Hi there. Well, this is my last post here on Always Austen. Thanks for reading my goofy and off the wall posts. I know I am not everyone’s cup of tea.
I have been doing some research again tonight, which means its rabbit hole time. If you have ever done research, you will understand what I mean. You start looking up one thing, then you see something else interesting, and then the next thing you know, hours have gone by and you have so many different new topics you have learned and even more you want to look into. If you start doing research, always have some food to snack on and drinks nearby to keep you going. I am not kidding, if you have never done any research and plan to do some, be prepared. It is very easy to lose yourself. Rabbit holes like following the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, everywhere you look, something takes you on a different path.
One of the things I was looking at was British architecture. No, it wasn’t where I was originally looking, totally different direction. Originally I was looking at the names of British monarchs, which completely frustrate me cause they keep using the same bleeping name over and over and you can easily get confused as to which one is which. The one king I was looking at died in an estate in Hertfordshire, and the manor house was referred to as a prodigy house. So of course, I needed to learn about what sort of structures were called Prodigy houses. See… rabbit holes. So, prodigy houses are defined as large and showy country houses built by courtiers and other wealthy families. I started looking at some of the different houses built and came across this unique house.
Longleat House was built in Wiltshire between 1568-1580. The estate was gifted later to the Marquess of Bath, Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth. He had been the steward for Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (and other titles) and who served as the Lord Protector of England from 1547-49.
To look at the estate and the manor house, it appears to be typical of the style for the time. The photos as you take a photographic tour in the house takes you back to Jane Austen’s time, and you can feel like you are at Netherfield Park or Pemberley (though for it to be Pemberley, it would require a much larger library). You can feel Caroline Bingley asking Elizabeth to take a turn around the room as Darcy writes a letter at the desk.
The hedge maze at Longleat is considered to be the world’s longest, with 1.69 miles of pathway. There are 6 raised footbridges over and the walls are formed by over 16,000 English yews, the walls surrounding a central tower. It was designed by master maze designer Greg Bright. I don’t think I have ever seen a hedge maze that had foot bridges before.
Also when you go outside you will find even more differences from other estates. Mr Hurst would have a heart attack to see what was on the grounds of the estate. In 1972, Longleat Woods, 618 acres, became a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, so no hunting.
In 1966, the estate made another unique difference. Longleat Estate became a Safari Park. Yes, I said Safari Park. They have several areas that give you a unique experience, such as a drive through park where you are in your car driving up close with wild animals roaming across the land, a train tour, a “jungle cruise”. Over the years they have had a number of different animals and at the moment, they have Southern Australian Koalas. Proudly, as of 2022, they were the only place in England where visitors can see the animals and the only place in Europe to house the species, and the koalas in 2022, had a little one, which was a first of its kind to be born in Europe. That was according to the park’s own information, so if there was updated information, I didn’t see it. Not something you think of in England, though it is awesome.
They also had Nico, who lived to be the third oldest Western lowland gorilla in Europe and the second oldest in the UK. In the official statement when he died, the park stated that Nico was one of the oldest silverback gorillas in the world. That touches me, as when I worked for the police department, I had some dealing with Salt Lake’s Hogle Zoo to get some inked prints of some of their animals. We had koalas on loan from the San Diego Zoo and I got special permission to fingerprint them (they have fingerprint ridges just like we do, and they are soooooooooo soft). When they did the annual physical for the silverback, they did some inked prints with the supplies I gave them, so they gave me copies of the prints. He was a sweet looking boy. Yes, I still have the prints. Our silverback was Tino, and he lived to be 46 years old, which was a nice long life. Such a handsome gentleman. Wish I could have gotten to help do the inked prints, but understand completely. Was actually shocked that I was allowed to do the ones on the koalas. Because they are so small, it was less stressful on the animals for me to do so, as I had experience doing inked prints. It was absolutely fun and something I am glad I got to do. Many people teased me and joked that we must have had a cough medication theft ring going on for me to fingerprint the koalas (eucalyptus), but I took all the teases. It was worth it.
The park is home to around 500 animals, and over the years has been home to lions, giraffes, zebras, ostriches, wildebeest, tapirs, lemurs, capybara, colobus monkeys, marmoset, tamarins, red pandas, and more.
Mr Gardiner and Mr Hurst would be pleased because the estate does have Shearwater Lake which is said to be some of the best fishing in the area. https://www.longleat.co.uk/information/fishing
The railway on the estate has changed over the years and has been known for part of the time as the Jungle Express (between 2011-2017). They could make reservations to go fishing there https://www.longleat.co.uk/information/fishing
So, hope you find that interesting. As I say, you never know what you will find when you dive into research. The rabbit holes will take you to some interesting places. Time for me to finish with the rabbit holes I have open for today. Take care of yourselves and keep reading JAFF. My blog is www.melschertz.com which I need to get back to posting on. I am on Facebook as Melanie Schertz (personal) and Melanie A Schertz (author page). Thank you to all of you for your support and your love of our favorite characters (and your love to hate some of the characters). This photo is of Tino, the silverback here in Salt Lake City. Have a great day.
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