Farewell to Clandon Park

Clandon Park

 
I had the huge privilege to work as the House Manager's Assistant part-time for three years at the beautiful Clandon Park from 2009 and, like so many others affected, am devastated by the nation's loss following the recent fire. Seeing the images of flames ripping through the rooms, destroying the beautiful objects that so many of us have lovingly cleaned and cared for over so many years, is truly heart-breaking.
 
The collection was fabulous and included one of the country's best assembly of porcelain and ceramic, including stunning Meissen harlequin commedia dell'arte figures and monkey orchestra as well as pieces by Sèvres, Bow and Chelsea.
 

Some of Clandon Park's fabulous ceramics

The fire-fighters did an amazing job, and I was reminded of the modest antique fire-fighting equipment displayed in the basement outside the old kitchen, just metres from where the fire broke out. When giving tours of the property, I would often finish here, concluding how significant a risk fire posed to historic mansions, never thinking it might later destroy the very property I was standing in.

Fire-fighting equipment on display in the basement of
Clandon Park, where the fire broke out

Without a doubt the awe-inspiring Marble Hall (a towering 40-foot cube) was the highlight of the mansion, described in 1747 by George Vertue as:

"a most noble and elegant Hall, 40 foot high, adorn'd with marbles, pillars, carvings, bass relieves by Rysbrake, stuccos, painting[s], guildings &co, most rich and costly."

The dramatic Marble Hall

Now all that remains is a shell, an echo of its former glory. Yet miraculously surviving are the Corinthian marble pillars, marble busts and statues, and one Venetian wall-lamp. And who knows what lies under the rubble in the ashes?


The Marble Hall (copyright Hayley Bystram)


The solitary marble "blackamoor" bust, nestled in the Saloon door's pediment - now broken free and gazing towards the open sky - leaves a ghostly reminder. The 1720s mansion was built by Thomas Lord Onslow using money from his wealthy new bride, Elizabeth Knight. Elizabeth was the sole heiress of not only her father but also her childless uncle, both of whom made their fortunes from large sugar plantations in Jamaica as well as slave trading. 

A haunting legacy now remains. With a lonely and proud face, a slave whose bondage and toil funded the building of Clandon is now its final inhabitant.

Surviving marble bust in the ruins of the Marble Hall

Back to life: A Regency square piano

I was lucky enough to acquire my very own square piano a few years ago, which needed some TLC to bring it back to working order - and luckily for me we were able to find a wonderful piano restorer in Somerset who has almost finished his amazing work! In just a few weeks we shall have it returned to our living room, so that the songs of period composers such as Hook, Storace and Dibdin can be played and sung to once more.

My square piano - restoration almost completed

 
Square pianos were a fundamental domestic instrument from the 1760s until well into the early nineteenth century, when they were replaced by piano fortes. At first they were expensive and elite, but by the turn of the nineteenth century (when my piano was built, in 1808) they were affordable for many British families. As the musicologist Charles Burney noted:

The tone was very sweet, and the touch...equal to any degree of rapidity. These, [with] their low price and the convenience of their form, as well as the power of expression, suddenly grew into such favour...in short [they could not be made] fast enough to satisfy the craving of the public.

Female music making in 1810 (courtesy of Albion Prints.com)

Played primarily by young women, they offered the latest in home entertainment of the era, with the small size of the square piano making it ideal for any sized drawing room. And unlike the harpsichord before them which were plucked, the square pianos' little hammers allowed the young lady to play loudly or softly, staccato or smoothly.

Our hammers with the original leather hinges still intact.
The 1960s felt is being replaced with leather to create an authentic sound

As befitted the performance style of the songs she would sing, expressivity and stirring emotionality were paramount. In a guide to singing of 1765, Jonas Hanway noted how "music may fire the mind with martial ardour...warm the breast with a religious zeal, or sooth[e] it into tears of penitence".

And indeed, when you examine the music collections of girls of this era, they are filled with stirring songs telling tales of dangerous naval battles or compassion for fallen women pleading for pity.

Another innovative way to play expressively was to use the square piano's sustain pedal. Our little piano had lost its pedal, so our talented restorer has turned a new one for us and reattached it. The sustain system is very straight-forward with a simple string pulling the dampers up to allow the strings to ring.

The newly turned pedal, replete with hook for the string to go through

It is also an exceptional instrument to play. The action of the keys is very shallow and light, so it is much easier to play fast runs, making the experience very different to a modern piano. In fact, at the time many music guide books encouraged women to hide any appearance of effort or virtuosity, to ensure their performances looked natural and modest. Music making for women should have no sense of having required hours of strenuous toil - music was simply one of many accomplishments. A light touch on the keys would surely have aided this representation of ease.

Although Broadwood was one of the most popular makers of square pianos, the musician Muzio Clementi also became a keen producer of these instruments in London from the 1790s. My piano comes from his Cheapside workshop and we can tell from its handwritten serial number that it was made in 1808.

My only concern now is the tuning. Unlike iron-framed modern pianos, the wood in square pianos moves and shifts with humidity, meaning the strings require regular tuning. I have been warned that to tune my piano will take around an hour. Now I just need to find an authentic Regency stool to sit on, practice my Regency repertoire, and ensure the piano returns in one piece.



The spaces for the pegs for strings - all neatly labelled