Today, the spirit of Sir Thomas and Lady Villiers linger in their living rooms kept in impeccable order by the Sylvestrines. The libooks and its cases of polished oak, is meticulously orderly even though the Regency clock on the mantelpiece of the handsome fireplace, with its gleaming fire-irons, has stopped ticking. A long line of the Dukes of Bedford look down from the walls and one gets the feeling that any minute Sir Thomas might come in, calling to his dogs.
The drawing room has been preserved in every detail. David Paynter's study of Sir Thomas looks down from above the William IV fuiture which is polished even if the Lancashire broadloom on the chairs and the Ax Minster carpets have aged gently.
On the Dutch marquetry card-table is a half-finished game of patience and the Georgian gate-legged table is set for tea with Wedgewood jasper china. The rustle you hear is not the swish of silk dresses on the beautifully kept grand staircase; it is just the wind sighing in the forest trees. Outside the moing room the terrace looks out over the sunny lawns, rioting with a hundred varieties of roses.
Commentaires
Il n'y a aucun commentaire sur cet article.