a friday to monday: the country house party introduction€¦ · the edwardian era, takes its name...

A Friday to Monday: the Country House Party

introduction

La Belle Époque —‘Hush!’ by J. J. Tissot

Marlborough House inLondon as it is today

King Edward VII(1841-1910) in hiscoronation robes,by Luke Fildes(1843-1927)

For the “Country House Set”, the super rich of the early20th century and those who aspired to be so, theEdwardian era was characterised by lavish weekendparties commonly known as a “Friday to Monday.”Activities would include riding, hunting and shooting,gastronomic dinners, gambling for money and secretaffairs between married guests, fuelled by hours ofnothing to do.

The members of thisrich and privilegedgroup were known as“High Society”. Less asocial class and more ofa club, High Society’sentry qualifications wereprimarily wealth, [andits conspicuous display]

but birth and manners were also necessary. Theexclusive circle of friends orbiting Edward VII wasknown as the “Marlborough House Set”. Anyone couldjoin providing ostentatious wealth and spectacularconsumption caught the eye of the King; what betterway to succeed than to invite them all to the countryhouse for a Friday to Monday?

The Edwardian Era, takes its namefrom, King Edward VII (1901-1910),though in fact it included the years

from the mid 1890s to 1914. The era ischaracterised by Edward’s appetite forexcess, this was legendary beyond just

food, wine and big cigars: his numerousaffairs added to the glamour of the

times. The pinnacle of luxurious livingfor the very rich and the very privileged,

later dubbed La Belle Époque, or theGilded Age, was a lifestyle which camecrashing down to earth at the start of

the First World War.

Many families on the fringes of the Marlborough House Set did their best toimitate the lifestyle in a desperate attempt to belong. This resulted in themliving way beyond their means, often with disastrous effects.

Millicent, Duchess ofSutherland, societyhostess and memberof the “MarlboroughHouse Set”, paintedby John SingerSargent, 1904

As Oscar Wilde said in A Woman of No Importance‘Moderation is a fatal thing, Lady Hunstanton,

nothing succeeds like excess’.


Country House party

Victorian country house party

A selection of Puddings, from Mrs Beeton

The WyndhamSisters by JohnSinger Sargent

Country house parties formed the essentialentertainment in the months following the Londonseason and were usually held from August toDecember. The whole of the nineteenth century wasfamed for these gatherings, but they reached thepinnacle of excess during the Edwardian era.

The guests enjoyed three hearty meals a day, four in the case ofladies taking afternoon tea. Breakfast was between 9 o’clock and10.30 and was a self-service buffet laid out on the sideboardconsisting of fruit, eggs, kidneys, ham, tongue and pies.

The invitations were sent six weeks in advance and theexpected company could be 20 to 30 guests arriving on

Friday and staying until Monday. Saturday was devoted toshooting or hunting and when the party weren’t killing

creatures, the two other main themes of the country houseparty were secret affairs and eating.

Lunch could be formal, guests arranged around the dining tableaccording to rank, or an informal summer picnic. During theshooting season, lavish lunches were sent up from the kitchensto be eaten outside with the ladies joining the gentlemen to eat.Dinner was a very formal event with strict codes of etiquettegoverning who led who into the dining room and in which chairone could sit to eat. The ladies wore beautiful evening gownsand gentlemen wore formal evening wear. Manners were themark of society: no elbows on the table, no hogging theconversation and speaking too loudly was considered vulgar.

After dinner there could be dancing, musical entertainment, charades,word games, billiards or gambling at cards, not forgetting arranging secretmeetings with lovers. Arrangements for such trysts were often made bysmall notes passed between the lady’s maid and the gentleman’s valet withgreat discretion so as not to arouse suspicion — and heaven forbid, gossip.

The Morning After The Party— an engraving from‘The Graphic Christmas Number’ 1875


the hostess

Coming out

Hairstyles for a young girl

The end of supper by Jules Alexander Grün

The country house party was serious business and thequickest way into society was to throw lavish weekendgatherings at a house in the country. The hostess wasthe principal organiser of such events and couldexpect to spend a vast sum, more than her lady’smaid’s annual pay several times over, in one weekendparty. Food, wine and champagne was a massiveexpense but so too was the provision of fresh flowersin each bedroom, a corsage of fresh orchids for theladies to wear at dinner, a collection of new books anda fully equipped writing desk became standard inevery bedroom.

The hostess acted as fixer. If twoof her guests had indicated thatthey would like to arrange a secretliaison, she was the likelyfacilitator to make things happen.Elaborate planning wasdemanded here too: bedroomswould be allocated close to eachother and opportunities created.Other guests unwittingly stoppingthe would-be couple would bedistracted by the hostess whodetained them in politeconversation.

Planning everything to the last detailwas essential. The guests were hand-

picked with precision, if very importantguests were invited then guests of equalrank and social status should be invited

too. This often meant researchingpotential guests’ backgrounds, likes,dislikes and any prior indiscretionslikely to land the gathering, and the

hostess, in the glare of society gossip. Itwas usual for the guests to know each

other very well and that the same guestswere inevitably invited to the same

parties.

If finding a suitor during the London season had proved elusive, then an invitation to a Friday toMonday might help provide the right atmosphere for young love – or more likely a dynasticarrangement favoured by her parents. The job of the hostess also involved ensuring there wereadequate numbers of single Society girls and suitable young men.

The country house party was also the lastopportunity of the season’s marriage market. Asociety girl’s destiny was to make a good marriage.On reaching the age of 18, her debut into societywas the “London Season”. Here she would bepresented at court and introduced to the king andqueen, attend balls and parties and generally let itbe known that she was available and looking for ahusband. Childhood was over and the understoodsignal for the change from girl to woman was thatshe could wear her hair ‘up’.


The Early Edwardian Fashionable Figure

An Edwardian lady

Costume was an important part of the country houseparty; a lady could expect to change her clothes five orsix times in a day. A lady who wore delicate and highlyimpractical clothes, which required a maid to help withdressing, was a status symbol and a visual statement ofher husband’s wealth.

Whether achievedwith subtlety or not,the lady’s costumewas used to titillate

the male imagination.Between the corsetand outer skirt werelayer upon layer ofpetticoats in fabrics

such as silks, organdieand lace which rustled

provocatively whenshe walked, these

were the instruments in the Edwardian lady’s batteried’amour known as frou-frou.

By day, her blouse was high-necked and no décolletagevisible, sleeves were tight to the upper arm, flaring outat the elbow. This modesty was abandoned for eveningwear – as much flesh as was decent was on display –

bare shoulders and cleavage. Theaccent was on the mature matronly

woman with full bosom and curves, afashion led by Queen Alexandra and

other society belles such as AliceKeppel, Lillie Langtry and SarahBernhardt. It is said this fashion

prevailed due to the preferences ofthe middle aged King.

The early Edwardian fashionablewoman’s figure was S-shaped. This wasachieved by being tightly laced into an

S-bend ‘health corset’ – which wasanything but. The corset effectivelyforced the hips back and the bosom

forward and in between was animpossibly narrow waist. The S-shapedsilhouette was accentuated further bythe addition of a bustle to the derrière

and the breasts pushed together toform a shelf-like form known as the

“Monobosom".

The combined effect ofunderwear and s-bendcorset with a fitted skirton the lady’s posture wasone of stateliness, glidinglike a ship in full sail. Onher head, the Edwardianlady wore a massive hatadorned with lots offeathers and otherornaments – in extremecases, this involved wholestuffed birds!

Sarah Bernhardt


Edward, Party Animal

Lillie Langtree Daisy Greville

Wedding of AlbertEdward Prince of Walesand Alexandra ofDenmark 1863.

Edward VII was the last monarch to give his name tosymbolise an era. Edwardianism was about excesswhereas Victorianism was about thrift and in thisEdward was its best advertisement. Born at BuckinghamPalace in 1841, Albert Edward, known as Bertie, was theeldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Edward was 59 when he finally came to the throne in1901, his was the longest term of heir apparent inhistory, now overtaken by Prince Charles. QueenVictoria kept Bertie away from running the country, hecould only perform ceremonial duties and representEngland abroad, so he had a lot of spare time.

In 1863, aged 21, he married Princess Alexandra ofDenmark and they had six children. The family lived inMarlborough House, London or their country houseestate at Sandringham, Norfolk, where Edward and theMarlborough House Set had some fantastic countryhouse parties. The royals entertained on a gargantuanscale and became famous for socialising with people notusually considered suitable for High Society: fromJewish financiers to actresses. Edward condemnedprejudice at home and abroad.

Although the prince’s marriagewas happy, it didn’t dampen

Edward’s appreciation for othermen’s wives. The actress Lillie

Langtree, Daisy Greville (Countessof Warwick) and Alice Keppel werejust three of the many affairs andliaisons that Queen Alexandra

tolerated.


The Later Edwardian Fashionable Figure

Paul Poiret

Dress designedby Paul Poiret

The Harem Girl - Bert Green forPuck magazine, 29 March 1911

Corsets, Boulevard de Strasbourg, Paris 1912,photograph, Eugène Atget

Costume design byLéon Bakst forprincipal femaledancer in TheFirebird, 1910

By 1906 the S-shaped silhouette was overtaken by areturn to the “Empire Line” gown with its raisedwaistline and straight column shape. Fashion wasbeginning to respond to theatrical costumiers’ designsfor stage productions, particularly for Diaghilev’s BalletRusses, and designers like Leon Bakst and AlexandreBenois.

The S-bend corset gave way to along-line tubular corset which didn’tcinch the waist; it began at the ribcage and encased the wearer in acolumn which extended to kneelevel. The finished look was one ofextreme elegance, although sittingdown was nearly impossible. Thisshift in silhouette is epitomised bycostumes from the “Titanic era”.

Parisian designer Paul Poiret’sinfamous harem pants, like those wornby Sybil in Downton Abbey, are straightout of The Arabian Nights. Poiret alsoclaimed to be the originator of the late

Edwardian hobble skirt, so-calledbecause it was so narrow it was

impossible for the wearer to walkproperly.

A postcard (circa 1911)depicting a man pointing at a

woman wearing a hobbleskirt.


Manners Make the Man

A dinner table at night by John Singer Sargent

An Edwardian dinner

Etiquette— ‘Company shocked by Lady getting up to Ring the Bell’James Gillray

The rarefied world of conspicuous consumption,a term coined by the Edwardians, meaning highliving was governed by a strict code of conductand manners known as etiquette. The rules wererigorously observed and encompassedeverything from appropriate costume, politeconversation, how to address the aristocracycorrectly and even how to conduct a secretaffair.

Presenting a front of domestic bliss to the outside worldwas expected, even in unhappy marriages arranged formoney, dynasty and power rather than love. Such asham was often a cover for extra-marital exploits byboth parties; the art was to keep one’s indiscretionsaway from gossip, or worse, scandal. To be the subjectof gossip was an Edwardian fate worse than death:“Social Death”. To the Edwardians “Social Death” was known as“Cutting”. Anyone falling foul of acceptable behaviourrapidly found themselves either in court or cut out ofsociety (or both). Names were ruthlessly scratched fromguest lists, the invitations stopped and a socialwilderness loomed.

High Society led a leisured life, anendless round of parties, gatherings andluxurious time wasting. To pep up thisdull existence, High Society often had

extra-marital affairs which was perfectlyacceptable for both men and women,

provided the rules were observed: takinglovers was accepted within the CountryHouse Set, especially during a Friday toMonday, but they had to be discrete and

not be open about it.

‘Everything in the world isabout sex except sex. Sex is

about power’.Oscar Wilde


The sporting life

Lawn Tennis

Edward VII and the Royal Shoot including (from left toright) the Hon. Mrs Keppel; the Prince of Pless;LadyGosford;the King; Lady Desborough; Earl de Grey; MrFelix Semon and Mr Arthur Sassoon

Sport was at the heart of the countryhouse party and gentlemen guests wereexpected to participate. Depending on theseason, the activity was shooting andhunting, going to the races or cricket andtennis.

An elaborate luncheon was then transported from thekitchens to the shoot site and laid out in the open air. Theladies would change clothes – into suitable tweeds – tojoin the men for lunch and learn who had bagged themost birds.

Shooting was especially importantto the Edwardians; King Edward

himself was considered to be a goodshot. Competition to host the best

shooting party was fierce – beyondshooting as many birds as possible

and having the biggest bag, the skillof the host’s gamekeeper to produce

the most birds flying at the correctheight for the guns was just as

important. Edward VII’s son GeorgeV famously shot over 1000 birds in a

colossal bag totalling 3937 in 1913;he was reported to have remarked

that, ‘perhaps we over did it’!

While the men donned their tweeds and headed off forthe shoot, the ladies idled away the hours before lunchwriting letters, exchanging gossip or were otherwiseentertained by the ‘lap dogs’. This was a pet name forgentlemen guests who did not take part in the shoot orthe day’s other sport.

Ladies could take part in the huntand traditionally rode side saddle.However, sporting garments werechanging like everything else. TheEdwardian era ushered in the firstacceptable bifurcated garments forwomen: trousers!

Helpingthemselves tobreakfast beforethe hunt.

Goerge V, as Prince of Wales, shooting

‘Pray Sir is this the way to Stretchit?’‘Shiver my topsails my Lass if I know abetter way.’


The tranby croft affair

Tranby Croft, circa 1920 from a postcard

The players at Tranby Croft onSeptember 11th 1890:Gen. O. Williams; LordCoventry; Lycett Green; BerkeleyLevett; Mrs Lycett Green; LordA. Somerset; Reuben Sassoon;Lord E. Somerset; StanleyWilson; Tyrwhitt Wilson(Equerry); Arthur Wilson;Christopher Sykes; CountLudskew; Miss Naylor; Mrs Gen.O. Williams; Mrs A. Wilson;Lieut. Col. Sir C. GordonCummings; H.R.H.; Countess ofCoventry; Lady Brougham

At the trial of the Tranby Croft affair, SirWilliam Gordon-Cumming in the witness box,in the presence of Edward, Prince of Wales andothers

Baccarat, a card game also known as ‘shemmy’, was afavourite late night pastime of Edward’s when he wasPrince of Wales. At a country house party in September1890, he became embroiled in what became the “RoyalBaccarat Scandal”, also known as “The Tranby CroftAffair”.

After dinner and musical entertainment, thegentlemen settled down to a late night game ofbaccarat, gambling for large sums of money. At thetime gambling was illegal. The game got under wayand it wasn’t too long before one of the players,Stanley Wilson, thought he saw Gordon-Cummingcheating – illegally adding to his stake.

The following night another game of baccarat wasplayed, this time with the Wilsons watchingGordon-Cumming closely. He was cheating againand had already won £225. They took advice fromthe Prince’s advisors who suggested that Gordon-Cumming sign a statement saying he would neverplay cards again in exchange for keeping the affairsecret. It wasn’t secret for long as it became thesubject of society gossip; Gordon-Cumming blamedthe Wilsons for breaking the news and sued themfor slander.

Tranby Croft, near Hull, was the EastYorkshire country house of Hull shipping

magnate, Arthur Wilson. At the Septemberhouse party, Wilson invited the Prince, two

of his advisers and his friend Sir WilliamGordon-Cumming, amongst others. Sir

William was a highly distinguishedlieutenant colonel in the Scots Guards.

The case came to court in June 1891 with the Prince of Walesbeing called as a witness. The public gallery was packed withpeople who bought tickets to watch the society spectacle. Thejury found against Gordon-Cumming who was dismissedfrom the army the next day. His friend, the Prince of Wales,never spoke to him again and Gordon-Cumming was ‘cut’from society until he died in 1930. The Prince of Wales gaveup playing baccarat and favoured whist instead.

a friday to monday: the country house party introduction€¦ · the edwardian era, takes its name...

Documents