Explosive Egertons!

Sir Thomas Egerton was one of the earliest owners of the Tatton Park estate.  The following timely account of his significance in the Gunpowder Plot trials has been provided by local historian, Bernard Dennis.  The article was first published in the Chester Chronicle.

On 6 April 1617, a funeral took place in the bell tower of St Mary’s Church, Dodleston. This was no ordinary burial but that of the most important person in the land and second only to King James I.

This person was Sir Thomas Egerton, Lord High Chancellor, Lord Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley. Such titles can only suggest his importance but he had dedicated his life to his previous monarch Queen Elizabeth I and the roles he undertook had transferred to the new king after his accession to the throne in March 1603.

Sir Thomas, in his role of Lord High Chancellor was the prime advocate in the land and as such presided over all of the major trials, especially those connected with treason.

Sir Thomas Egerton

© Tatton Park/National Trust/ Cheshire East Council

On Tuesday 5 November 1605 the famous occurrence of those who plotted against King James I were caught when they tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament with a substantial quantity of gunpowder. The plotters, led by Guido (Guy) Fawkes were intent on destroying the King and legislature in a single blow. Included in the assembly was Sir Thomas Egerton.

As history shows, the attempt was not successful and those caught and implicated in the plot were all apprehended, jailed and sent for trial.

The trial took place in January 1606 in front of nine commissioners headed by Sir Thomas Egerton in his role as Lord Chancellor.

In previous years, Sir Thomas Egerton had conducted many of the famous trials, especially those involving plots against the Crown and he had a fearsome reputation for extracting confessions before the trials by the use of the Rack.

Guy Fawkes, and others were subjected to this treatment and a record exists of his signature before his torture on the Rack and afterwards. His name is barely recognisable!

Needless to say, all the plotters were found guilty and summarily executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered.

Sir Thomas Egerton carried on in his role as Lord High Chancellor until his death in March 1617.

Having been born close to Dodleston in 1540 as an illegitimate child of Sir Richard Egerton and Alice Sparke, a lowly maidservant from Dodleston Hall, his progression to being the second most powerful man of the times is a remarkable story.

He chose St Mary’s Church Dodleston for his final resting place where he could be close to his first wife, Lady Elizabeth who died in 1588 and his first born son, also Sir Thomas, who died in action in Dublin in 1599.

Before and after signatures of Guido Fawkes

Bernard Dennis

www.bernarddennis.co.uk

Japanese Garden on fire!

Panic not - its glowing with autumnal colours only!   



 

Japanese maple leaves © Eleanor Gorsuch

Not many places are as beautiful as the Japanese Garden in Autumn.  The historic garden, which this year celebrated the centenary of its introduction, is arguably at its most beautiful in October. Now is the perfect time to see its striking and varied collection of Japanese maples turning rich red, russet and gold.  It really is a sight to fall in love with.

The garden has provided Gardens Manager, Sam Youd, with inspiration for the following poem:

Kaede

One hundred years performing before Gentry and Nobility.
Their annual pageant carefully crafted to reflect the seaons.

The Interval,
Tea Ceremony;
anticipation of different scenes.

Shafts of filtered light enhance the costumes.

A year of rehearsal over, the final performance.

Applause and standing ovations from every side.

Colourful explosions of reds and yellows,embalmed in tempura.

A curtain of snow prepares to fall.

Sam Youd, October 2011



We hope you enjoy it!.  Visit our Japanese Garden. 



NB. 'Kaede' is Japanese for maple.  Traditionally, autumnal maple leaves are dipped in tempura batter to make a beautiful table decoration and delicacy.









The pumpkin tree returns!

Last week it was wheelbarrows at the ready for Tatton Park’s garden team - as they brought in the autumn harvest for the half term 'Get Squashed' event. With more than 2.5 acres of walled kitchen gardens, that’s a lot of tasty gourds, marrows and squashes - not forgetting some corking courgettes.

The annual 'Get Squashed' event is now back in the gardens until Sunday, October 30. This event is a great opportunity for the gardeners to dig deep for creative inspiration and make a fantastic display of the autumn harvest. Our visitors have been arriving  to see, smell, touch (but not quite taste - that would ruin the display) some wonderful fare from the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’.

Look closely for the pumpkins!

Our younger visitors have been taking part in a pumpkin poetry trail, which leads them around the gardens in search of ingredients for a ‘magical spell’finally leading them to the marvellous ‘pumpkin tree’. See left!!

The gardens are looking particularly beautiful now, especially the maples in the historic Japanese garden, which celebrates its centenary this year. Here's a photo of it this lunch time  - burnished in its gorgeous autumn colour. 

If you’re looking for other frightfully fun events this half term, visit the horrendously haunted Old Hall at Tatton Park from until Sunday, October 30. Prepare to be petrified as you wander through the haunted Tudor building - fast gaining a reputation as one of the spookiest film locations in the North West. 

And don't forget the fabulously peculiar Skin and Bones event in the mansion - exploring Tatton's wonderful natural history collection of taxidermy, fossils, shells and ethnographic curios.  This event takes place until Sunday October 30.

Happy half term!

Eleanor Gorsuch, Marketing

At Home in the Library

Since a report on the Library collection at Tatton in 2005, increased knowledge and understanding of the Library collection and its importance at a national and international level, have led us to plan to make this room and collection more accessible to the public.


The newly re-displayed Library ©George Littler, Tatton Park



The Tatton Library is regarded within the National Trust as one of its top library collections and has an important and varied collection, with the earliest book dating from 1513, to books collected in the 20th century by the last Lord Egerton. It also retains its original Gillows library furniture and is important for its architectural features. The Library was completed around 1818/20 as part of the scheme by architects Samuel and Lewis William Wyatt.

One key aspect of the Tatton Library is that the Egertons were keen book collectors, and that each successive generation added their own significant layer of collecting interest to the Library at Tatton. This Library was a resource for the family, a source of entertainment and interest, and of great pride – it is populated by many fine specimens and bindings, it was used and added to and the books themselves are often annotated by their owners. In addition amongst the Egertons were a number of authors, three of whom:

• Wilbraham Egerton (1832 – 1909) wrote on a variety of subjects – The Cheshire Gentry, Co-operation in Agriculture, A Descriptive Catalogue of the collection of Oriental armour and weapons formed by Lord Egerton …, Education of deaf children.

• His second wife, the Duchess of Buckingham and Chandos published a memoir of her travels: Glimpses of four continents: letters written during a tour in Australia, New Zealand and North America in 1893, along with some stories for children which were published.

• Beatrix Tollemache published her Cranford Souvenirs in 1900.

Taking all of this into account the new Library project was launched this month, seeking to make the Library more accessible and interesting to our visitors. One third of the Library at the west end has been carpeted with protective drugget. This area can now be used by visitors. Two sofas from the Tatton collection have been strengthened and re-upholstered for visitor use, and a Gillows bookcase has been made ready to house books which have a Tatton Park connection, and books for children.

We have created an inviting area for visitors to sit and read and look at material from the collection. The production of replica copies of some of our most interesting and rare books are in the process of being made so that visitors can read something which looks like the original. Probably most successful of all has been the purchase of an iPad on which we have put photographs of some of our books so that visitors can see inside them, without putting the originals at risk.

Come and take a look – it’s a great new facility and we’d be happy to show it to you. You can find out more about the Mansion on our website.

Caroline Schofield, Mansion and Collections Manager

It's not all skin and bones...

The ethnography and natural history collections at Tatton Park are very special. Maurice Egerton, the last Baron to live in the mansion, travelled all over the world acquiring fascinating objects to bring home for display.

Butterflies collected by Maurice on his travels ©Tatton Park

Over the last few weeks, the Mansion Conservation Assistants have been working behind the scenes to improve the storage conditions of these collections. We have been rearranging boxes and shelving to group objects systematically and to make sure that they have the space and conditions they need to stay well-preserved in storage. At the same time, we've been able to condition check the objects, update our inventory system and generally become more familiar with the collection.

Tiger skull collected by Maurice ©Tatton Park

The store is a real treasure trove of weird and wonderful objects, many of which are too sensitive to be on display. Our elephant skull and three enormous tusks needed three people to move into position. Boxes of birds’ eggs and butterflies had to be carefully inspected and wrapped. Handling some objects can prove dangerous if the right precautions are not taken, so gloves are essential for animal skins and taxidermy that may have been treated with mercury or arsenic many years ago. Our collection of swords, spears and arrows are on low shelves to minimise injury should they fall.

Each box and shelf has photographs and labels to show what it contains, and the contents are wrapped and padded with acid-free tissue. We hope that this will make the collection more accessible in future and keep it safe and secure for many years to come.

You can see Maurice’s collection of wonderful objects in the Maurice Egerton exhibition in the mansion and learn more about Maurice’s adventures around the world. Also, during October half term, why not join us at the mansion and parkland during Skin and Bones week – a celebration of all things natural history. You will have the chance to meet experts, see exciting objects not normally on display and go on fascinating trailer rides with the rangers to learn more about the natural world around us.

Find out more about Skin and Bones event in the Mansion.
Hope to see you there!

Sarah and Catherine in the Mansion