64-532: Wallington is a country house and gardens located about 12 miles (19 km) west of Morpeth , Northumberland , England, near the village of Cambo . It has been owned by the National Trust since 1942, after it was donated complete with the estate and farms by Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan , the first donation of its kind. It is a Grade I listed building . Some of the wealth of the Trevelyan family derived from
128-589: A secretion from their bodies (a flank gland), although this is not normally detectable during a field survey. They may attack if their territory is invaded by another water vole. As a large and common microtine rodent, the range of predators faced by the European water vole is extensive. However, many species of predator prefer other rodents , such as Microtus voles and wood mice , due to their greater numerical abundance. Wildcats , red foxes , most species of hawk (especially common buzzards ), owl (especially
192-677: A 24 ha (59 acres) enclosure on a tributary of the Hart Burn in the centre of the estate. This is the third release of beavers at a National Trust property. In November 2023, the Vincent Wildlife Trust announced Wallington estate as one of their three Haven Sites for the Martens on the Move project. This project aims to encourage the natural recovery of pine marten populations through community action across England, Scotland and Wales. The project
256-504: A decline of water voles in Britain . On 26 February 2008, the U.K. Government announced full legal protection for water voles would be introduced from 6 April 2008. Water voles have recently returned to Lindow Common nature reserve in Cheshire, after many years of absence. In 2015, People's Trust for Endangered Species launched a new project to try to coordinate conservation efforts for
320-428: A fortunate few; it was the centre of its own world, providing employment to hundreds of people in the vicinity of its estate . In previous eras, when state benefits were unheard of, those working on an estate were among the most fortunate, receiving secured employment and rent-free accommodation. At the summit of this category of people was the indoor staff of the country house. Unlike many of their contemporaries prior to
384-410: A large collection of antique dollshouses , and eight murals in the central hall depicting the history of Northumberland , painted by William Bell Scott . The National Trust also own the estate of which the house is a part; the produce from these farms, as well as others in the region, was sold in a farm shop on site. The farm shop closed in 2012. In July 2023, a family of beavers was released in
448-524: A mixture of high architecture , often as interpreted by a local architect or surveyor, and determined by practicality as much as by the whims of architectural taste. An example of this is Brympton d'Evercy in Somerset, a house of many periods that is unified architecturally by the continuing use of the same mellow, local Ham Hill stone . The fashionable William Kent redesigned Rousham House only to have it quickly and drastically altered to provide space for
512-404: A reliable indicator of the presence of this species, as other smaller voles can also leave remains of large grasses and rushes. The mating period lasts from March into late autumn. The female vole's pregnancy lasts for approximately 21 days. Up to 8 baby voles can be born, each weighing around 10 grams (0.4 oz). The young voles open their eyes three days after their birth. They are half
576-537: A three-year plan. A water vole named "Ratty" is a leading character in the 1908 children's book The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame : the locality used in the book is believed to be Moor Copse in Berkshire , England , and the character's name "Ratty" has become widely associated with the species and their riverbank habitat, as well as the misconception that they are a species of rat. There are also watervoles in
640-443: A uniform dark brown colour, with slightly paler coloration on the underside. Their pelage is quite thick and they are furred over their entire body, including their tail, unlike rats . Their dark colour allows them to blend in well in the densely vegetated areas they inhabit. The binomial applied to the European water vole is Arvicola amphibius ; it was formerly known by the junior synonym A. terrestris . The confusion stems from
704-475: Is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house . This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country. However, the term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, the full-time residence for the landed gentry who dominated rural Britain until
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#1732876743484768-500: Is called a castle, but not all buildings with the name "castle" are fortified (for example Highclere Castle in Hampshire ). The term stately home is subject to debate, and avoided by historians and other academics. As a description of a country house, the term was first used in a poem by Felicia Hemans , "The Homes of England", originally published in Blackwood's Magazine in 1827. In
832-600: Is facilitated by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund . These initiatives are part of a long term project, called Wilder Wallington, to reintroduce native species of plants and animals to the estate and to encourage the restoring of peat and wetlands and other nature recovery schemes. One aim is to plant one million trees by 2030, some 115,000 have already been planted. Other animals being considered for reintroduction are water voles English country house An English country house
896-473: Is politics; they talk politics; and they make politics, quite spontaneously. There are no written terms for distinguishing between vast country palaces and comparatively small country houses; the descriptive terms, which can include castle , manor and court , provide no firm clue and are often only used because of a historical connection with the site of such a building. Therefore, for ease or explanation, Britain's country houses can be categorised according to
960-597: Is the ITV series Downton Abbey . European water vole Arvicola terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758) Mus amphibius Linnaeus, 1758 Mus terrestris Linnaeus, 1758 The European water vole ( Arvicola amphibius ) or northern water vole is a semi-aquatic rodent . It is often informally called the water rat , though it only superficially resembles a true rat . Water voles have rounder noses than rats, deep brown fur, chubby faces and short fuzzy ears; unlike rats their tails, paws and ears are covered with hair. In
1024-502: The Reform Act 1832 . Frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses, having functional antecedents in manor houses . With large numbers of indoor and outdoor staff, country houses were important as places of employment for many rural communities. In turn, until the agricultural depressions of the 1870s , the estates, of which country houses were the hub, provided their owners with incomes. However,
1088-490: The barn owl , genus Strix , and Eurasian eagle-owl ) and falcon (in large numbers by the common kestrel ) in their range are among their reported predators. A very large number are also taken by mustelids . Reportedly small Mustela weasels as well as European and introduced American mink may take the largest number of water voles of any predator due in part to aligning habitat preferences. The rarely checked invasive population of American mink has reportedly caused
1152-502: The 1850s, with the English economy booming, new mansions were built in one of the many revivalist architectural styles popular throughout the 19th century. The builders of these new houses were able to take advantage of the political unrest in Europe that gave rise to a large trade in architectural salvage. This new wave of country house building is exemplified by the Rothschild properties in
1216-419: The 18th century with houses such as Castle Howard , Kedleston Hall and Holkham Hall . Such building reached its zenith from the late 17th century until the mid-18th century; these houses were often completely built or rebuilt in their entirety by one eminent architect in the most fashionable architectural style of the day and often have a suite of Baroque state apartments, typically in enfilade , reserved for
1280-481: The 20th century, the term was later popularised in a song by Noël Coward , and in modern usage it often implies a country house that is open to visitors at least some of the time. In England, the terms "country house" and "stately home" are sometimes used vaguely and interchangeably; however, many country houses such as Ascott in Buckinghamshire were deliberately designed not to be stately, and to harmonise with
1344-474: The 20th century, they slept in proper beds, wore well-made adequate clothes and received three proper meals a day, plus a small wage. In an era when many still died from malnutrition or lack of medicine, the long working hours were a small price to pay. As a result of the aristocratic habit of only marrying within the aristocracy, and whenever possible to a sole heiress, many owners of country houses owned several country mansions, and would visit each according to
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#17328767434841408-406: The banks of rivers, ditches, ponds, and streams. Burrows are normally located adjacent to slow moving, calm water which they seem to prefer. They also live in reed beds where they will weave ball-shaped nests above ground if no suitable banks exist in which to burrow. Water voles prefer lush riparian vegetation which provides important cover to conceal animals when they are above ground adjacent to
1472-467: The best-known examples of the showy prodigy house , often built with the intention of attracting the monarch to visit. By the reign of Charles I , Inigo Jones and his form of Palladianism had changed the face of English domestic architecture completely, with the use of turrets and towers as an architectural reference to the earlier castles and fortified houses completely disappearing. The Palladian style, in various forms, interrupted briefly by baroque ,
1536-520: The circumstances of their creation. The great houses are the largest of the country houses; in truth palaces, built by the country's most powerful – these were designed to display their owners' power or ambitions to power. Really large unfortified or barely fortified houses began to take over from the traditional castles of the crown and magnates during the Tudor period, with vast houses such as Hampton Court Palace and Burghley House , and continued until
1600-513: The country saw the building of the first of the unfortified great houses. Henry VIII 's Dissolution of the Monasteries saw many former ecclesiastical properties granted to the King's favourites, who then converted them into private country houses. Woburn Abbey , Forde Abbey and many other mansions with abbey or priory in their name became private houses during this period. Other terms used in
1664-428: The design of the wing around the next corner. These varying "improvements", often criticised at the time, today are the qualities that make English country houses unique. Wealthy and influential people, often bored with their formal duties, go to the country in order to get out of London, the ugliest and most uncomfortable city in the world; they invented the long week-end to stay away as long as possible. Their métier
1728-427: The early 1970s, hundreds of country houses were demolished . Houses that survived destruction are now mostly Grade I or II listed as buildings of historic interest with restrictions on restoration and re-creation work. However such work is usually very expensive. Several houses have been restored, some over many years. For example at Copped Hall where the restoration started in 1995 continues to this day. Although
1792-403: The fact that Linnaeus described two species of water vole on the same page of the same work. Those two forms are now universally considered the same species. It has been recognized as A. amphibius (Linnaeus, 1758) because the first source to unite the two forms, which Linnaeus had treated separately, into a single species chose A. amphibius as the valid name. The species is widely known by
1856-583: The holding of slaves in Grenada . The estate was owned by the Fenwick family from 1475 until Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet had financial problems and opted to sell his properties to the Blacketts in 1688. He sold the rump of the family estates and Wallington Hall to Sir William Blackett for £4000 and an annuity of £2000 a year. The annuity was to be paid for his lifetime and that of his wife, Mary Fenwick . Blackett
1920-473: The home counties and Bletchley Park (rebuilt in several styles, and famous for its code-breaking role in World War II). The slow decline of the English country house coincided with the rise not just of taxation, but also of modern industry, along with the agricultural depression of the 1870s. By 1880, this had led some owners into financial shortfalls as they tried to balance maintenance of their estates with
1984-435: The household. These houses were always an alternative residence to a London house. During the 18th and 19th centuries, for the highest echelons of English society, the country house served as a place for relaxing, hunting and running the country with one's equals at the end of the week, with some houses having their own theatre where performances were staged. The country house, however, was not just an oasis of pleasure for
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2048-551: The immediately preceding war then in World War I, were now paying far higher rates of tax, and agricultural incomes had dropped. Thus, the solution for many was to hold contents auctions and then demolish the house and sell its stone, fireplaces , and panelling . This is what happened to many of Britain's finest houses. Despite this slow decline, so necessary was the country house for entertaining and prestige that in 1917 Viscount Lee of Fareham donated his country house Chequers to
2112-438: The income they provided. Some relied on funds from secondary sources such as banking and trade while others, like the severely impoverished Duke of Marlborough , sought to marry American heiresses to save their country houses and lifestyles. The ultimate demise began immediately following World War I . The members of the huge staff required to maintain large houses had either left to fight and never returned, departed to work in
2176-484: The landscape, while some of the great houses such as Kedleston Hall and Holkham Hall were built as "power houses" to dominate the landscape, and were most certainly intended to be "stately" and impressive. In his book Historic Houses: Conversations in Stately Homes , the author and journalist Robert Harling documents nineteen "stately homes"; these range in size from the vast Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard to
2240-415: The late 19th and early 20th centuries were the swansong of the traditional English country house lifestyle. Increased taxation and the effects of World War I led to the demolition of hundreds of houses ; those that remained had to adapt to survive. While a château or a Schloss can be a fortified or unfortified building, a country house, similar to an Ansitz , is usually unfortified. If fortified, it
2304-540: The latter two are ducal palaces, Montacute, although built by a Master of the Rolls to Queen Elizabeth I, was occupied for the next 400 years by his descendants, who were gentry without a London townhouse , rather than aristocracy. They finally ran out of funds in the early 20th century. However, the vast majority of English country houses, often owned at different times by gentlemen and peers , are an evolution of one or more styles with facades and wings in different styles in
2368-400: The mean body mass has been reported as 60 to 140 g (2.1 to 4.9 oz), although this figure includes immature water voles. The minimum weight to successfully breed as well as to survive winter is reportedly 112 g (4.0 oz) in females and 115 g (4.1 oz) in males. As a species the mean body mass is claimed as 140 g (4.9 oz). Overall, European water voles are
2432-639: The minuscule Ebberston Hall , and in architecture from the Jacobean Renaissance of Hatfield House to the eccentricities of Sezincote . The book's collection of stately homes also includes George IV's Brighton town palace, the Royal Pavilion . The country houses of England have evolved over the last five hundred years. Before this time, larger houses were usually fortified, reflecting the position of their owners as feudal lords , de facto overlords of their manors . The Tudor period of stability in
2496-416: The most eminent guests, the entertainment of whom was of paramount importance in establishing and maintaining the power of the owner. The common denominator of this category of English country houses is that they were designed to be lived in with a certain degree of ceremony and pomp. It was not unusual for the family to have a small suite of rooms for withdrawing in privacy away from the multitude that lived in
2560-399: The munitions factories, or filled the void left by the fighting men in other workplaces. Of those who returned after the war, many left the countryside for better-paid jobs in towns. The final blow for many country houses came following World War II ; having been requisitioned during the war, they were returned to the owners in poor repair. Many estate owners, having lost their heirs, if not in
2624-468: The names of houses to describe their origin or importance include palace , castle , court , hall , mansion , park , house , manor , and place . It was during the second half of the reign of Elizabeth I , and under her successor, James I , that the first architect-designed mansions, thought of today as epitomising the English country house, began to make their appearance. Burghley House , Longleat House , and Hatfield House are among
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2688-450: The nation for the use of a prime minister who might not possess one of his or her own. Chequers still fulfills that need today as do both Chevening House and Dorneywood , donated for sole use of high-ranking ministers of the Crown. Today, many country houses have become hotels, schools, hospitals and museums, while others have survived as conserved ruins, but from the early 20th century until
2752-520: The naturalist Sir Walter Calverley Trevelyan , they began hosting literary and scientific figures at the Hall. As a cultural centre, Wallington visitors included members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood . Sir Charles Philips Trevelyan inherited the property from his father, Sir George Otto Trevelyan , in 1928. He was a leading member of Liberal and Labour governments in the late 1920s. Charles
2816-426: The opportunity. In Europe, rich harvest periods can cause water vole "plagues" to take place, during which the voles eat ravenously, destroying entire fields of grass and leaving the fields full of burrows. Water voles in some parts of England have been shown to occasionally prey on frogs and tadpoles; it has been speculated that this is to make up for a protein deficiency in the voles' diet. Food remains alone are not
2880-468: The owner of a "power house" or a small manor, the inhabitants of the English country house have become collectively referred to as the ruling class, because this is exactly what they did in varying degrees, whether by having high political influence and power in national government, or in the day-to-day running of their own localities or "county" in such offices as lord/deputy lieutenant , magistrates , or occasionally even clergy. The Country house mystery
2944-521: The owner's twelve children. Canons Ashby , home to poet John Dryden 's family, is another example of architectural evolution: a medieval farmhouse enlarged in the Tudor era around a courtyard, given grandiose plaster ceilings in the Stuart period , and then having Georgian façades added in the 18th century. The whole is a glorious mismatch of styles and fashions that seamlessly blend together. These could be called
3008-502: The ownership or management of some houses has been transferred to a private trust , most notably at Chatsworth , other houses have transferred art works and furnishings under the Acceptance in Lieu scheme to ownership by various national or local museums, but retained for display in the building. This enables the former owners to offset tax, the payment of which would otherwise have necessitated
3072-457: The private sale of the art works. For example, tapestries and furniture at Houghton Hall are now owned by the Victoria and Albert Museum . In addition, increasing numbers of country houses hold licences for weddings and civil ceremonies . Another source of income is to use the house as a venue for parties, a film location or a corporate entertainment venue. While many country houses are open to
3136-467: The public and derive income through that means, they remain homes, in some cases inhabited by the descendants of their original owners. The lifestyles of those living and working in a country house in the early 20th century were recreated in a BBC television programme, The Edwardian Country House , filmed at Manderston House in Scotland. Another television programme which features life in country houses
3200-509: The season: Grouse shooting in Scotland , pheasant shooting and fox hunting in England. The Earl of Rosebery , for instance, had Dalmeny House in Scotland, Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, and another house near Epsom just for the racing season. For many, this way of life, which began a steady decline in 1914, continued well into the 20th century, and for a few continues to this day. In
3264-444: The second category of Britain's country houses are those that belonged to the squirearchy or landed gentry . These tend either to have evolved from medieval hall houses, with rooms added as required, or were purpose-built by relatively unknown local architects. Smaller, and far greater in number than the "power houses", these were still the epicentre of their own estate, but were often the only residence of their owner. However, whether
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#17328767434843328-499: The size of a full grown water vole by the time they are weaned. Water voles are expert swimmers and divers. They do not usually live in large groups. Adult water voles each have their own territory, which they mark with fecal latrines located either near the nest or burrow, or at favoured water's edge platforms where voles leave or enter the water. Latrines are known to be a good survey indicator of this species, and can be used to gauge abundance of animals. They also scent-mark by using
3392-555: The snow during the winter. Water voles are currently being reintroduced as a threatened species in Yorkshire, England. In the Massif Central area of France, however, farmers are campaigning for action to be taken against water voles, where plagues of these rodents are causing major damage to crops. Water voles mainly eat grass and other vegetation near the water, but will also consume fruits, bulbs , twigs, buds , and roots when given
3456-403: The synonym A. terrestris , which for many decades was treated as the valid name. Some authorities consider the southwestern water vole ( Arvicola sapidus ) to be the same species, but it is now generally considered distinct. The European water vole ( Arvicola amphibius ) is found in most of Europe, Russia, West Asia and Kazakhstan. In Britain, water voles live in burrows excavated within
3520-488: The true English country house. Wilton House , one of England's grandest houses, is in a remarkably similar vein; although, while the Drydens, mere squires, at Canons Ashby employed a local architect, at Wilton the mighty Earls of Pembroke employed the finest architects of the day: first Holbein , 150 years later Inigo Jones, and then Wyatt followed by Chambers. Each employed a different style of architecture, seemingly unaware of
3584-638: The water body. Areas of heavily grazed and trampled riparian habitats are generally avoided. Water voles may be displaced by the introduction of riparian woodland and scrub as they prefer more open wetland habitats away from tree cover. As well as frequenting typical lowland wetland habitats dominated by rank marginal aquatic vegetation, water voles are also just as at home in areas upland 'peatland' vegetation where they utilize suitable small ditches, rivers, and lochs surrounded by moorland up to 1,000 m asl (e.g., northern Scotland). In Europe and Russia, they may venture into woods, fields, and gardens. They live under
3648-571: The water-vole in the U.K. The National Water-Vole Monitoring Programme (NWVMP) is the first ongoing monitoring scheme for this species in the U.K. and aims to bring together data from several hundred sites to allow the status of this animal to be assessed year-on-year. In September 2019, the Box Moor Trust re-introduced 177 water voles in to the River Bulbourne in Hemel Hempstead as part of
3712-436: The wide lake's margin I mark'd her lie— The wide, weird lake where the alders sigh— Tells of an apparently shy, easily frightened young female by a lakeside, who in the last line of the poem, it is revealed that: For she was a water-rat. The Rolling Stones song "Live with Me" includes the line "My best friend he shoots water rats and feeds them to his geese", referring to Keith Richards 's habit of shooting water voles in
3776-430: The wild, on average, water voles only live about five months. Maximum longevity in captivity is two and a half years. Water voles reach 14–22 centimetres (5.5–8.7 in) in length, plus a tail which is about half the length of the body. Weights reported for adults are variable. It is possible for large, optimal adults to weigh as much as 225 to 386 g (7.9 to 13.6 oz) However, these are peak weights. Elsewhere,
3840-442: The works of Redwall by Brian Jacques . In the comic novel and film Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons , one of the characters, Urk, refers to the subject of his unrequited love, Elfine Starkadder, as his little water vole. Throughout the story, Urk spends a lot of time talking to the water voles on the farm. C. S. Calverley , a 19th-century writer of (among other things) light verse, in his poem "Shelter", beginning: By
3904-511: Was a popular genre of English detective fiction in the 1920s and 1930s; set in the residence of the gentry and often involving a murder in a country house temporarily isolated by a snowstorm or similar with the suspects all at a weekend house party. Following the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, a third category of country houses was built as newly rich industrialists and bankers were eager to display their wealth and taste. By
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#17328767434843968-508: Was happy with the deal as he discovered lead on the land and became wealthy. The hall house was rebuilt, demolishing the ancient pele tower , although the cellars of the early medieval house remain. The house was substantially rebuilt again, in Palladian style , for Sir Walter Blackett by architect Daniel Garret, before passing to the Trevelyan family in 1777. After Pauline Jermyn married
4032-555: Was married to "Molly", Lady Mary Trevelyan . The house is set in 100 acres (40 ha) of rolling parkland, which includes a wooded dene (valley), ornamental lakes, lawns, and a recently refurbished walled garden. The ceilings in the dining and drawing rooms are decorated in the rococo style by the Italian artist, Pietro Lafranchini . Attractions inside the house include the desk where Thomas Babington Macaulay , brother-in-law of Sir Charles Trevelyan , wrote his History of England ,
4096-422: Was to predominate until the second half of the 18th century when, influenced by ancient Greek styles, it gradually evolved into the neoclassicism championed by such architects as Robert Adam . Some of the best known of England's country houses were the work of only one architect/designer, built in a relatively short, particular time: Montacute House , Chatsworth House , and Blenheim Palace are examples. While
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