Hughenden and Stowe in Buckinghamshire

Lex Writes: Today the mighty Mercedes hire car took us to Hughenden. Our destination was the house of Benjamin Disraeli- now maintained by The National Trust. Before we got to the place however, we chanced upon the churchyard where he is buried. The church is named St Michael and All Angels. Because Disraeli was a Jew, he had to be buried outside the church. His family plot is well maintained though. The church was open so we had a look around inside.

Then we headed up to the house itself. But first - morning tea. A gorgeous little robin joined us.

Disraeli lived in Hughenden Manor with his wife while he was Prime Minister in 1868, and 1874-1880. It was his wife who had the money. He could not have lived as he did without her. She actually didn't come from money, but her first husband was wealthy, and had the grace to die young.

Here is the house from the back. The bare patch is a garden bed waiting to be replanted with spring flowers.

                                                          The church and family burial plot

Queen Victoria was a good friend of Disraeli's. She dined at Hughenden. The chair at right was actually cut down in size so her feet could touch the ground!

                                                                Library

We toured two levels of the house- the top floor being off limits.

As is usual for a historic house, the furniture was beautiful, and the art was magnificent. The walls were covered with portraits of family members, and contemporaries of Disraeli. Earls, counts, ministers of the government were all there. A standout was the portrait of Queen Victoria, larger than life, in the dining room. Disraeli and Victoria were good friends, especially after Prince Albert died. There were personal objects too – like Mary Jane’s wedding ring. It was a simple gold band- nothing fancy. I think they were both pretty down-to-earth people.

 The library was impressive, having complete sets of books on many political, social, philosophical and classical subjects. All books looked worthy and important, and no one could have read them all in a hundred years. The man was serious about all that stuff: I suppose it was his job.

Of course, the property included several acres of woodland and garden. Here is Glen Wilson standing in one of the pathways.

After we had our fill of Disraeli history, we headed off to Stowe House. Actually, to the National Trust café for lunch: but then to the House. Actually, we walked for a mile or more of planned, landscaped fields, studded with follies, temples ornate bridges, monuments and towers. There are 54 points of interest shown on the guide map.

 

 The grounds were beautifully kept, and the installations impressive. The famous gardener Capability Brown was responsible for a lot of the landscaping.

 

The house itself was much bigger than unbelievable. The picture does not do it justice.

The place is now a school!

 As the day wore on, we got cold and tired. So we put the navigator on, and took the windiest, most confused path home that anyone could devise! According to Glen, we could have been home in half the time. Nevertheless, everybody is now home, warm and dry. Bring on tomorrow!