The Victorian Class System

Yesterday I visited Kylemore Abbey, one of Ireland's top tourist attractions. The Victorian mansion was completed in 1870 for a wealthy family, who enjoyed it up to 1903. The mansion was then sold to an English count who lost it in a card game. Rather a dissolute fellow...living off his rich Cincinnati wife's money. Eventually in 1920 the mansion was purchased by an order of Irish nuns who made it into an abbey and girls' school. It's still owned by the nuns and now run jointly by them and the Irish government.

When it was a private residence, the mansion of course had a large staff of caretakers. There was a world class Victorian walled garden, now restored. This was the dining room of the gardeners...distinctly rustic.

The Head Gardener, though, was in a much more prestigious position, running one of the top gardens in the British Isles. He and his family lived a comfortable middle class life...this was their dining room. Still not large, but much more comfy than the one used by his subordinates.

But of course, the mansion's proprietors lived in upper clahs splendor, dining in this ornate room with a black marble fireplace and the family crest on every glass. This table, fine as it is, seems a bit small for the room, and our tour guide said that larger tables were frequently used when houseguests were present.

Thus, Kylemore Abbey presents a neat vision of the UK class system during the Victorian era. Ireland of course was still in the UK in the late 1800s.

It was quite a blustery day yesterday. A 975 millibar low passed just north of Ireland and the predicted winds of 70-100 kph verified. It was reallly howling when I took this pic...blow it up and check out the streaks of spindrift on the water!