Trvalý odkaz Pridané používateľom Anonymný (bez overenia) dňa So, 12/14/2024 - 14:51
Up the great staircase trooped the 2,500 guests, resplendent in tiaras and jewels or white tie and tails, to be greeted by their hostess, the <br>
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Marchioness of Londonderry, glamorous in a clinging <br>
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black satin Paris dress. Either side of her <br>
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impressive cleavage gleamed great swathes of diamonds.<br>
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Round her neck hung a heavy row of pearls that fell below <br>
<br>
her waist. On her head was the largest of the Londonderry <br>
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tiaras, so big it was known in the family as ‘the fender'.<br>
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Pale rays illuminate the top-lit gallery of Londonderry house<br>
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Beside her stood her handsome husband Charles, the seventh Marquess of Londonderry, and the Prime Minister, Lloyd George.<br>
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That November night in 1919 was Edith Londonderry's first Eve of Parliament reception, a tradition that continued for 20-odd <br>
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years.<br>
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The Marchioness of Londonderry wears ‘the fender' to greet guests,<br>
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1934<br>
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Londonderry House, like many of London's great houses, <br>
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was built for entertaining. In the 18th and 19th <br>
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centuries, most aristocrats and others who lived on their <br>
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estates for much of the year had a town house <br>
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to which they migrated for ‘the Season' - those summer months filled with <br>
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balls and parties, when débutantes were presented at court and launched into ‘society' in the hope of making <br>
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a splendid marriage.<br>
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The ballroom, Devonshire House<br>
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These houses were as magnificent as their owners could manage.<br>
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Built and decorated by the most talented of the age, they <br>
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were sumptuously furnished - walls were hung with silk, damask and wonderful paintings - and often embellished with marble statuary.<br>
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The mustard-yellow drawing rooms of Londonderry House were filled with blue Sèvres vases and gold plate; in the entrance hall stood a Canova statue of Theseus and <br>
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the Minotaur (now in the Victoria and Albert Museum).<br>
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Suites of rooms, with a ballroom at one end, could be flung open for entertaining.<br>
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Georgiana Cavendish (1757-1806), a lover of gambling - and threesomes<br>
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Today most of these palatial mansions have been pulled <br>
<br>
down or turned into blocks of flats. With their disappearance <br>
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went their furnishings, objets and paintings.<br>
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But what their wonderful rooms looked like can be seen in London: Lost Interiors, a book compiled from superb black-and-white photographs of these amazing houses, some of which belonged to <br>
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aristocratic landowners, others to plutocrats or society figures.<br>
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The drawing room, Grosvenor House<br>
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Most of the townhouses - those used for the Season rather than permanent <br>
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residences - were clustered round Park Lane, Mayfair or on Piccadilly,<br>
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like Devonshire House. Here once lived the fifth Duke of Devonshire and his wife Georgiana (pronounced <br>
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jaw-janer), whom he had married in 1774 when she was just 17.<br>
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She was a celebrated beauty who quickly became a leader of fashion, <br>
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famous for her towering hairstyles three feet high, decorated with birds,<br>
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fruit, even ships in sail. The couple spent 20 years in a ménage à trois with Lady <br>
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Elizabeth Foster, Georgiana's close friend, who was also the Duke's mistress.<br>
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Meanwhile, Georgiana's gambling led to mounting debts: on her death <br>
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in 1806 they were found to be the equivalent of <br>
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£4 million in today's money.<br>
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The rich, restless second Duke of Westminster,<br>
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AKA Bendor, in his 20s<br>
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Another Park Lane mansion was Grosvenor House, belonging <br>
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to the dukes of Westminster and one of the largest <br>
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in London, as befitted the family's status and wealth (their <br>
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huge fortune came from their ownership of Mayfair).<br>
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Bendor, the blond and handsome second duke (1879-1953) was known as one of the richest men in England, lavishing jewels on his mistresses, chief <br>
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among whom was Coco Chanel.<br>
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The picture gallery, Grosvenor House<br>
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A restless soul, Bendor would arrive without warning at any of his <br>
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houses (or yachts). All were kept ready: cars fuelled,<br>
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silver polished, servants in livery. But after the First World War, during which Grosvenor House had <br>
<br>
been requisitioned as a hospital, land prices had risen so high that even for Bendor it had become <br>
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uneconomic and he sold it. It was demolished <br>
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in 1927 and the Grosvenor House Hotel was built on the site.<br>
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Designer Oliver Messel, Devonshire House, 1934<br>
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At the other end of the scale was 8 Pelham Place, the <br>
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South Kensington home of Cecil Beaton from 1940 to 1975.<br>
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Superbly furnished by this brilliant photographer, it was described loftily by the diarist Chips Channon (for <br>
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whom the word ‘snob' could have been invented - <br>
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in his diaries he declares, ‘I am only really happy with royalty') as ‘a tiny but super-attractive snuffbox of a house'.<br>
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Beaton, himself no social slouch, ran him close: at his parties the women often wore stiletto heels,<br>
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which pitted the floor, and later he would point them out, saying, ‘That's Princess Marina,<br>
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that's Julie Andrews, that's Vivien Leigh…'<br>
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French furnishings at 8 Pelham Place, the South Kensington home of Cecil <br>
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Beaton<br>
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Beaton's near neighbour in Pelham Place, until the mid-60s, was the great <br>
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stage designer Oliver Messel. When Messel's nephew Tony <br>
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Armstrong-Jones (later Lord Snowdon) became engaged to Princess Margaret, Messel laid on a lunch, asking the <br>
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Princess if there was anyone she would particularly like to meet.<br>
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She said she had always greatly admired the witty cabaret star Bea <br>
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Lillie and so Messel invited her.<br>
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What none of them knew was that Bea Lillie had <br>
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a drinking habit. At the end of lunch she slid quietly under the table and was carried upstairs to sleep it off.<br>
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Tony and the Princess took their leave and Messel <br>
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rushed back to his studio, where he was busy with fittings <br>
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for Elizabeth Taylor, only to be interrupted by a telephone call.<br>
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Cecil Beaton at home in Pelham Place, 1947<br>
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‘It's Kensington Police Station here, Mr Messel,' said the voice at the other end.<br>
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‘We thought you ought to know that there's a naked woman on your balcony, <br>
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throwing bottles at everyone who passes by.'<br>
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Among the last of these fascinating residences to <br>
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survive was the aforementioned Londonderry House.<br>
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Throughout the 20s and 30s it had seen receptions and balls, hosted by the Londonderrys for their four <br>
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daughters and two granddaughters. When eventually it had to go, in July 1962, a farewell party for 300 was given by Alastair, the 9th <br>
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Marquess. Live sounds were supplied by a blues band featuring a swaggering young Mick <br>
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Jagger, no less - presaging the rise of a whole new swinging London generation.<br>
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London: Lost Interiors by Steven Brindle is published by Atlantic, £50.<br>
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To order a copy for £42.50 with free UK delivery until 22 <br>
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December, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. <br>
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historic england, getty images<br>
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Up the great staircase