Arlington Court facts for kids
Arlington Court is a beautiful old country house in Devon, England. It was built a long time ago, between 1820 and 1823. This grand house is known for its neoclassical style, which means it looks a bit like ancient Greek or Roman buildings. It's also a very important historical site, recognized for its special architecture and lovely gardens.
The house was built for Colonel John Palmer Chichester. The design was created by an architect named Thomas Lee. Later, in 1865, the house was made much bigger by Colonel Chichester's grandson, Sir Alexander Palmer Bruce Chichester.
Sir Alexander's daughter, Rosalie Chichester, never married. She gave the house and its huge estate of about 3,500 acres (14 square kilometers) to the National Trust in 1947. This was just two years before she passed away.
Today, Arlington Court is open to everyone. You can explore the house and see the Chichester family's amazing collection of old furniture and interesting family items.
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What is Arlington Court Like?
Arlington Court has a simple but grand neoclassical style. It was designed by Thomas Lee, who learned from a famous architect named Sir John Soane. This style means the outside of the house is very plain and symmetrical. It doesn't have many fancy decorations. Instead, it uses windows, doors, and shallow shapes to make it look interesting.
For example, the house has a low wall that hides the roof. This makes the building look like a neat, box-like shape. Instead of a big entrance porch, it has a simple, round porch with pillars.
The house stayed mostly the same until the 1860s. Then, Sir Alexander Bruce Chichester made it almost twice as big. He added a large wing for the servants and extra rooms for house work. This was common in the Victorian era because families wanted more privacy.
Sir Alexander also created the huge central staircase hall. This was done by joining several smaller rooms. This grand hall, with its impressive staircase and gallery, was a popular feature in country houses back then. It was a place for guests to gather and for the family to show off their art and interesting objects.
The main rooms in the house are connected in a line, called an enfilade. This means you can open doors and see through several rooms at once. These rooms include a drawing room, an ante room, and a morning room. The ante room is special because it has a unique domed ceiling and mirrored walls, designed in the style of Thomas Lee's teacher, Soane.
Another interesting room is the boudoir. This small room was a sitting area just for the ladies of the house. It still has much of its original decoration. The dining room was once a library. Sadly, the beautiful painted ceiling in the music room was lost after World War II.
The bedrooms, dressing rooms, and nurseries are all on the upper floor. Many of these rooms are now used by the National Trust staff. However, you can still see Miss Chichester's Bedroom, the old day nursery, the Blue Bedroom, and the Portico Bedroom. The Portico Bedroom was traditionally where the master of the house slept.
The Chichester Family
The Chichester family has a long history in Devon. They have lived in the area since 1384. The family inherited the Arlington estate a very long time ago.
One important member was Amyas Chichester, who lived in the 1500s. He had a huge family with nineteen sons and four daughters! This large family is even mentioned in the famous book Westward Ho! by Charles Kingsley.
Sir Alexander Palmer Bruce Chichester was the last male owner of Arlington Court. He was born in Malta in 1842. He married Rosalie Amelie Chamberlyne in 1865. They had one daughter, Rosalie Caroline Chichester. Sir Alexander died suddenly in 1881 when he was only 38. His family was left with many debts, which took 45 years to pay off.
His wife, Rosalie Amelie, continued to live at Arlington with their daughter, Rosalie, until she died in 1908. After her mother passed away, Miss Rosalie Chichester stayed at the house with a friend.
Rosalie Chichester's Story
Rosalie Caroline Chichester (1865-1949) was a strong and talented woman. She loved nature, especially plants and animals. Her father used to keep a pack of foxhounds at Arlington. However, Rosalie strongly disliked hunting.
The Arlington estate was in the middle of an area where deer were hunted. Sometimes, hunted deer would end up in the lake in front of Arlington House. In 1897, after a deer was killed in the lake, Miss Chichester sent a letter to the Master of the Staghounds. She told them that they were not allowed to hunt on her land.
This caused a big stir among the local high society, who mostly supported hunting. It also caused problems for several local hunts. Even though the hunts tried to respect her wishes, there were times when hounds still entered her land. The hunts even built fences to try and keep deer away from her estate, but it didn't always work.
In 1900, another hunted deer was killed in the lake. Miss Chichester threatened legal action. The hunt masters tried their best to follow her rules. However, some hunters were very annoyed and rode their horses right across her lawn on purpose! Rosalie took legal action against the hunt masters for trespassing.
The hunts eventually agreed to try and follow her ban as much as possible. Rosalie never married. She had many hobbies, including photography, painting, and traveling the world. Many of her paintings are still at Arlington, including pictures of her beloved parrot, Polly.
Miss Chichester died in 1949 at the age of 85. Her ashes were brought back to Arlington and buried next to the lake. A special urn marks the spot.
Carriage Museum
The National Trust Arlington Court Carriage Museum has an amazing collection of over 50 horse-drawn carriages. There's a carriage for almost every event you can imagine!
Two very special carriages in the museum are the State Chariot and the Travelling Chariot. The State Chariot was built in London between 1830 and 1846. The Travelling Chariot was built earlier, between 1815 and 1820.
Images for kids
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Arlington Court in 1993
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Carriage museum
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Stables
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The State Chariot and Harness exhibit
See Also
- Marquess of Donegall
- Chichester baronets
