The Georgian House, Edinburgh

Last weekend, I took a very quick trip to Edinburgh for a lovely Regency Ball that was held in the city's Assembly Rooms. The day after, my friends and I had a few hours to spare before our flights so we took in a couple of the city's highlights. Our first stop was The Georgian House, a wonderful georgian townhouse owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

The facade

China cabinet in the Parlour

A tea table with a tea draw!! I had never seen anything like it. Apparently tea tables usually come in pairs with a games table. 

In each room there was a little mouse dressed in edwardian-esque clothes. I'm am pretty sure they were there for children to find, but they were too adorable to resist so I had to take a photo of each one! :)

A gorgeous tea caddy in the Parlour

A rather rubbish photo of another gorgeous one

Decorated with tiny rolls of paper!

The Drawing Room

:)

The beautiful bed in the master bedroom.

The little pockets on the headboard are pocket watch holders! They were meant to keep them warm and upright so that they kept accurate time.

The Dining Room

This is a little silver contraption to keep you melted cheese on toast warm, whilst transporting if from the kitchen to the dining room!!

Mouse maid in the kitchen :)

The Butler's room

It was a fabulous house with very jolly and knowledgeable staff, and definitely worth a visit!!

A Regency Weekend in Lyme Regis - Part 2

To follow on from the last post - another photo-heavy post!! :)

At some time during the weekend we went for an adventurous walk up on (I want to say cliffs but I am not sure if that is entirely accurate!!) Anyway, it was a walk that Jane Austen was known to have taken. And the view from the cliff/mountain/hill was gorgeous.

Another view

And yet another.

At another point during the weekend, we also enjoyed a bit of dancing (because it wouldn't be a proper regency weekend without dancing! :)  )

Another item of clothing that I fell in love with - Karin's beautiful gown. Look at those sleeves!!!!!! She is a seriously talented seamstress!

I really should apologise for what is clearly a very slapdash post. It is far from smooth flowing! I have got to remember to document events as soon as possible after they have happened, otherwise I forget everything and end up with delightfully confusing post such as this one!!

This is an abandoned hotel where many famous people have stayed (I am pretty sure it is where Beatrix Potter was one of the said people). Sadly it is abandoned and in a bad way as I think there is some dispute between the current owner and the local community/council. If I recall correctly, the new owner is a property developing company, so you can guess what the argument is about. I really hope the building is saved and reopened as a hotel. We sneaked a looked through some of the windows and there was much faded grandeur to be seen. It must have been a very elegant hotel at one time.

Completely off topic but thought I had to include it - a Branksy drawing/mural in a quite corner of the town. 

This house is where Austen is believed to have stayed on one of her visits to Lyme. 

The house used as Captain Harvell's house in the 1970s version of Persuasion.

Congratulations if you have survived all the way to the end of the post! :) I hope you enjoyed it! I promise to try and make sure that the photos on my next post are at least in chronological order!! :)

Jane Austen Festival part 2 - The American Museum

Warning: Very photo heavy post!!! :)

On the Sunday morning after the ball, I decided to go into town and take the free shuttle bus to the American Museum. I had wanted to visit the museum for quite sometime, but every year I had never gotten round to it. This year I decided enough was enough, I was going to go even if it meant walking all the way there. Luckily I found out about the bus, so no need to go on a 10 mile hike! :)

I especially wanted to go that weekend, as the American Civil War Society were holding their annual end of year reenactment at the museum, and I had long wanted to see an ACW reenactment.

The Museum is housed in an old country house (formerly Claverton Manor), and most rooms are decorated in a different historical American style (just like the rooms of the DAR Museum in Washington DC), interspersed with a few exhibition rooms. 

The first room was a reconstructed 18th century tavern

The next room was an exhibition room which contained a few items of clothing

A beautiful victorian dress.

The back. I tried to get a close up of the embroidery but every photo came out blurry!!! :(

So pretty, with a beautifully embroidered train.

A slightly blurry close up of the train. It had little embroidered bees all over it!

The next room was full of chairs from different decades throughout America's history.

I really need to start taking notes when visiting museums, as I can't remember anything about this room, and it isn't in the guide book!

Dolls made by early settlers.

Right, I need to apologise for the majority of the photos you are about to see. Despite my camera claiming to be anti shaking/blurring, most of the photos I took of the rooms came out really blurry! :( . Am hoping Father Christmas might give me a new one. :)

A 17th century Keeping room

c.1740

A slightly blurry candle storage box

c.1763 parlor.

The dome in the ceiling of the building's stairwell.

A regency lady gracing the walls

A parlor c.1770

There was a small exhibition on the tea trade

an early 19th century tea cady.

A late 18th century Drawing Room

I spent a while trying to take a clear photo of the gown from the front, but unfortunately to no avail. :(

An 1830s bedroom

with a lovely white regency gown in it.

A Victorian Shaker's house

Beautiful shawl

Pennsylvania German room

18th century lady - I can't remember which room she graced!!

c. 1830 Greek Revival room.

Bedroom from the civil war era.

After I finished touring the house, I went into the garden to watch the reenactment.

The house from the garden.

It was more of a demonstration than a battle, but it was interesting.

Though I have to admit that I was quite disappointed. One of my favourite parts of reenactment is the living history part, and for some reason there wasn't really a historical campsite at this event. I went all over the grounds looking for it but all I found were a couple of tents with nothing in them :( 

Marching back after the battle.

I would definitely recommend the museum. It was very interesting insight into American social history, and also had an amazing collection of patchwork quilts.

Next: More on the Festival