Bath is a little over 100 miles west of London, it took me about 2 1/2 hours to reach it by train.
Image taken from: http://bath-heritage.co.uk/about.html
Excerpt from map of Bath I purchased at the train stop, showing my main haunts. Note the Royal Crescent (purple half-circle), The Circus (purple circle), Jane Austen Center (on Gay Street), and Assembly Rooms (Fashion Museum) (purple "t" to the right of The Circus), the Georgian Garden (green square to the lower left of The Circus, and the Gravel Walk (below the Georgian Garden).
Bath affected Jane's writings, and her own personal experiences likewise reflect back on the city. In Northanger Abbey, one of Austen's earlier novels, Catherine Morland is excited and eager to see the city, exclaiming, 'Oh! Who can ever be tired of Bath?' In Persuasion, her last finished work, written nine years after leaving Bath, the city is full of shallow, fashion-conscious people, and Ann Elliot finds the city constraining.
Be that as it may, the city undoubtedly held a place of great importance in her life and in her work, and it's not too difficult to imagine why:
House on The Circus
The Circus, northern portion
Row of houses on Lansdown Road, across from Bennett Street. Bath is built on a hillside so most streets look like this.
The Royal Crescent, view from across Royal Victoria Park.
Heading east on the Gravel Walk
A garden gate on the Gravel Walk
View from the Georgian Garden
A small side-street
Bath Abbey
Bath is an absolutely breathtaking city, there is nothing like it around Cleveland, and it must have been something to a country girl like Jane Austen, when she first arrived.
I went to the Jane Austen Centre, an exhibition focusing on the five years of Austen's life spent living in the city. It's located at No. 40 Gay Street, a house very similar to the one Jane lived in - No. 25 - for a few months following her father's death in 1805. They were both built in the Georgian style between 1735 and 1760 by Bath-based father-son architects John Wood the Elder and John Wood the Younger. The houses are alike in design, although this house had an extension added in the 20th century covering all of the garden, where the permanent exhibition is located.
Looking south down Gay Street. No. 40 is on the left.
The Jane Austen Centre located at No. 40 Gay Street. The man on the left is a costumed interpreter, the woman on the right is a fake plastic statue.
The house is definitely authentic, as it's all very tight and cozy, or what Americans would call cramped and small. The gift shop/ticket window is through the front door to the right, then it's back into the entryway and up the stairs, first room first landing. This room would have been the upstairs ladies' parlor, where the women of the house would drink tea, write letters, sew, and entertain lady (and maybe even *gasp* gentleman) visitors.
In this room were benches for modern visitors to wait to be admitted by a costumed interpreter to an adjacent room with more benches, where the guide would give a brief background about Jane's life here in Bath before sending us down a second flight of stairs into the exhibit itself.
The first room presented a little timeline on one wall pertaining to all the important events of the day, such as coronations of kings, births of poets and authors, with Austen's own personal timeline interspersed. On the other wall were objects and text (there they are again!) acquainting viewers with the people, customs, and general way of life at the turn of the eighteenth century.
Then followed a darkened room playing a 15-minute video about Austen's life in Bath, narrated by none other than Adrian Lukis, aka George Wickham of the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice.
Adrian Lukis as Mr. Wickham. He looked a bit older in the video.
After we were done being distracted by trying to figure out who the narrator played that one time (I helpfully reminded one woman who only remembered it started with a "W"), we went on into a long gallery highlighting different aspects of Austen's life in Bath, punctuated by quotes from her letters to her sister, Cassandra, or excerpts from her novels. These ranged from her shopping activities, to socializing at dances and concerts, to clothing, and to tea-time, at which point they tried to pass these things off as biscuits:
Pictured: Not biscuits.
I was most intrigued by this:
An original dress dating from the Regency era, it came to Bath costume maker Sue Seals in 2002, entirely in pieces. The story was displayed beside the dress on an easel, complete with photographs:
It's a lovely dress, and I probably got in everyone's way by hovering around it so much they gave up trying to take its picture.
Everything had to be made by hand, as the sewing machine in it's modern form wouldn't be practical for another five decades or so. Lace was purchased from local shops.
This dress has an interesting "bib" like front to it consisting of two layers, the triangle with applied self-trim and lace lower and the split/ruffled upper.
The train present on this dress lead Sue Seals to speculate to its intention for a wedding dress, which is possible. However, trains were not uncommon on the ball gowns of the time, and the wealthy would often wear trains more frequently, as they were a status symbol.
This evening dress shows a train, and the upper portion of the bodice and sleeves are decorated with ruffles, not unlike the stripped Regency dress.
Image taken from: http://galleryhip.com/regency-fashion-women.html
The fabric was so fine and sheer it was transparent.
The bottom consisted of rows of ruffles, the front panel did not.
This lovely dress looks remarkably similar to the one currently in the Jane Austen Centre.
Image taken from: https://www.pinterest.com/myregencylife/1795-1820-regency-era-dresses/
Admittedly I lingered over the costumes displayed more than anything else, there was also a shop front depicting lace, gloves, and other accessories, as well as an area for dressing up in the styles of clothing worn (I did that before it was cool) and a writing desk to try ones hand (pun) at using a bit-pen and ink. The final room contained references and images from Austen's works depicted in film and on the television (yes Colin Firth's Darcy was there) and the only authentic life-size waxwork of Jane Austen herself.
Ahh!
(I've never liked waxworks.)
The third floor hosts the tearoom, when I got to answer to the hostess' lovely question of "How many?" with "Just me."
I munched on "Lady Catherine's Proper Tea," which consisted of two scones, one fruit one plain, served with clotted cream, two kinds of jam, and butter, plus a cream tea of your choice. I chose the Darjeeling.
They bring out the tea-tray, which is very fancy and all, a teapot (right) with the actual tea in it, then a pot of hot water (left) to dilute the tea? (What?) Then a little strainer-thingy (right, front of teapot), then a pot of cream (far left, above the teacup). I felt just like Jane, until I slopped the tea all over the strainer and ended up with a puddle in my saucer, then forgot I put the sugar cubes in advance (because everyone knows unsweetened tea is gross) and freaked out when I thought something was in my teacup. But in the end I made it:
Only I forgot to use the dilution-water and that Darjeeling was REALLY STRONG.
Do not forget to dilute your Darjeeling.
After I had tarried for a reasonable amount of time in this manner, I went out and headed up to another point of interest: the Assembly Rooms, also playing host to the Fashion Museum, Bath.
One of Bath's finest Georgian buildings, the Assembly Rooms was designed for fashionable gatherings. Built from 1769 to 1771, the Assembly Rooms was the third Assembly Rooms in Bath, however, they were seen as being old-fashioned and too small for the fast growing city.
The exterior of the building is rather plain (I walked right by it), but the inside is exceptionally grand, especially the Ball Room, the largest eighteenth-century space in Bath.
Image taken from: http://www.bathvenues.co.uk/venues/ball-room
So too the Great Octagon and the Tea Room do not disappoint:
The Great Octagon
Image taken from: http://www.bathvenues.co.uk/venues/octagon
The Tea Room
Image taken from: http://www.bathvenues.co.uk/venues/tea-room#
Originally known as the Museum of Costume, today's Fashion Museum came to the Assembly Rooms in 1963. It was founded by the writer, scholar, costume designer and collector of historic costumes Doris Langley Moore (1902-1989), who first began collecting in the 1920's.
In 2007 the museum became the Fashion Museum, and clothing worn by fashionable men and women throughout the past 350 years is displayed in its galleries, the total number of pieces in its collection numbering over 80,000.
The oldest of these are elaborate gloves from the early 1600's, which were given as gifts or as marks of affection (Fun Fact: It was not important whether or not the gloves fit - often times they did not - all that really mattered was who they were from and how fancy they looked. And they looked FANCY.)
The Fashion Museum also seeks to keep itself current, with the Dress of the Year scheme: "each year the museum asks a fashion expert to choose a significant look shown on the catwalk during the international fashion weeks, and the ensemble selected is gifted to the Dress of the Year Collection." (Taken from The Authorised Guide: The Assembly Rooms, Bath, page 19.)
Unfortunately such a scheme means you will be forced to endure this:
The 2014 winner, Gareth Pugh. I think we are all losers here.
But we also get to enjoy this:
Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.
So it's not all bad.
Full discloser: I really have little to no use for clothing post-WWI. I will tolerate the 20's. Other than that, probably not.
No.
I took a lot of pictures. A LOT of pictures. They will come in handy while I explain the layout of the museum.
The Museum is arranged chronologically, beginning with the Georgians (the time period from 1714-1830, when all the Kings were named George).
Note this dress in the front center and the one to the left of it are missing their stomachers, a detachable decorative piece often made up of ribbons, embroidery, or self-ruffles.
This dress from about 1750 has the stomacher intact.
The display goes through some fashionable day wear, night wear, and the ever-popular court wear, as well as gentleman's dress.
The Georgians wrapped up with a few pieces from what is also called the Regency:
A selection of uniforms:
And several transitional dresses, leading from the high-waisted styles of the 1810's to the soft, Romantic styles of the late 1820's and 30's.
Suddenly, one is confronted with this:
And rounding the corner is a whole slew of undergarments, dresses, hats, and the like for playing dress-up. They are not messing around, either, these are decent, quality reproductions that really give people the feel for wearing and moving in the quintessential "Victorian" dress.
There's even a little area where one can have a staged picture in full costume:
People seemed to enjoy it too, taking the time to stop walking and viewing to try on corsets and hoop skirts, garments and hats.
People having fun trying on outfits
I was completely taken aback at the way they displayed their Victorian costumes, however. Expecting a display similar to the one used with the Georgians, instead I encountered this:
Fashion plates from the 1800's to early 1900's adorn the walls, and nestled into the four walls around the square room were vignettes of the costumes held, with descriptions of the decade portrayed and overarching themes present.
Perhaps the most intriguing is the inclusion of the boxes, stacks and stacks of them, showing the collection in it's "Costume Shop" form. If you recall, on Thursday I went into the Museum of London's Costume Shop located in the basement, it's boxes hidden away from the public view. Here, they are out for the visitor to see, and perhaps get a closer look into the inner workings and scope of the Museum's collections.
The dresses themselves were, of course, stunning.
And at the end of the Victorian and early Edwardian eras visitors were invited to share their thoughts with the Museum via the Inspirations Wall:
And try their hand at fashion design using the Drawings Wall:
But wait, there's more!
In order to leave the Museum, first you must pass through this:
Ahhhhhh!!!!!
Yes, modern fashion must have its due, and you must pass through a hallway of mannequins to view it.
*Gulp*
That's not entirely fair, there were a few I enjoyed:
Christian Dior, 1950
Peter Russell, c. 1934
Please note how none of them were on the humanoid mannequins.
Exhibit A.
The Fashion Museum used three very different ways in which to display the three time periods making up its collections, and very fittingly too: the traditional, stately manner for the gradual procession of Georgian attire, the snapshots of styles confined to very specific decades in Victorian dress, and the rapid progression of fads and fashions all piled on in the long hallway-come-catwalk that is 20th and 21st century clothing, all culminating in the Dress of the Year.
No.
It made for a very exciting, interesting experience.
I visited two very different museums, and both provided insights into the creating of displays, utilization of space, and ways of engaging with the audience. I learned a lot, and came away with perhaps the most valuable lesson of them all: One mannequin is more than enough.
Information taken from:
Visitormaps: Bath, purchased at the train station shop
The Jane Austen Centre pamphlet, picked up at the Jane Austen Centre
Jane Austen's Bath: A Biography & Walking Tour of the City, purchased at the Jane Austen Centre
The Authorised Guide: The Assembly Rooms, Bath, purchased at the Assembly Rooms store
No comments:
Post a Comment