Country houses and the British Empire, 1700–1930

Slavery and Public History at the Big House

“…Scottish country houses have been used as part of a brand of political nationalism directed against English sovereignty, however in Ireland (both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland) there is a distinctly more complex picture which presents itself "at the nexus of nationalist, unionist and imperial forces". 37 The big house in Ireland is a particularly dissonant heritage, embodying both colonial and colonized past and the fight against British sovereignty, whilst also being largely perceived as representative of certain (namely Protestant) elite culture. 38 The inherently colonial context of the big house in Ireland is in some major ways, more evidently present and less easily obscured, than in England's stately homes.…”

“…37 The big house in Ireland is a particularly dissonant heritage, embodying both colonial and colonized past and the fight against British sovereignty, whilst also being largely perceived as representative of certain (namely Protestant) elite culture. 38 The inherently colonial context of the big house in Ireland is in some major ways, more evidently present and less easily obscured, than in England's stately homes. However, a notable proportion of visitors interviewed by Smith at English country houses in 2004 (21%) explicitly stated that they wanted to know more about 'servants and slaves', about where the money came from, and indeed from whose labor this 'grandiloquence' was supported.…”

“…His colonial career afforded Blathwayt access to luxury commodities from the colonies, and he was given many gifts which he displayed in his home at Dyrham. 63 Blaythwayt drew on his colonial connections, sometimes in the form of bribes for favorable endorsements of those under his supervision, to acquire materials in the rebuilding of Dyrham, including walnut and cedar wood from America. Blaythwayt also imported seeds and plants into Dyrham from the colonies which constituted a 'wilderness garden' at the estate, made up of trees from Virginia, peach stones and black walnuts amongst other seeds, and also included two rattlesnakes to display within the gardens.…”

“…Blaythwayt also imported seeds and plants into Dyrham from the colonies which constituted a 'wilderness garden' at the estate, made up of trees from Virginia, peach stones and black walnuts amongst other seeds, and also included two rattlesnakes to display within the gardens. 64 In part this is one area where connections to empire and slavery have come to the fore within Dyrham's public history offer, though this has varied in its emphasis. The general guidebook mentions the "exotic palms and pineapples" on display and the newer guidebook extends on this interpretation, particularly in relation to the 'exotic' flora and fauna Blaythwayt had imported and the colonial timber used to construct the main staircases.…”

Revisiting Mansfield Park: The Critical and Literary Legacies of Edward W. Said’s Essay “Jane Austen and Empire” inCulture and Imperialism(1993)

“…'through a longing for metropolitan material, the writer or narrator misses his big subject' (Naipaul 2002, vi British imperial history (Finn 2013;Barczewski 2014;Donington in Hall et al 2014;Finn and Smith 2015). The novel contains frequent casual allusions to colonial commodities, emphasising how thoroughly these defined British life in the early nineteenth century.…”