Sunday 14 October 2012

KIPLIN not KIPLING


Not many people have heard of Kiplin Hall and, if they do, they might well think, "Bloomin' Yorkshire folk an' their missin' consonants!", but here it is, a pretty Jacobean treasure house with an interesting history, just off the A1, near Catterick village. It was built between 1622 and 1625 for George Calvert, Secretary of State to James 1, who later became Lord Baltimore, the founder of Maryland in the United States.


Lovely garden furniture, it seems familiar...


...we've been here before, in 1991.


Originally built as a hunting lodge, later additions turned it into a grand family home. The last incumbents were the Talbots, who were followers of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Dotted around the house are examples of their taste including a Morris & Co. needlework firescreen and a Compton Pottery angel.


                   G F Watts painted the beautiful daughters of the house.


The last member of the family to live at Kiplin was Bridget Talbot. Here she is as a child...
                                                

(...and here is her brother Humphrey, sitting on a giant snowball, at Christmas in 1899.)


Miss Talbot was an energetic and redoubtable spinster, typical of her time and class. She received the Italian Medal for Valour for her work as a Red Cross nurse on the Italian-Austrian front in WW1, and later an OBE. In the 1920s she invented a waterproof torch for lifebelts, launching a major campaign to preserve the lives of seamen lost overboard. She then used her political and social connections to persuade Parliament to make their provision compulsory for the Merchant and Royal Navy, and the RAF, thus saving many lives during WW2. She was passionately committed to trying to change systems she felt had failed, leaving her Conservative roots to consider campaigning as a Labour, Liberal  and finally an independent candidate, but without success. Her last battle was to secure the future of Kiplin Hall. The National Trust did not want it, the US State of Maryland would not help - finally she successfully set up the Kiplin Hall Trust which continues to run the house today.


What a woman!


The lake at Kiplin Hall.

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26 comments:

  1. I agree, "what a woman". And looks like she lived to a lovely age.

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    1. She was about 86, I believe. I do admire her spirit and her interest in politics - by the way, I hope Obama's doing OK!

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  2. Nilly, I just adore the two photo's of you 21 years apart. Frame them side by side, such a lovely snapshot of your past.

    Wouldn't it be lovely to fast backwards to Christmas 1899 and experience the family get together. Why was little Humphrey dressed as a fairy? What food was served, what music, was it a fancy dress ball? What fun!

    Lovely post - thank you - nothing like a bit of culture to kick off the week.

    LLX

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    1. Lovely idea LL!
      Apparently, in old age, Bridget served tea to visitors on a variety of completely mis-matched china. A very vintage old girl! Just my style.

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  3. What a stunning place, which despite my Yorkshire roots and dropped consonants, I've never heard of! And I feel quite saddened by this thought though your beautiful photos and the excellent potted history almost makes up for never having been. Good old Miss Talbot, I say, she looks such a cheeky old dear in that photo!
    Thanks Nilly - another good start to the week.
    Axxx

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    1. Kiplin isn't very well known, though it has a good local following & plenty of events. I don't remember ever hearing if you can have a look around historic Spanish houses, though I did a bit of Spanish church-crawling in my teens with my Mum.

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  4. Hello nilly,
    Another interesting post and how wonderful to see the past picture and the present!
    Yes Miss Talbot looks and sounds 'quite' a Lady...
    Poor Humphrey dressed up like that too, It must have been Christmas?
    Have a lovely week Nilly and thanks always for sweet words...
    Love Maria x

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it Maria. There are a lot of lovely family photos around Kiplin, some of them surprisingly informal for Victorian times.

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  5. What a deliciously interesting post. I love the images that you've posted, especially those of yourself, it is good to have pictures taken in the same place.

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    1. I agree it is good fun to revisit the past in photographs, though inevitably, a little bit sad.

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  6. What a really interesting post Nilly. How quickly time passes, your photographs years apart are so lovely. I always feel as if I visit with you as you take us on a journey to the past. Your images are incredible too. I really enjoyed reading your post. jayne x

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    1. Yes, time passes scarily quickly. That little boy is 25 now - and he's the youngest of four!

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  7. Shamefully I must say, I had never heard of Kiplin Hall...but will certainly put it on my list of places to visit now.
    Julie x
    Love the story of Miss Talbot too, what a character!

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    1. During our visit we chatted to one of the guides about the family connections to Ford in Northumberland. Lady Waterford, who was the Arts & Crafts enthusiast & painter who lived at Kiplin, also inherited the Ford Estate & built a school at Ford which she decorated with wall paintings - I believe it's open to view.

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  8. Looks like a lovely place to wander and quite similar to Parnham House, which we visited at the weekend. Lovely photos. M

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    1. At the mention of Parnham House I thought of John Makepeace & his furniture but I find he no longer lives there - it looks fantastic, even though it must have seen very many changes.

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  9. I've heard of it, I've got the leaflet but I have yet to visit. Love the memory of the garden seat. Thank you, Nilly.

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    1. It's well worth it - the house and the local guides have great charm.
      I read in the visitors book, "Awful smell of lunch from the dining room!" Then, a few comments on,"Lovely smell of food from the dining room which we later visited & thoroughly enjoyed!" Be assured, the dining room and it's offerings are very enjoyable.

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  10. A lovely introduction to a house I do not know.
    I love the G F Watts paintings. I am a great fan of the Watts Memorial Chapel - have you visited it?
    The nostalgic black and white picture at the end with the sunlight twinkling on the water is magic.

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    1. Yes, we visited the Chapel and the Gallery last September - one of my favourite places. Of the visitors to the chapel on that day some were unimpressed and left quickly, others, like us, were enraptured!

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  11. Very interesting post, and I agree, what a woman! Nice to see the two photos of yourself with so many yaers in between!

    Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thank you for looking - how quickly time passes!

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  12. Thank you for sharing this treasure. One of these days we will travel up to visit some of the wonderful houses you have shown! Liz x

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    1. I hope you do - meanwhile we're working our way through our West Country bucket list!

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  13. How lovely to have two photos years apart! A great post re this house and the wonderful Miss Talbot. Her spirit just emanates from that old photo of her.

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  14. I didn't deliberately repeat the pose - that's just the way I sit!

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