Kitty Fisher: Georgian London’s First Media Celebrity
Kitty Fisher Georgian London’s First Celebrity Featured Image: Nathaniel Hone, Kitty Fisher, 1765. Oil on canvas, 749 × 622 mm. National Portrait Gallery, London (NPG 2354). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Humble Beginnings Catherine Maria Fischer was born on 1...
EDWARD PHELIPS V DIARIES: Excursion to Wiltshire: A Brief Time of Happiness at Stourhead in April 1784 followed by a visit to Zeals House
In Edward Phelips’s diaries statements of activity are recorded, often related to hunting and dining. These statements position Edward and his associates in time and place. Beyond that there is a context that can inform historians. In this case it is the information...
DIARIES OF EDWARD PHELIPS V: 1779 PATRONAGE OF THE LONDON COFFEEHOUSE
I have been working on analysing the diaries of Edward Phelips V of Montacute House, Somerset (1725-1797). This is one of the blog posts which attempts to contextualise entries to examine the culture of the 18th C English country gentry. This post relates to January...
DIARIES OF EDWARD PHELIPS V: Going to the Theatre January to April 1779
Main Picture: Theatre Royal, Bath In Edward Phelips’s diary of 1779 are embedded the plays that he, his family, and acquaintances attended. The theatres they frequented were Covent Garden and Drury Lane. The commercial theatre took off in the 18th C as an enterprise...
EDWARD PHELIPS V DIARY JAN 1779: Coach Journey to & arrival at Parliament Street, London
From what I read in Edward Phelips’s diaries of his trips to London he seems to take different routes. It took two full days of travelling from Montacute House to Parliament Street in London. This post looks at his route to London from Montacute in January 1779. The...
DILLINGTON HOUSE: Interiors & When King Raedwald Came to Tea
With Somerset District Council no longer running Dillington House from the end of September 2023, I wanted to share some photos of the interior. I thought I would include some photos I took some years ago on an Anglo-Saxon course. The tutors brought with them the...
THE SOMERSET COUNTRY HOUSE
The Somerset Country House started out from research into the social history of Montacute House. The aim is to provide insights into the historical culture of the country house. Blog posts on houses in Somerset and further afield will help build up a repository of different elements and factual details to support country house studies and general interest. The Somerset Country House is a non-commercial site.