttgart: Teehaus, Weissenburgpark

Jens had proposed that the next morning we meet at the tram station Bopser. I had every faith in his excellent choice of places to go. It would have been fractionally quicker to take two trams but it was another gorgeous day. I decided to walk again along Haußmannstraße again and take the scenic line 15. The sky was blue and the tram glided up the hills around Stuttgart. I saw more of the smart, well maintained villas one with a tower dated 1900. The state of disrepair of buildings of the same era in Buenos Aires, buildings perhaps even more elegant than these made an extraordinary and sad comparison. I wondered what it was that made for such differences - culture, economy, attitude?

Typical villa, Photo:  J Streck, Stuttgart 2016

At Stelle I got off to walk to Bopser, not realising that my walk would be along a forest trail.  It was a surprising and fortuitous turn of events.  The trail seemed well used and I was not worried, still less upon exchanging smiles and hellos with two older couples out for a walk.  The Japanese have a term: Shinrin-yoku - forest bathing. They believe walking in the forest is restorative, that it actually improves and protects health. I live in a part of Scotland where we are surrounded by gorgeous, mysterious but welcoming wooded hills with many walks.  I have often thought how apt this Japanese idea seems when out in those forests. In this wood, the energy of growth was everywhere yet the forest was calm and restful: its scent, the greenness of the leaves, the dirt trail, the quiet and the sound of the birds. I felt lucky and happy to be there. 

I arrived to a street apparently two minutes from Bopser but was confused when Google maps wanted me to return into the forest. I had forgotten to distinguish between the centre of Bopser and Bopser tram stop. I realised that I was only five minutes from a Teehaus in Weissenburgpark. Jens had mentioned a Teehaus. I figured that was the one.  He was tolerant and understanding of my tourist error and we met there instead. 

It was a marvellous setting and felt very European. 

Teehaus

If you go, don’t forget to climb the slope, covered in aliums that day....

....to look at the view.

We had coffee and chatted like everyone else.

Eventually we ordered lunch. With extraordinary patience Jens once again answered my endless questions about the menu. Lentils, here, I said?   Jens said that when the area was poor they grew, and in fact still grow a kind of mountain lentil. I was curious to try a local dish of lentils, sausage and spätzle, a south German noodle. Lentils and noodles in the same dish? I queried. He shrugged. The lentils that arrived were not apparently the mountain variety but they were tasty. Noodles are less my thing and I had ordered them from curiosity. 

As in the Schlossgarten children ran about exploring.  I saw some gazing at tadpoles caught in their hands from the pond while their parents relaxed. It did not feel like worried, stressed Brits I sometimes see trying to control unruly children. The children I saw looked absorbed and happy.  The statues we saw below the Teehaus outside the Marmorsaal (what floors, for dance!) reminded me of a stylised form of that absorption in play:

Photos, 2, 3, 4, 6 (clockwise from top left) by J Streck, Stuttgart 2016

I remember with my babies how it seemed to me they sometimes picked up on how I was feeling. Many times I noticed that as I relaxed, stopped worrying about the baby and toddler and got distracted by tasks I found the baby calmed down too. Perhaps it is not so unlike men and getting dances - you relax, maybe they choose you, if you are not relaxed it is unlikely they will. Yet, like trying to sleep you cannot really make yourself relax.  I think whether you do or not can have a lot to do with how you feel in the prevalent conditions.

Saturday in Stuttgart

Opera, Schlossgarten

I was very lucky to be shown around Stuttgart by my friend, Jens. He moved there from Bremen via Brighton about  three years ago.  Jens proposed we meet for brunch on Saturday at a local cafe.  I decided to walk down Haußmannstraße for some fresh air and exercise.  The sun was warm.   The pavement verges had been left uncut and buzzed with insects among the clover and long grass.  The laburnum was out. I walked in dappled shade under the pink and cream blossom of the horse chestnuts.   

There were lovely views across the city.  

From one of the villas came the sound of a flute.  

 

A fountain set in a wall played.  Go and enjoy grinned its Dionysian faun.   

At Eugensplatz I paused to look at another fountain.  My worries from the night before lingered.  Do you think you’ve come to the right place? said the statue.  “What are you doing here?” mocked  one of its small companions.   “Ignore them” joked the fish.  “I know how you feel” said the stiff, constrained lion without turning his poor head. 

Cafe Babel is a great place to get brunch.  There is a delicious buffet including including juice about 12 euros.  Coffee and hot drinks are extra. There is a sun terrace and a separate pavement bench for coffee in the sun. The staff were lovely.

About Stuttgart

Jens walked back with me along Haußmannstraße pointing out the landmarks. The Bahnhof is topped, curiously, by a Mercedes sign.  

Bahnhof project with vineyards behind

He told me about the Bahnhof project which he thought corrupt and unnecessary.  I think the argument in favour was that it would mean greater throughput of train travel.  The Bahnhof would move underground with the space liberated being used for more shops.  Jens was unpersuaded.  Many of us think we already have enough shops, he said.  There is a large mall already right in the centre - it is the building in the centre with shiny curved roof:

On Monday en route to the airport not long afer 7AM I saw a protester to the Bahnhof project standing in the rain with a banner raised above his arms.  Some citizens really do seem to mind.

I asked Jens about the Mercedes sign above the Bahnhof.  He told me the city’s recent wealth had come from the car industry.  Prior to that he said Stuttgart and the south in general used to be poorer.  I asked him about the people.  He said the legacy of that earlier poverty meant that the locals still had a reputation for tight-fistedness. He said there was a fairly high proportion of incomers and that the native locals tended to be more reserved.

A couple of years ago, some time after Jens had moved to Stuttgart, I had asked him how he found it.   He wrote back:

“Stuttgart is quite the opposite of futuristic Hamburg: We have 2 famous German muscle car factories in the city, so everything that moves with less than 10 liters fuel per 100 km is considered suspicious and its very existence disputed. The town is sited in a deep basin and surrounded by lovely hills with vineyards and orchards etc. But after the war it was transformed following a principle that was called »autogerechte Stadt« (car-friendly city) in the 60ies. Maybe it worked quite well back then, because there was only one car for 14 residents or so. Now it's 9 times more and the whole thing is close to collapse. There are some streets that connect us with the urban hinterland where you have a permanent congestion from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. At the same time German rail sabotages the central station with a refurbishment (est. duration 14 years). And that central station is the main intersection and changing point for long-distance, rail, light-rail, metro, tram and buses. So motorcycles, awesome new electric vehicles, bikes and pedelecs have a big renaissance here and my Thai Honda comes quite handy... but i don't think I will strike roots here.”

But now Jens seemed happy here.  He agreed. Now it seemed he does expect to stay.

Things green

Knowing my interest in green topics he had some time back sent me this.  On our walk he pointed out the long gardens that run north east through the city from Schlossplatz.  With these and surrounded by vineyards and forested hills the city seemed green.  

Photo:  J. Streck, Stuttgart 2016

How green? I asked.   He explained that litter-wise it is one of the cleanest cities in Germany.  But  he said there was a lot of pollution for a city of its size because of the policy he had earlier explained and that the natural basin in which it is situated traps those unhealthy particles.  

- I think these things are important for you.  Why then do you like it here?  

- It is a prosperous city.  

- And yet I think money and material things are not so important for you?

- That’s true.  But prosperity brings civic culture and I enjoy that.

It did feel just the way he described it - relaxed, quiet, clean, prosperous and well maintained.

The Schlossgarten

After the Saturday afternoon dance, I met Jens at Stöckach tram stop and we walked in the Schlossgarten, stopping for drinks at one of the cafes there.  Some of the park was maintained  with meadows in a state much closer to nature - the country in the city.  

In other parts people were having barbecues at the public stands.  I commented how with their circular stands they were rather like the typical German imbiss.

- Actually, the Turkish immigrants brought this idea in the 70s, he said.  

- Really?  I thought German people were very outdoorsy and liked to do this sort of thing.

- Yes but normally we would do it at home, typically in the garden or in front of a garage (in case it starts to rain).

- And yet people seem to have embraced it, I said.

- Yes, he agreed.

We walked through the Schlossplatz. It was a grand, open space for people to use, grassed, central, surrounded by history and monuments, thronged with people relaxing.  

Stiftskirche

 

We walked to the top floor of the Kunstmuseum (there is also a restaurant) and looked at the view.

Then we had dinner at Shabu Shabu which does fresh, tasty affordable food after which I went on to the evening milonga.