The Wallace Collection

Hertford House in Manchester Square, the former townhouse of the Seymour family, houses what is now known as ‘The Wallace Collection’. Named after Sir Richard Wallace, who built the extensive collection of treasures within, the building contains many exceptional paintings, sculptures, ceramics, furniture and arms and armour, all gifted to Britain in 1900. And it’s free to enter!

I am ashamed to say that, until this year, I had never visited the ‘best kept secret in London’, but it’s such a special place that I will be adding it to my list of favourite places to go! It would be impossible to comment on ever treasure, but as well as enjoying the beauty of the rooms, I was delighted to discover some real gems.

I spent ages standing in front of this painting of Edward V and Richard, Duke of York huddled together in the Tower of London, surrounded by sinister shadows. It is a picture I have seen many times, one of the romanticised images around the young boys’ disappearance, but I had never seen in ‘in person’ before. There were so many details to notice. The artist, Hippolyte (Paul) Delaroche, has captured a real sense of fear and tension, the little dog expectantly listening, peering at the ominous shadow appearing at the door whilst the boys pause in their reading. The cabinet pictured next to it is supposed to have belonged to Marie Antoinette, although there seems to be some doubt as to whether this is true.

This gorgeous picture of Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV, by François Boucher is also worth lingering over. The exquisite details of her gown, one shoe peeking out from under her skirts… there is so much to take in, all of which is intended to convey a message about Pompadour herself. Some analysis of the picture is offered on the Wallace Collection website.

Seeing ‘Les hasards heureux de l'escarpolette’ (The Swing) was another highlight of my visit. Much smaller than I thought it would be, it is probably Fragonard's most famous work. I was not the only person visiting the collection who spent time gazing at this one!

The Wallace Collection really is one of London’s many lesser known gems, but one which really should be at the top of everyone’s places not to be missed list!

The Wallace Collection

Hertford House,

Manchester Square,

London

W1U 3BN

Chenies Manor

Chenies is a village in south Buckinghamshire, near the border with Hertfordshire and to the east of Chesham and the Chalfonts. Until the 13th century, the village name was Isenhampstead and the two villages here were called Isenhampstead Chenies and Isenhampstead Latimers, distinguished by the lords of those manors. In the 19th century the prefix was dropped and the two villages became known as Chenies and Latimer.

Near the village there was once a royal hunting-box, where both King Edward I and King Edward II were known to have resided. It was the owner of this lodge, Edward III's shield bearer, Thomas Cheyne, who first gave his name to the village and his descendant, Sir John Cheyne, who built Chenies Manor House on the site in around 1460.

With original Medieval sections and an L-shaped Tudor house of brick, Chenies Manor is a very beautiful place to visit. Still a family home, it has an incredible history and captured my imagination when I first visited as a child. However, it is the house’s link to Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII which was the inspiration for my most recent visit.

I have always felt great sympathy for all the wives of Henry VIII. From a very young child, I was greatly annoyed by the way he was allowed to treat them, but it was the fate of Anne Boleyn and her cousin, Catherine Howard, which upset me the most. Anne Boleyn has many champions, but Catherine Howard, only about 17 when married to the 49 year old Henry, seems to have been written off as a silly little tart who deserved everything she got. More recently however, some historians are revising this opinion and looking more closely at the factors surrounding her life and her ‘fall from grace’.

Having already visited Chenies several times including with Anne Boleyn in 1534, Henry VIII and Catherine Howard visited the manor in 1541 and it is claimed that Henry's limping footsteps- he was suffering from an ulcerated leg at the time- can still be heard echoing down the corridor to the room that Catherine occupied during her stay. The house was mentioned in the evidence produced against her as somewhere she had committed adultery with Thomas Culpepper and, walking through the house, I found myself wondering about the young queen, how history has maligned her and how she must have felt being married to such a man.

Visitors are taken around the house by very knowledgeable guides who give a colourful and detailed history, yet, to my surprise, Catherine Howard was only mentioned in passing. Apart from this, there is much to see and enjoy, including a priest hole. The gardens, which you can wander a will, are beautiful and well worth exploring.

The house has been used as a location in a number of film and television productions, including the (in my opinion, awful!) Netflix version of Jane Austen’s ‘Persuasion’, where its interior was used as part of a cottage at Uppercross.

St Michael’s Church is just by the manor and is famous for the Bedford Chapel. Although this is not open to the public, it is possible to look in through glass doors and see the collection of monuments to members of the Russell family. It’s slightly eerie to see all these recumbent figures who almost seem to move if you catch them out of the corner of your eye, but there’s no doubting the grandeur of those lying here.

Perfect for a lovely day out, Chenies Manor is only open on certain days throughout the year from 2-5pm. As a member of Historic Houses, my visit was free, but tickets for the house and garden are only £12- a bargain in my opinion!

Chenies Manor,

Chenies,

Rickmansworth WD3 6ER