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hopehousecottage
What A Carve Up!
Townend的点评
点评：The National Trust has acquired over 500 historic houses in its almost 130 year existence; many of them gifted by the impoverished families of the great and the (sometimes not so) good struggling to maintain the ancestral home. Cumbrian sheep farmers are not really the sort of people you would expect to have an ancestral home but Townend is essentially just that. The Browne family - nearly all of whom were named George, it seems - had farmed here for over 400 years during which time they became gradually more educated, gentrified and, eventually, sufficiently cash-strapped to also bequeath their 17th century rambling farmhouse to the nation. A grand country pile it is not, but quirky and interesting and worthy of preservation it certainly is.
The slightly ramshackle architecture, evolved over the centuries and the quaint cottage garden outside are one thing, but the real interest here comes from the copiously carved woodwork and the rather surprising library (that you can peer into but not physically enter unless on a guided tour). The collection of more than 1000 books here apparently contains 45 publications which are not known to exist anywhere else in the world. The fact that they’re still here in this farmhouse and not in a museum or national library collection somewhere probably tells you that these unique tomes are not great lost works of literature, philosophy or science but unique in the world of books is unique nonetheless and of at least passing interest.
Before the advent of Countryfile and Clarkson’s Farm it was not, so we were informed by the knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers at Townend, uncommon for a country farmer to indulge indulge in a spot of whittling if an evening. Usually this pastime would find its expression in a few rustic utensils for the kitchen or perhaps some rudely carved ornaments for the mantlepiece. George Browne (the 10th and last in a long line of George Brownes) however really enjoyed whittling. He went far beyond ornaments for the mantlepiece, he did the mantlepiece itself. And the sideboard. And the fire surrounds. And the tables, chairs, chests (ingeniously turned on end and converted into wardrobes), bookshelves and just about any other piece of dark wood he could lay his hands and his knife on. If it didn’t move, he whittled it. He even whittled a fitted kitchen (remarkable considering how not flat the floors are). There is barely a wooden surface in this house which George X did not carve with intricate patterns and motifs. It’s quite extraordinary and bewildering.
The carving is not to everyone’s taste. In the early 1900’s Beatrix Potter came here when she was searching for a Lake District bolt-hole. Ms Potter, it seems, was less than complementary about George’s efforts and promptly left without putting in an offer. The fact that this place ended up being looked after by The National Trust (as did her own home Hill Top on the other side of Windermere) of which she was a supporter and donor (and after whom the Trust’s HQ in Swindon is named) would probably annoy her a little. She seems the type.
There’s non of the usual NT peripheral stuff here. No tea room. No gift or second hand book shop. There is a fascinating looking bank barn opposite (part of the farm but not, it seems, part of the NT property) and the cottage garden is small but perfectly formed. Townend is well worth a hour or so of your time and you don’t feel obliged to buy an expensive sandwich or yet another pair of secateurs.
The slightly ramshackle architecture, evolved over the centuries and the quaint cottage garden outside are one thing, but the real interest here comes from the copiously carved woodwork and the rather surprising library (that you can peer into but not physically enter unless on a guided tour). The collection of more than 1000 books here apparently contains 45 publications which are not known to exist anywhere else in the world. The fact that they’re still here in this farmhouse and not in a museum or national library collection somewhere probably tells you that these unique tomes are not great lost works of literature, philosophy or science but unique in the world of books is unique nonetheless and of at least passing interest.
Before the advent of Countryfile and Clarkson’s Farm it was not, so we were informed by the knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers at Townend, uncommon for a country farmer to indulge indulge in a spot of whittling if an evening. Usually this pastime would find its expression in a few rustic utensils for the kitchen or perhaps some rudely carved ornaments for the mantlepiece. George Browne (the 10th and last in a long line of George Brownes) however really enjoyed whittling. He went far beyond ornaments for the mantlepiece, he did the mantlepiece itself. And the sideboard. And the fire surrounds. And the tables, chairs, chests (ingeniously turned on end and converted into wardrobes), bookshelves and just about any other piece of dark wood he could lay his hands and his knife on. If it didn’t move, he whittled it. He even whittled a fitted kitchen (remarkable considering how not flat the floors are). There is barely a wooden surface in this house which George X did not carve with intricate patterns and motifs. It’s quite extraordinary and bewildering.
The carving is not to everyone’s taste. In the early 1900’s Beatrix Potter came here when she was searching for a Lake District bolt-hole. Ms Potter, it seems, was less than complementary about George’s efforts and promptly left without putting in an offer. The fact that this place ended up being looked after by The National Trust (as did her own home Hill Top on the other side of Windermere) of which she was a supporter and donor (and after whom the Trust’s HQ in Swindon is named) would probably annoy her a little. She seems the type.
There’s non of the usual NT peripheral stuff here. No tea room. No gift or second hand book shop. There is a fascinating looking bank barn opposite (part of the farm but not, it seems, part of the NT property) and the cottage garden is small but perfectly formed. Townend is well worth a hour or so of your time and you don’t feel obliged to buy an expensive sandwich or yet another pair of secateurs.
翻译：国家信托在其近 130 年的历史中收购了 500 多座历史建筑；其中许多是由贫穷的名门望族和（有时不那么）善良的家族捐赠的，他们努力维护祖屋。坎布里亚牧羊人并不是您期望拥有祖屋的那种人，但 Townend 本质上就是这样。布朗家族——几乎所有人都叫乔治——在这里务农了 400 多年，在此期间，他们逐渐变得更有教养，变得绅士化，最终资金紧张，将他们 17 世纪的杂乱无章的农舍遗赠给国家。这不是一个宏伟的乡村建筑，但它确实古怪有趣，值得保存。
经过几个世纪的发展，略显摇摇欲坠的建筑和外面古雅的小屋花园是一回事，但这里真正的兴趣来自大量雕刻的木制品和相当令人惊讶的图书馆（除非参加导游，否则您可以窥视但不能亲自进入）。这里收藏了 1000 多本书籍，其中 45 种出版物在世界其他地方是绝无仅有的。这些书籍仍在这座农舍中，而不是在某个博物馆或国家图书馆收藏中，这一事实可能说明，这些独特的书籍并非失传的伟大文学、哲学或科学著作，但在书籍世界中却是独一无二的，而且至少具有一时的兴趣。
在 Countryfile 和 Clarkson’s Farm 出现之前，情况并非如此，Townend 知识渊博、热情洋溢的志愿者告诉我们，乡村农民在晚上沉迷于雕刻，这种情况并不常见。通常，这种消遣会体现在厨房里的一些质朴用具，或者壁炉架上一些雕刻粗糙的装饰品上。然而，乔治·布朗（乔治·布朗家族的第十代也是最后一代）非常喜欢雕刻。他不仅雕刻壁炉架上的装饰品，还雕刻了壁炉架本身。还有餐具柜。壁炉四周燃着火。还有桌子、椅子、箱子（巧妙地竖起来，变成了衣柜）、书架，以及他能用手和刀触及到的任何其他深色木头。只要木头不动，他就削它。他甚至削了一个配套厨房（考虑到地板并不平坦，这很了不起）。这所房子里几乎没有一块木头表面没有乔治十世雕刻的复杂图案和图案。这非常特别，令人眼花缭乱。
雕刻品并不符合每个人的品味。20 世纪初，比阿特丽克斯·波特来到这里寻找湖区避难所。波特女士似乎对乔治的努力不太满意，并迅速离开了，没有提出任何报价。这个地方最终由国家信托基金会管理（她自己的家位于温德米尔另一边的山顶也是这样），她是国家信托基金会的支持者和捐赠者（斯温顿的信托基金会总部以她的名字命名），这一事实可能会让她有点恼火。她看起来就是那种人。
这里没有常见的国家信托周边设施。没有茶室。没有礼品店或二手书店。对面有一个看起来很迷人的银行谷仓（是农场的一部分，但似乎不是国家信托财产的一部分），小屋花园虽小但形状完美。Townend 值得您花一个小时左右的时间，您不会觉得有必要购买昂贵的三明治或另一把修枝剪。
经过几个世纪的发展，略显摇摇欲坠的建筑和外面古雅的小屋花园是一回事，但这里真正的兴趣来自大量雕刻的木制品和相当令人惊讶的图书馆（除非参加导游，否则您可以窥视但不能亲自进入）。这里收藏了 1000 多本书籍，其中 45 种出版物在世界其他地方是绝无仅有的。这些书籍仍在这座农舍中，而不是在某个博物馆或国家图书馆收藏中，这一事实可能说明，这些独特的书籍并非失传的伟大文学、哲学或科学著作，但在书籍世界中却是独一无二的，而且至少具有一时的兴趣。
在 Countryfile 和 Clarkson’s Farm 出现之前，情况并非如此，Townend 知识渊博、热情洋溢的志愿者告诉我们，乡村农民在晚上沉迷于雕刻，这种情况并不常见。通常，这种消遣会体现在厨房里的一些质朴用具，或者壁炉架上一些雕刻粗糙的装饰品上。然而，乔治·布朗（乔治·布朗家族的第十代也是最后一代）非常喜欢雕刻。他不仅雕刻壁炉架上的装饰品，还雕刻了壁炉架本身。还有餐具柜。壁炉四周燃着火。还有桌子、椅子、箱子（巧妙地竖起来，变成了衣柜）、书架，以及他能用手和刀触及到的任何其他深色木头。只要木头不动，他就削它。他甚至削了一个配套厨房（考虑到地板并不平坦，这很了不起）。这所房子里几乎没有一块木头表面没有乔治十世雕刻的复杂图案和图案。这非常特别，令人眼花缭乱。
雕刻品并不符合每个人的品味。20 世纪初，比阿特丽克斯·波特来到这里寻找湖区避难所。波特女士似乎对乔治的努力不太满意，并迅速离开了，没有提出任何报价。这个地方最终由国家信托基金会管理（她自己的家位于温德米尔另一边的山顶也是这样），她是国家信托基金会的支持者和捐赠者（斯温顿的信托基金会总部以她的名字命名），这一事实可能会让她有点恼火。她看起来就是那种人。
这里没有常见的国家信托周边设施。没有茶室。没有礼品店或二手书店。对面有一个看起来很迷人的银行谷仓（是农场的一部分，但似乎不是国家信托财产的一部分），小屋花园虽小但形状完美。Townend 值得您花一个小时左右的时间，您不会觉得有必要购买昂贵的三明治或另一把修枝剪。
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