To hate stately homes and castles now?

[Allsorts1]

When I was younger I would love visiting stately homes, gardens and castles with my parents - learning about all the history and the inhabitants and generally imagining myself to be a princess lol.

Now when I go to these places I just feel a bit eye rolly and bitter, thinking about how corrupt and awful the aristocratic system must have been and how I’m so happy to not be living in that time. I find myself not particularly interested in the history of it as it’s usually “very rich person gifted a large parcel of land by some other landed gentry, blah blah blah”

Like yes, I can see that in some ways as a culture we did need concentrated wealth to create these beautiful buildings in the first place, but I’m very glad that this system has been dismantled now.

Just wondering if anyone else is bothered by conflicted feelings when visiting stately homes?

I always quite enjoy imagining what the original owners would think about all these plebs milling around their house...

"Paid for by subscription from a grateful tenantry." is on a big silver bowl in Dunrobin Castle.

Has it been dismantled though...

I like them, but our family love history.
The big houses were the life blood of the local economy then. Many had corrupt landlords yes, but they were the focal point of the village. My gf was a tenant farmer for a large country estate now belonging to National Trust many moons ago. I know Downton Abbey wasn't a documentary, but the set up was similar. The estate built the local church and school (gm was a teacher there), rented smallholdings to tenant farmer, employed local house staff. Everyone in the village worked for the estate. Where I live we still have the villages around the big houses, some still belong to the estate.

Whilst I agree the system was very flawed, the houses are amazing and it does make me sad that we don’t create anything near that quality - even considering new multi millionaire houses.

But apart from the architecture I never like the grand rooms so much because I cant relate to that lifestyle. I find the most interesting bits are the kitchens and servants quarters - I love it if they have information on what the servants earned and their lifestyle (men always loads more than women!) and things that give you a flavour of what life was really like. What food was cooked, etc. snippets of real life stories not the official pompous news.

But then I remember going to a ruined abbey and loved finding what would have been the toilet. That was by far the best bit.

@ANameChangeAgain I do love history too, I just think perhaps the issue is that in the UK it isn’t actually fully dismantled as @pinkpillower says - eg I enjoy learning about the Incas in Mexico but that’s safely long gone.

Im not from the UK so in my childhood princesses and privilege were blissfully just historical & faraway concepts, but since moving to the UK and becoming aware of the ongoing issues here I think the stately homes and what they represent have given them a darker feeling for me and I can’t just enjoy the history as it was all so unfair.

I start feeling very “vive la revolution!!!”

@Triphazards I’ve never heard of Dunrobin Castle and thought it was an ironic name for “done robbing”, like done robbing the poor .

The kitchens are often the most interesting bit.

It's pretty much a given that the estates that went up - or were expanded - from about 1650 to the 1830s were paid for from and with the profits of slave trading and slave labour in the colonies.

And when slavery was abolished the slave owners were compensated (we stopped paying them in 2016 by the way) and some of that money will have gone into their stately piles of bricks.

It does change your view of things as you walk around.

Get a grip! Learn from history and respect the heritage we are lucky to have in this country. Times have changed for the better and improvement’s are ongoing.

Yes it bothers me too, my family owned a stately home in Wales back in the 1920's - lost it all in the depression. Now we're all just nobodies.
Looking back at the family tree most of it was funded on slavery so I'm glad it's gone, I'd feel sickened living in a place like that and quite honestly I'm ashamed of the family history.
I do visit occasional stately homes and castles but I really think the guides should educate themselves on issues like slavery and make it part of the tour.

@pinkpillower

Has it been dismantled though...

I think they build rockets and fast fashion empires instead

I thought they were really boring when I was younger.....thought all history was boring.....would never go to museums or stately homes....would never take the kids....then I hit 50 and developed an interest.....my grown Up kids are The same as I was...my DD wouldn’t dream of taking my GDs to a museum....says it’s boring

I do think some are pretty, very shallow I know. What I find funny is often the landed gentry with their beat up cars & muddy trousers & dubious history re obtaining such wealth are often considered infinitely more classier then those who flaunt their wealth in designer labels.

I agree OP that they make me uncomfortable and desperately sad about the slavery and hardship others were enduring. I do love looking at them though. Especially the gardens to give me inspiration.

I think there is a real opportunity to use them to illustrate the inequality at the time and about the British colonial past in reality. Also the history of aristocrats generally (basically the meanest and most selfish got all the good stuff way back in time and then set about creating a society that kept it that way - and I say this kindly, as someone who knows and loves a couple of aristocrats).

Also OP the system is still there. Just look at the current UK government!

[quote BeMoreGoldfish]@Triphazards I’ve never heard of Dunrobin Castle and thought it was an ironic name for “done robbing”, like done robbing the poor .[/quote]
that's exactly what it is! I wonder if it was on purpose 🤔

BeMoreGoldfish

@Triphazards I’ve never heard of Dunrobin Castle and thought it was an ironic name for “done robbing”, like done robbing the poor grin.

A really memorable section of a school visit to Beningbrough (everyone dressed up and spending most of the day in the Victorian laundry, doing washing) used to be when the teacher showed the children a photo of the staff team from the early 1900s.
'All these people to look after one family! What do you think?'
Children suitably appalled.
Then, 'One family providing employment for all these people and their families! What do you think?'

I’m the opposite in that I was dragged round that stuff constantly as a child and hated it and I do now have more interest as an adult.

The robbin' is never done!

But they seem to think the name Dunrobin meant "Robert's Fort." In Gaelic.

I can go and enjoy them . I see them as past insights of working places , all the servants , gardeners and the surrounding small businesses that must have kept a place like them running. Yes they had the privileged living there being weighted on , but they themselves were also just part of the cog .
When I walk around the b ig rooms filled with paintings or the elaborate bedrooms , I'm glad I was not born into a life like that.

Ah thank you @Triphazards - that makes more sense .

@Scarby9

A really memorable section of a school visit to Beningbrough (everyone dressed up and spending most of the day in the Victorian laundry, doing washing) used to be when the teacher showed the children a photo of the staff team from the early 1900s. 'All these people to look after one family! What do you think?' Children suitably appalled. Then, 'One family providing employment for all these people and their families! What do you think?'

Yes.

I think the entrance fees to places like Chatsworth or national trust are often quite eye watering and unaffordable for families. But these buildings absolutely should be making money from visitors to stay afloat, for gorgeous architecture and things that last. They usually do a good balancing of showing you servants quarters and kitchens too

For goodness sake, its history, good or bad. The bad isn't hidden any more, so we all learn the truth on how these families were founded, houses built etc....
I love the history of our royalty, but couldn't be further from being a royalist. The history is rich, political corruption etc..... it's just fascinating.
The Egyptians would wipe all trace of any pharaohs or 'politicians ' they didn't like, or try to, that's what this country is becoming like, bloody ridiculous.