Tea at Trianon: Lauretum

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, August 26, 2021

Lauretum

An old house in Maryland. From The Chestertown Spy:

This magnificent house was built for the ages with its walls of thick brick and has been a residence, B&B and currently is the corporate offices of a national firm. The office furnishings are unobtrusive so the original interior architecture and finishes can be admired. Beautiful wood floors, high ceilings, moldings, ceiling medallions in the living and dining rooms and interior transoms above doors all attest to the beauty of the house when it was a private residence. The unusual jib-way doors in the adjacent sitting and dining rooms access the porch for pre-dinner cocktails and post-dinner coffee. I admired how the current owners’ relocated kitchen incorporated the long original windows and the fireplace into the layout and their high-end design would be the envy of any cook.

My favorite room was the main floor study for its exposed brick chimney with corbeled sides and a front 20/2 double hung window with the upper panes of random colored glass. The recessed alcove for a pre-cell rotary phone is a wry anachronism for the current office use. When one has writer’s block, time out in the adjacent porch overlooking the grounds would get the creative juices flowing again.

The second and third floors contain the bedroom suites currently furnished as offices and the third floor oriel window enhances what was once the schoolroom for young children.

My wish for “Lauretum” is that it once again becomes a residence for new owners to appreciate a wonderful opportunity to continue the stewardship of this house that is so significant to Chestertown’s architectural history. (Read more.)