17 July 2015 - Upton House in the afternoon

Just let me say that school was not a highlight today but there were some highlights.  As we are in Banbury and our dysfunctional stove top was replaced, Karl and I broke into spontaneous poetry (embarrassing the kids, of course!) which went a bit like this:

We have a new stove in Banbury Cross
To cook some fine food upon our new hob,
With bells on the dials and hotplates that glow,
We'll now win on a cooking show!

We also discovered that Aldi here stocks rather nice eclairs with fresh cream so we didn't end up in the bakery at M and S as planned, but, Gillian, Eccles Cakes are beckoning me to return there!

Upton House - National Trust Property

 With our National Trust cards there are many possibilities for afternoon outings that cost no extra and  give us all a break from school and our smallish apartment.  Today's destination was Upton House.  The name itself had me intrigued as the adolescent psychiatric unit at our local hospital is also called Upton House!  We hadn't researched it other than knowing it was a stately home close to Banbury and we were in for a nice surprise!

Down the driveway

Upton House was the country estate of Walter Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted who bought the property in 1927.  He was a Colonel in the British Army with the Intelligence Corps.  One of the guides at Upton House told us that he, as a Jew and a spy, was on the top of the Nazi hit list.  He inherited his title, 2nd Viscount Bearsted and his wealth and was an avid art collector.  The converted squash court which is now a gallery exhibits some wonderful paintings by Jan Steen, Giotto, Canaletto, Holbein, Hogarth and others.

Cup of tea, anyone?

He had the life of privilege after school at Eton and then university at Oxford. Upton House became his country residence, a retreat from life in London.

How they "did" the war.

The "Bank" as it stood in Upton House

Salvage is essential....

 Once war broke out Samuel moved his magnificent art collection and the staff from the family bank to Upton House for safety. The current exhibition has been curated to reflect war time life in the house.

A desk, as it would have been.

Air Raid Precautions

A warden's desk

 Downstairs, the large reception room had desks and telephones and office furniture of 1940.  As we went upstairs there were the dormitories for the staff and bedrooms for the Colonel and his wife, Lady Bearsted.  It was an excellent display complete with a bar of Pears Soap, 1940's clothes, bedding and decor.  It was just as if they had walked out and it had been left as it was.  The volunteer guides were informative and interesting.

Genuine 1940's!

"Make do and mend"

scandalous.....

At ease Colonel Samuel!

 As closing time was near, we hurried downstairs to the gallery and loved the fabulous collection of paintings. They were displayed with tags depicting the painting and the artist.  On the National Trust website, there is a detailed catalogue.

Jan Steen - The Tired Traveller

Gabriel Metsu - The Duet

The gallery

Portrait of Philippe de Bean - 1483

Giotto - Last supper

Guardi - San Giorgio Maggiore

Hogarth - Morning

In the pool room

The Laundry

Gas Attack

Looking to the gardens

We then went out into the magnificent gardens, designed by Kitty Lloyd-Jones.  There were a couple of lakes, a swimming pool, grand steps, grass paths, "rooms" of flowers and a mouthwatering vegetable and fruit garden dripping with ripe berries.  All too tempting...

Down the steps

Looking over the pond

 But how did Walter Samuel amass his wealth?  His father, Marcus Samuel, whose parents were Baghdadi Jews in London, ran a successful import-export business, M. Samuel & Co. Already trading with the Far East, his father realised the potential of the oil trade in 1890.  In 1897, after having 8 oil tankers built and shipping oil to Bangkok and Singapore, he formed Shell. His company combined with Royal Dutch company of the Netherlands and the company still exists as Royal Dutch Shell. M. Samuel & Co. as a merchant bank merged with another merchant bank to form Hill Samuel, which is now a part of Lloyds TSB. 

Magnificent steps

Sweet little ladybird!

Garden seat - I'd love to sit and read here

Inspecting the artichokes

Perfect spot for a hand stand

Garden beauty!

This was a steep hill

All Souls , Wroxton

 On our way home I was keen to stop at Wroxton, a very cute little village, where most houses have thatched roofs.  We found a car park and wandered up Church Street.  Of course there is a church in Church Street, All Souls  Church of England, a 14th Century church.  We tried to read some of the gravestones but being weather beaten the inscriptions were hard to read.

1637!!! But built in 14th century

Wroxton thatched roofs - for you Cathy Marek!!

Note newly thatched cottage

Lovely!

We then drove home on the now familiar road to Banbury.  It's hard to believe we have been here for  a week!  It was easier cooking our evening meal tonight on four hotplates which we could control rather than two on full power with no controls!