Tea at Trianon: A Thatched Cottage in Devon

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

Saturday, May 7, 2022

A Thatched Cottage in Devon

From Homes and Gardens:

It's the picture-perfect English thatched cottage. Steeped with history and sympathetically renovated inside and out, the 17th-century gem is situated at the heart of an idyllic East Devon village and is one of the oldest properties in the area.

The cottage's historic connections and Grade-II listing would be sufficient in themselves to make this one of the world's best homes, but add to that its characterful French-style décor, and beautifully curated vintage and antique furnishings and this property really is something special.

For the past few years it's been home to seasoned renovators Christina Dickinson and her husband Nigel. The couple weren’t intending to buy a long-term home when they found the thatched cottage. However, as soon as saw it they loved it and recognised its potential – even though it needed a substantial amount of work, as well as a new thatched roof. (Read more.)