Lady Maud Rolleston of Watnall Hall was a keen sketcher and watercolour artist. This article is a collection of her art works along with pictures of the hall, the staff and the happy events that took place there...
 |
| Wedding picture - Newton Abbot, Devon - 25th. Feb 1882 Lancelot and Maud Rolleston |
 |
| (and possibly before 1900 as it's a young-looking Lancelot) |
 |
| The Watnall Hall Tithe Barn - above in Lady Maud's painting c.1900 and below in 1955 looking the worse for wear before its demolition |
There's a lovely story associated with these next two pictures.
The first one is a woodland bluebell scene painted by Lady Maud and gifted to a Miss Lydia Langley who worked for the Rollestons for many years and married one of their grooms. Lady Maud helped organise their wedding. When Lydia's husband died young, Lady Maud semi-adopted their young daughter Mary Elizabeth who is the subject of the second painting. The story is best told in the words of Mary Elizabeth's grandson Antony who sent them to me...
"Perhaps Lydia Langley had earned much respect whilst there. Another family treasure I have & which sheds further light on these nice employers, is a beautiful portrait of my grandmother as a young girl. It’s not hard to work out that a mere housekeeper could never afford to commission a painting but this was apparently a gift from Lady Maud. Years later, when my grandmother had grown up & married she named her son & daughter Lancelot & Maud, accordingly, clearly in recognition of her days at Watnall Hall."
 |
| A woodland bluebell scene by Lady Maud gifted to a Miss Lydia Langley who worked for the Rollestons for many years and married one of their grooms. Lady Maud helped organise their wedding. When Lydia's husband died young, Lady Maud semi-adopted their daughter Mary Elizabeth (below) (Courtesy of Mr. A.Bond) |
 |
| Mary Elizabeth Langley, daughter of Miss Langley painted by Lady Maud When she married, she named her children Maud and Lancelot. (Courtesy of Mr. A.Bond, her grandson) |
.jpeg) |
| 1884 - View from Lady Maud's bedroom window at Watnall |
 |
| Sledder Woods, Bog End, Watnall where the Colonel had a fishing lake and Lady Maud sketched the gnarly old alder trees |
 |
| 21st. April 1889 - Wedding of Mis Peat, the gardener's daughter. Lady Maud was an enthusiastic wedding planner for her staff. Note that Lancelot, standing by the white horse, has no walking stick yet (from his injuries in the 1900 Boer War) In the front row with the "Black Adder-esque" white crosses are Rev. von Hube and his wife from Greasley Church. |
 |
| Watnall Hall's gardeners - not sure if Mr. Peat is one of them. (From the Bill Jackson collection) |
 |
| Lady Maud in her prime |
The two ladies have not been not afraid to "rough it", travelling north from Cape Town through the sweltering, fly-ridden country in guard's vans and on horse carts, quite different from their normal lives back in the gentrified country society of Nottinghamshire.
 |
| 1900 Boer War, South Africa Boer commander Piet De Wet who Lady Maud dined with after his surrender From her 1901 published diaries. |
 |
| In Lady Maud's diaries she always refers to him as "Lance" |
 |
| 1900 Boer War, South Africa Lady Maud (centre) and Nurse Nan Beaver (left) at the hospital they set up for convalescent soldiers |
 |
| c.1910 - One of the many children's garden parties at Watnall Hall. Can you spot the local bobby? |
Children were always encouraged to visit the hall and Lady Maud famously held a Sunday School every week where she'd play hymns on her harmonium to be sung along to. Miss Iris Clay, a farmer's daughter, who lived and worked at Hall Farm, the home farm of the estate, left a manuscript written in 1960 and, amongst other village stories, mentions the Sunday school...
"Lady Maud used to hold a Sunday School in the Mission Room against the Hall (part of the stable block). Every Christmas she gave the children a wonderful party with presents for every child. Once she hired a fire-engine to bring these, and on another occasion she had a house built in the rafters out of which emerged Peter Pan to distribute the gifts. After the party it was the practice for Lady Maud to hand a current bun, and Sir Lancelot an orange to take home".
 |
| Lady Maud in middle age |
 |
| March 1916 - An impromptu watercolour done during a family get-together. The Dalzell's are Lady Maud's family. She was born Charlotte Emma Maud Dalzell on Sept 2nd.1859 in Bruges, Belgium. Sarah "aged 94" is her mum (below), Arthur her brother, Muriel his wife and the other Muriel their daughter, Lady Maud's niece. |
 |
| Sarah Dalzell (nee Harris), Lady Maud's Canadian mum Born in London, Ontario in 1822 She married Scottish Colonel Robert Alexander Dalzell in 1846 |
 | ||
| Watnall Hall's gardens - Look carefully, the Rolleston's pet dog stands guard at the top of the old steps.
|
 |
| c. 1932 - On the old Watnall Hall steps with Prinkey the dog |
 |
| Garden gates |
 | ||
| Golden Wedding article 1932 Lady Maud also loved the artwork of budding local painter Ephraim Buckley and paid for him to have advanced art lessons. He went on to do many beautiful paintings. The one below is based on a popular postcard of sailing boats at sunset on the Cattewater in Plymouth.
|
"... For on a warm midsummer eve, Such revels are, you'd scarce believe. The fairies, headed by their Queen, Dance on the strip of mossy green; But unbelievers only see Perhaps a frog or bumble bee..."
Sir Lancelot decided to study bees. He had a bee-house, as he called it, built such a way that he could sit comfortably inside with a chair and desk, and watch the bees through glass windows let into the rear of each individual hive... "The boxes in which the insects deposit their honey are so arranged that they cannot fly about in the interior of the apartment, whilst their operations can be watched and studied through glass. So the bee-house serves a double purpose, besides being an ornament to the garden. A country gentleman esteemed for his courtesy and geniality, writing his letters among that gentle buzzing in a world that seems now to have been forever summer."
 |
| Colonel Rolleston's bee house with unknown man. |
.jpg) |
| 1932 - Sir Lancelot as Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council on display at County Hall |
 |
| Sir Lancelot had his own sailing yacht on the Trent that his chauffeur rowed him out to. |
 |
| Fred Justice, Sir Lancelot's chauffeur, proudly standing by his Humber motor car |
 |
| c.1935 - Lady Maud looking like she means business with her stern magistrate's face on in the Watnall Hall rose garden |
 |
| c.1940 - enjoying their twilight years by the garden lily pond. Sir Lancelot is around 90 years of age. |
 |
| Colonel Rolleston stands guard at the front door |
 |
| In the study with Prinkey the dog and a lot of paperwork. Colonel Rolleston was a magistrate (JP) for a remarkable 70 years. From 1911 to 1932 he was Chairman of the Nottinghamshire Quarter Sessions and from 1928 to 1932 he was Chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council. He was High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire in 1877 Lady Maud was a magistrate from 1921 to 1936 and received a CBE for her work with many different charities. |
.jpg) |
| Watnall Hall's formal gardens and the Orangery |
----------------------- THE END -----------------------
Comments
Post a Comment