Trvalý odkaz Pridané používateľom Anonymný (bez overenia) dňa So, 12/14/2024 - 14:52
Up the great staircase trooped the 2,500 guests, resplendent in tiaras and jewels or <br>
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white tie and tails, to be greeted by their hostess, <br>
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the Marchioness of Londonderry, glamorous in a <br>
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clinging black satin Paris dress. Either side of her impressive cleavage gleamed great swathes of diamonds.<br>
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Round her neck hung a heavy row of pearls that fell below her waist.<br>
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On her head was the largest of the Londonderry tiaras, so big it was known in the family <br>
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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, <br>
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and the Prime Minister, Lloyd George. That November night in 1919 was Edith Londonderry's <br>
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first Eve of Parliament reception, a tradition that continued for 20-odd years.<br>
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The Marchioness of Londonderry wears ‘the fender' to greet guests, 1934<br>
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Londonderry House, like many of London's great houses, was built for entertaining.<br>
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In the 18th and 19th centuries, most aristocrats and others <br>
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who lived on their estates for much of the year had a town house 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 <br>
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launched into ‘society' in the hope of making 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 were sumptuously furnished - walls were <br>
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hung with silk, damask and wonderful paintings - and <br>
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often embellished with marble statuary. The mustard-yellow drawing rooms of Londonderry House were <br>
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filled with blue Sèvres vases and gold plate; in the entrance hall stood a Canova statue <br>
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of Theseus and 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>
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down or turned into blocks of flats. With their disappearance went their furnishings, objets and <br>
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paintings. But what their wonderful rooms looked like <br>
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can be seen in London: Lost Interiors, a book compiled from superb black-and-white photographs of these <br>
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amazing houses, some of which belonged to 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, like <br>
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Devonshire House. Here once lived the fifth Duke of Devonshire and <br>
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his wife Georgiana (pronounced jaw-janer), whom <br>
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he had married in 1774 when she was just 17. She <br>
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was a celebrated beauty who quickly became a leader of fashion, famous <br>
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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 Elizabeth Foster, Georgiana's close friend, who was <br>
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also the Duke's mistress. Meanwhile, Georgiana's gambling led to mounting debts: on her death in 1806 they were found <br>
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to be the equivalent of £4 million in today's money.<br>
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The rich, restless second Duke of Westminster, AKA Bendor, in his 20s<br>
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Another Park Lane mansion was Grosvenor House, belonging to the dukes of Westminster and one of the largest in London, as befitted the family's status and <br>
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wealth (their huge fortune came from their ownership of Mayfair).<br>
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Bendor, the blond and handsome second duke (1879-1953) was <br>
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known as one of the richest men in England, lavishing jewels on his mistresses, chief 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 <br>
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any of his houses (or yachts). All were kept ready:<br>
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cars fuelled, silver polished, servants in livery.<br>
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But after the First World War, during which <br>
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Grosvenor House had been requisitioned as a hospital, <br>
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land prices had risen so high that even for Bendor it had become uneconomic and he sold it.<br>
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It was demolished in 1927 and the Grosvenor House Hotel was built on the <br>
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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 <br>
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loftily by the diarist Chips Channon (for whom the word ‘snob' <br>
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could have been invented - in his diaries he declares, ‘I am <br>
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only really happy with royalty') as ‘a tiny but super-attractive snuffbox <br>
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of a house'. Beaton, himself no social slouch, ran him close:<br>
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at his parties the women often wore stiletto heels, which <br>
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pitted the floor, and later he would point them out, saying, ‘That's Princess Marina, that's Julie Andrews, that's Vivien Leigh…'<br>
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French furnishings at 8 Pelham Place, the South <br>
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Kensington home of Cecil Beaton<br>
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Beaton's near neighbour in Pelham Place, until the mid-60s,<br>
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was the great stage designer Oliver Messel. When Messel's nephew Tony Armstrong-Jones (later Lord Snowdon) became engaged to <br>
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Princess Margaret, Messel laid on a lunch, asking the Princess if there was anyone she <br>
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would particularly like to meet. She said she had always greatly admired <br>
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the witty cabaret star Bea Lillie and so Messel invited her.<br>
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What none of them knew was that Bea Lillie had a drinking <br>
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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 rushed back <br>
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to his studio, where he was busy with fittings for Elizabeth Taylor, only to <br>
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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 <br>
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voice at the other end. ‘We thought you ought to know that there's a <br>
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naked woman on your balcony, throwing bottles at everyone who passes by.'<br>
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Among the last of these fascinating residences <br>
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to survive was the aforementioned Londonderry House. Throughout the 20s <br>
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and 30s it had seen receptions and balls, hosted by <br>
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the Londonderrys for their four daughters and two granddaughters.<br>
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When eventually it had to go, in July 1962, a farewell party for 300 was given by Alastair, the 9th Marquess.<br>
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Live sounds were supplied by a blues band featuring a swaggering young Mick Jagger,<br>
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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 <br>
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22 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