Tea at Trianon: Luckington Court in Wiltshire

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, September 18, 2025

Luckington Court in Wiltshire

luckington court bennets house

The house used as the Bennet estate in the 1995 miniseries Pride and Prejudice. From Country Living:

What better way to celebrate Jane Austen's 250th birthday than by living in Elizabeth Bennet's childhood home of Longbourn?
Once the setting for Mrs Bennet's ailing nerves, Lizzie and Jane's sisterly tête-à-têtes and Lydia and Kitty's witless giggles, Luckington Court in Wiltshire is for sale - at its lowest price in over 75 years....
With a chalky apricot exterior of Cotswold stone, the historic home boasts eight bedrooms alongside fine period features, with Tudor manor styling at the rear and a Queen Anne pillared portico façade.
Step through the imposing wood-carved doorway - reputedly the work of famed master carver Grinling Gibbons - and you’ll be greeted by generous reception rooms, a grand entrance hall and sash windows that flood the interior with natural light.
[...]
Outside, the setting is similarly impressive. A sweeping gravel drive lined with wildflower meadows and ancient parkland leads to the house, and its most remarkable resident: a 400-year-old Lebanese Cedar, one of the largest of its kind in the UK.
A croquet lawn, York stone terrace and wisteria-covered pergola open out into formal gardens. While you, sadly, won't spot Colin Firth's Darcy brooding across the grass to declare his ardent affection, you will find a Roman-style portico leading through to a tennis court. (Read more.)