The Georgian House

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Charlotte Square No. 7, 8 and 9

The Georgian House Charlotte Square No. 7 is a residential building in Edinburgh , Scotland . It stands on Charlotte Square, a garden square in Edinburgh, and is part of the plan the city 's New Town , a UNESCO - World Heritage Site in the UK . Charlotte Square as part of the New Town goes back to a design by the architect James Craig . Since 1956 the building has belonged to the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), which operates a museum there.

description

New Town plan. Today's Charlotte Square was then still called St. George's Square

The Georgian House is a townhouse in the New Town of Edinburgh , located since 1956 in the possession of the National Trust for Scotland is that there operates a museum, the life and the circumstances of a wealthy family of the late 18th and the beginning 19th century shows. It is part of the ensemble Charlotte Square 1–11 on the north side of the park there, which was included in the Scottish list of monuments in the highest category A by Historic Environment Scotland . The museum houses a collection of paintings by Scottish painters of the period, including Henry Raeburn , Allan Ramsay and Alexander Nasmyth . In addition to the paintings, the museum shows a collection of furniture, everyday objects such as porcelain, cutlery, glasses and other furnishings. There are also special exhibits such as a music education educational game. The inventor Ann Young received a patent for it in 1801, the only patent granted to a woman in Scotland in 1801. But not only the life of the higher society (Masters) is presented, also the life of the servants (Servants) and the kitchen staff is presented.

The Drawing Room

The Drawing Room on the first floor is the largest room in the house. It takes up the entire width of the house front. Here guests were received by the staff or the hosts before they went into the dining room behind. After dinner, the ladies withdrew here (withdraw, hence the name of the room), the gentlemen stayed in the dining room to talk to each other, smoke or drink (alcoholic) beverages, the ladies mostly drank tea and ate pastries . Afterwards they all met again in the Drawing Room to dance, play cards or sing. Such celebrations could last until the early hours of the morning. The furniture is on the walls to emphasize the size of the room and to be able to move around freely to stroll and dance. The facility also includes musical instruments such as pianos and flutes to play music for dancing or entertainment. Higher educated people were expected to be able to play an instrument, or at least to sing. The furnishings here today date from the early 19th century.

The Parlor or Back Drawing Room

The Parlor or Back Drawing Room is a parlor, smaller than the Drawing Room. Guests were welcomed here for afternoon tea; when there were very large parties that overcrowded the drawing room, part of the company withdrew here. Mainly, however, this room served as the family's living room, where people read, worked and made music. The children of the house stayed here too, but most of the time they stayed on the upper floors. The furniture, tables and cabinets for the porcelain also date from the same time as that of the Drawing Room. A special piece of furniture is a barrel organ , in a sense the "forerunner of the hi-fi system".

The dining room

The Dining Room was the family's dining room , but it was also used to dine with guests. At other times the landlord used the room as a study and as a representative room to receive clients or professional contacts. A typical piece of furniture is a black marble mantelpiece . There used to be a built-in sideboard , but it was removed at some point. In the 18th century dinner was served in the so-called traditional French way, all dishes were on the table, only the meat and later the dessert were served from the sideboard. Later, in the 19th century, the so-called Russian style emerged; all courses were served one after the other. The meal times also changed during this time, from around 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. That was due to the changed working conditions.

The Bedchamber

The bedchamber (bedroom) is on the ground floor at the rear of the house, overlooking the garden. The bedroom also served as an informal breakfast room, also for close friends. It was also the lounge of the lady of the house where she received her friends and where she prepared for celebrations. There was no bathroom in the entire building at the time . People washed in basins, with water that was brought into the house from public fountains, warmed up in the kitchen and brought to the washing area in jugs. Although there was a flush toilet , it was not connected to a sewer system . Instead, the water flowed into a copper vessel under the seat and had to be emptied by the staff.

The Kitchen

The Kitchen was in the basement and was usually not entered by the gentlemen. It wasn't a particularly pleasant place, poorly ventilated, hot, smoky, and full of not always pleasant smells. The cook worked here, supported by a mostly female assistant. There is nothing left of the original equipment, the devices available today are replicas or come from other houses. During the last renovation, it was discovered that the kitchen was originally painted blue, blue because it was believed that this was the color that drove the flies away. Four ovens were used to prepare the food, open fires with coal or wood and those that were connected to a fireplace; these were introduced at the beginning of the 19th century, but open fires were still used well into the 20th century. In addition to the various stoves , there was an oven for bread and other pastries. They cooked in copper pots and pans, but there were also iron and earthenware vessels. The range of dishes was astonishingly wide. In addition to different types of meat and fish, there were a number of vegetables and fruit that were purchased in good quality from the surrounding area and from the city's markets. There was also a large selection of spices and exotic foods, including luxury goods such as coffee , tea and sugar .

The Basement

The Basement was a world hidden from the masters, which they seldom or never entered. Here the servants worked for the lavish lifestyle of their masters. In addition to the kitchen, there were storage rooms for groceries, crockery, cutlery and glasses. There was also a well-stocked wine cellar. Wine and porcelain were stored in lockable rooms, porcelain in the so-called China closet , to which only a few people had the keys. There was also a bell system in the basement with 14 signal bells that the masters used to order their servants. The bells had different pitches, a different one for each room, and hung on spiral springs, a Scottish peculiarity; in England the springs were shaped like question marks. Few of the servants lived in the house, most of them in tenements in the Old Town . There was a clear hierarchy among the staff members who lived in the house. The highest in this hierarchy were the butler and the cook, who even had their own service bells to call the other servants to themselves.

story

The Georgian House was built in the course of the construction of the New Town at the end of the 18th century. The planning of the project was in the hands of the architect James Craig . The building was completed in 1796 and purchased by a John Lamont (18th Chief of Clan Lamont) for £ 1,800 . His son John sold the house to Catherine Farquharson of Invercauld for £ 3,000 a year after his death in 1816. In 1845 Charles Neaves, Lord Neaves bought the house and after his death in 1881 one of his daughters lived there and in 1889 sold the house to Alexander Whyte, an Anglican clergyman. He lived there until his death in 1921, his widow continued there until 1927. John Crichton-Stuart, 4th Marquess of Bute , had acquired parts of the row of buildings in Charlotte Square 1–11 since 1903 and also bought No. 7 in 1927. The neighboring house, Charlotte Square No. 6, is now called Bute House and is the seat of the First Minister of Scotland , the Prime Minister of Scotland. The Georgian House has been renovated or remodeled several times (in 1871 and 1889 by John Watherston and Son and in 1926 by Balfour Paul). In 1956 it was transferred to the NTS. It was rented to an antique dealer until 1973 and was then renovated again until 1975. Today the NTS runs a museum there.

Others

In order to demonstrate the living conditions of a family of this stand at the time of the first owners, there are special events such as a wine tasting, a Christmas party or a dance class. The house can also be rented for events.

See also

Web links

Commons : Charlotte Square  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The Georgian House on the National Trust for Scotland website.Retrieved October 31, 2021
  2. ↑ a b 1-11 (INCLUSIVE NOS) CHARLOTTE SQUARE WITH RAILINGS, LAMP STANDARDS AND BOUNDARY WALLS from the Historic Environment Scotland website, accessed October 30, 2021
  3. ↑ Let's play a game ... written by Rachael Bowen, Christophe Brogliolo, Ben Reiss, accessed November 7, 2021
  4. ↑ Below-stairs life at the Georgian House, author Denise Herd, accessed November 7, 2021
  5. ^ A day in the life of a servant author Catriona Bellis, accessed November 7, 2021
  6. ↑ The living room accessed on November 8, 2021
  7. ↑ Die Gute Stube accessed on November 8, 2021
  8. ↑ / The dining room accessed on November 8, 2021
  9. ↑ The bedroom accessed on November 8, 2021
  10. ↑ The kitchen accessed on November 8, 2021
  11. ↑ The cellar / basement accessed on November 8, 2021
  12. ↑ Hilary Horrocks, Martin Sheonagh, Mike Bolam: The Georgian House . Ed .: National Trust for Scotland. Edinburgh 2013, ISBN 978-1-906431-42-6 (English: The Georgian House .).
  13. ↑ The Georgian House on undiscoveredscotland.co.uk accessed on November 8, 2021
  14. ^ The Georgian House - a rich history of wine, accessed November 7, 2021
  15. ^ A Georgian House Christmas author Sheonagh Martin, accessed November 7, 2021
  16. ^ Dancing in Georgian Edinburgh author Alena Shmakova, accessed November 7, 2021
  17. ↑ [ https://www.nts.org.uk/venue-hire/the-georgian-house Venue Hire The Georgian House] accessed on November 7, 2021

Coordinates: 55 ° 57 '9.6 "  N , 3 ° 12' 29.8"  W.