Tea at Trianon: Winterdyne

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

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

Winterdyne

Property for Sale

From Country Life:

It’s not every day that you get to stand on your patio and see safari animals grazing and hear the whistle of steam locomotives.
But then Winterdyne is not your typical home. The stunning Grade II* listed Georgian country house was built in the late 18th century by Sir Edward Winnington Bart and is thought to have been designed by the Adam brothers. It is perched on a wooded ridge and offers ‘incredible and unrivalled’ views across the Severn Valley, according to the agents.
Winterdyne has provided the backdrop to some important moments in time. According to local historian Kenneth Hobson, it was used as a base during the Second World War II to allow generals to liaise with Free French officers who were posted at Ribbesford. Kenneth goes on to note that ‘General de Gaulle was there for some time and it is rumoured Winston Churchill met General de Gaulle at Winterdyne when he was visiting his son’. (Read more.)