Five Photos, Five Stories: Day 2
I’ve been invited to take part in the “Five Photos, Five Stories” challenge by Jude of Travel Words. The challenge is to “post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph, and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge”.
My five photos are from our recent Lake District holiday. The weather wasn’t very good so we visited a lot of houses. I’m taking them in chronological order and asking “Who lived there?”
Townend – who lived there?
Townend in Troutbeck has two things in common with yesterday’s house – it’s owned by the National Trust and it was home to the same family for centuries. But unlike the Stricklands of Sizergh, the Brownes, who lived here from the seventeenth century till 1948, were an ordinary family of farmers. I find the stories of every day people much more appealing than those of aristocrats, and Townend teems with characters. For example, Elizabeth Birkett married Ben Browne in 1703 and kept a commonplace book of recipes which still exists. I bought a little booklet of extracts and might try her bean cakes or apricot paste – but perhaps not some of her remedies such as “to stop bleeding at the nose: take the blood of the patient and therewith write on his brow the words consummatum est.” Another interesting inhabitant was George Browne who lived at Townend in Victorian times. By the time he owned the estate the family had made enough money for him to retire from farming at the age of 40. He turned his attention to his hobbies which included gardening, local history and wood carving. Much of the (quite quirky) furniture in the house was made or added to by George. I love all these details – so much so that I’ve now visited the house three times.
As yesterday, I’m not making any specific nominations, but if you’d like to do 5 Photos 5 Stories let me know in the comments and I’ll make it “official”. I’m also continuing to feature other bloggers who write about Britain. (These features are not nominations unless the recipients wish them to be.) Today it’s Joy Loves Travel. Her recent posts have made me wonder why I haven’t been to Wales for over 20 years, and why I’ve never been to Northern Ireland. However, at the moment Joy is exploring Hampton Court’s Gorgeous Gardens and Grounds. Well worth a visit!
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
I’d LOVE to see that book of recipes! 🙂
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You could see a facsimile in the house – tiny writing!
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How wonderful! A definite benefit of a family staying in place for hundreds of years is the existence of that book of recipes. It never would have survived past two or three moves. (Especially with the help of modern moving companies. I lost half of my large collection of record albums when I moved back from Portland Oregon.)
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I think we just lost one picture last time we moved. However, I still hate the experience and feel no need to go anywhere else right now.
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Lovely story, the house looks as though it needs a bit of TLC now though. And once I have time (i.e. once I have got some posts written so I can schedule them whilst I am away) I will return and follow your nominations. Good idea!
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Thanks Jude. I actually like the house the way it is – quite homely.
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I was thinking of the paintwork outside! I should imagine that needs redoing every year in the Lakes 🙂
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Oh yes, I see! Especially as it is quite high up – lots of weather blasting at it.
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love this concept! I think they Iives of everyday people are FAR more interesting. But also did an aristocratic Scotswoman, Hope MacDougall of Clan MacDougall. I came across her when in Oban and I trekked to Dunollie, saw the manor house and learned about here passion for the tools and ways of everyday people. Her photographs and collections of he same. I recently bought the book “Kerrera” which is the story of her, the clan, the tools,housekeeping and the wee island that you see from the chocolates shop I spent a fair amount of time in!
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Dunollie, not been there – one to add to the list!
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Who owns this place now? Is it a museum? I love stories like this.Maybe the nosebleed worked because the person would be so irate at being wrote on that the bleeding stopped:) I wonder what other recipes are in that box. Sometimes the best recipes are the old ones
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Yes, it’s a museum owned by the National Trust, which is a conservation body. There were some far more revolting recipes even in the little booklet I bought!
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That’s an interesting nosebleed remedy. I wonder what would have been said if I did that while I was First Aiding, hehe.
I agree that sometimes the ordinary people’s houses are more interesting than the wealthier people’s are. We went to St. Fagan’s in Wales in January and I loved looking around the houses that I might have lived in, had I been born 100 years earlier.
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Me too, though I usually give thanks that I wasn’t born 100 years earlier!
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Enjoyed reading the story, love this beautiful photo. 🙂
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Thanks, Amy!
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Hi Anabel,
An “interesting” recipe against nosebleeds. 😉 I wouldn’t try it either. The Lake District is another area that ist still on my bucket list to show my wife. I still fondly remember my 3 visits there in th eearly 1980s.
Have a great day,
Pit
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That was one of the less revolting recipes! The Lake District is a jewel, so I hope you can both visit someday. It’s a little easier for us – only a couple of hours’ drive away!
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Not enough hours in the day to catch up with this lovely series of posts. Still haven’t posted about Death Valley and the many things that have followed it. Epic fail.
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I’m playing catch up too. Will the world end if I don’t do it? No, but how else will I remember all the lovely places I’ve been when I’m 90?
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Sounds like the kind of house I would love to live in!! How cool! I’m glad you were able to still get some enjoyment in even though the weather wasn’t so great.
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It’s the sort of place the weather is never great so you have to be prepared!
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Looks like an interesting place Anabel – we’ve never been to most of the houses/castles in the Lake District but would love to. This one has such a great story too, makes me ever more keen to visit! I am also super keen to go back to Scotland – we made many trips there before I started this blog, in the last couple of years haven’t managed to squeeze in a visit though (sadly) but sometime if I ever get round to it I will catch up on retrospective posts!! I do think though a trip north is long overdue for us!!
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Retrospective blogging – tell me about it! That was the original purpose of this blog, but I get side-tracked by too many new places.
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Exactly what’s happened for me too – I can’t even keep up with the new stuff. Still I suppose it means plenty of travel and that’s a good thing!! One day I’ll get those past trips done…..
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Me neither…
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Very nice. I agree, the aristocracy and there have are interesting however they are of a life few can relate to. These normal hard working people are real world people and make for a far more interesting read.
Wales is somewhere I would recommend Anabel, we have been there on holiday the last few years and are going back again this summer. It’s a fabulous and enchanting part of the UK.
In turn, I hope that Joy has read your page and it inspires her to come to Scotland and blog about it as she has been many places it seems yet no mention of Scotland on her page! 😯
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I agree about aristocracy v normal people. Wales is not on the agenda this year (staying in Scotland) but I really must get back there. Joy is a regular reader, so I’m sure she’ll be learning about Scotland! Watch out for your own mention later in the week.
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I really enjoyed the story that came with your picture.
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Thanks, Solveig!
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