Travel and the British Country House : Cultures, Critiques and Consumption in the Long Eighteenth Century

The British country house has been the subject of increasing scholarly interest in recent years, much of it focusing on the long eighteenth century, the period in which its political, cultural and social significance were probably at their greatest. For contemporaries, travel was something that allowed owners to acquire a range of objects not easily accessed at home - most notably treasures from the Grand Tour or more exotic goods from India. This book explores these different aspects of the relationship between travel and the country house, and particularly the interlinking of the house as a destination of travellers and a product of travel. It explores Frederick Hervey's material legacy to trace how a wealthy and well-travelled figure acted as a conduit through which Grand Tour experiences were translated back at home. The literature, architecture and culture of ancient Rome had a profound influence on eighteenth-century Britain. The book considers specific elements of Stourhead and critically evaluates the evidence for their influence on the gardens at Wörlitz in Germany and Hagaparken in Stockholm, and thus the link between elite travel and landscape gardens. It also describes the key role of illustrated books on China, written by European travellers, in creating and sustaining the image of China in the British consciousness. The book uses William Hanbury's and John Scattergood's journals to examine the varied dimensions of the country house. Mary Mackenzie's shipping network connected the east coast of Scotland to the world to transport her Indian objects to remote Brahan. Front matter Contents List of figures List of charts Notes on contributors Introduction: travel and the British country house ‘Antiquity mad’: the influence of continental travel on the Irish houses of Frederick Hervey, the Earl Bishop, 1730–1803 From Rome to Stourhead and thence to Rome again: the phenomenon of the eighteenth-century English landscape garden Virtual travel and virtuous objects: chinoiserie and the country house Gentlemen tourists in the early eighteenth century: the travel journals of William Hanbury and John Scattergood A foreign appreciation of English country houses and castles: Dutch travellers’ accounts of proto-museums visited en route, 1683–1855 ‘Worth viewing by travellers’: Arthur Young and country house picture collections in the late eighteenth century ‘Enjoying country life to the full – only the English know how to do that!’: appreciation of the British country house by Hungarian aristocratic travellers Magnificent and mundane: transporting people and goods to the country house, c.1730–1800 On the road (and the Thames) with William Cavendish, 1st Earl of Devonshire, 1597–1623 ‘No Lady could do this’: navigating gender and collecting objects in India and Scotland, c.1810–50 Bibliography Index Travel and the British country house explores the ways in which travel by owners, visitors and material objects shaped country houses during the long eighteenth century. It provides a richer and more nuanced understanding of this relationship, and how it varied according to the identity of the traveller and the geography of their journeys. The essays explore how travel on the Grand Tour, and further afield, formed an inspiration to build or remodel houses and gardens; the importance of country house visiting in shaping taste amongst British and European elites, and the practical aspects of travel, including the expenditure involved. Suitable for a scholarly audience, including postgraduate and undergraduate students, but also accessible to the general reader, Travel and the British country house offers a series of fascinating studies of the country house that serve to animate the country house with flows of people, goods and ideas. Provides readers with fresh insights into the country house and the ways it was shaped by domestic and foreign travel. It brings famous and less familiar houses to life through the aspirations and acquisitions of owners; the admiring or caustic comments of visitors, and the constant flows of goods, people and ideas.