Flappers & Fiction

Behind Buckingham Palace’s high earthen ramparts lies one of England’s most magnificent secrets: the Royal Mews, home to 110 horses and a collection of state carriages unmatched anywhere in the world. Author Charles Pelham-Clinton guides readers through the Nash-designed quadrangle, past perfectly matched bays and browns, the legendary cream-colored Hanoverian stallions with their silky manes, and the jet-black giants standing seventeen hands high. The crown jewel remains the 1761 glass coach, a four-ton masterpiece of carved tritons and mythological scenes that cost nine thousand pounds and sways so dramatically it cuts ruts in the ground. Yet few Londoners know they can visit this extraordinary establishment with a simple afternoon pass from Sir George Maude.

Blenheim Palace stands as one of England’s most magnificent architectural achievements, built for John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, following his victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. The palace, constructed of freestone with elaborate Corinthian porticos and Doric pilasters, houses grand state apartments including a painted hall, drawing rooms with fine tapestries, and a library that once held one of England’s greatest book collections. The estate spans over 2,000 acres with artificial lakes, extensive gardens featuring Italian designs and orchid collections, and grounds that have been enhanced by the current duke’s marriage to the wealthy American widow Mrs. Hamersley. Despite financial controversies surrounding the first duke and construction disputes with architect Vanbrugh, Blenheim remains a testament to national generosity and architectural brilliance.

Beyond the Golden Gates of Chester lies Eaton Hall, a Gothic revival masterpiece that dominates the landscape. This 1890s tour takes you past the colossal statue of Hugh Lupus and into the private sanctuary of the Duke of Westminster. You’ll wander through the Saloon with its Canterbury Pilgrims and admire the library’s ten thousand volumes. But the true heart of the estate beats in the paddocks, where legendary racehorses like Bend d’Or and Ormonde turned a noble seat into the capital of the British Turf.

It is difficult to imagine now, but there was a time when New Yorkers greeted the arrival of fox-hunting with polite confusion or open ridicule. This fascinating history chronicles the sport’s determined rise from those early, skeptical days to the social glory of the Meadow Brook and Rockaway clubs. You will find familiar names in the saddle, including a young Theodore Roosevelt, risking their necks over stiff post-and-rail fences. Whether chasing a scarce fox or the scent of an aniseed bag, these riders transformed the countryside into a thundering chase that demanded nerve and a very good horse.

The late Duke of Portland possessed immense wealth and a paralyzing desire to remain unseen. While the ancient oaks of Sherwood Forest flourished above, he sank millions into constructing a sunless, subterranean empire beneath the grass. Here, servants utilized secret tunnels to avoid his gaze, and a vast picture gallery waited in gas-lit silence. It is a fascinating portrait of architectural madness, where a nobleman effectively buried himself alive in a palace of glass and stone, creating a “sealed book” that we are finally privileged to open.