The origin of the word "loo"; and at Shugborough Hall

If you, like me have ever wondered where the word "loo" comes from, then wonder no longer! It originated in the late 1920s.

It would seem that the late Lord Lichfield had a wicked sense of humour. On one of the weekends at his estate, the young Dikes of Abercorn and he replaced the name place which was affixed to one of their cousins doors, with that of the toilet - which is known as the WC ( water closet). His cousin, Lady Lousia was by all accounts a "contrary young lady", so I'm sure the joke was well meant.

All that weekend, the bathroom was called the "Lady Lou", an in-joke with they took back to London... and well.. now we all call the bathroom the "loo".

Its these wonderful human stories which makes history gleam and leap out of the floorboards at me.

The Recruiter - a painting at Shugborough Hall

There are a number of the 'same old same old' paintings in National Trust houses. Lots of paintings of stoic men and pained women in stiff or silly outfits.

Paintings of hunting scenes, lots of bowls of fruit, plenty of dead pheasants ( ikk, I know.. why would you paint a dead pheasant?) and even more of large cows th the prices they paid for them. ( from calculations one cost 112 guineas, which in the late 17th century amounted to over $2000.. so I guess its worth painting a picture of that sort of cow)

I found this painting in a hallway in Lord Lichfields private apartments. I asked the attendant who the painter was an anything they kew about it. All they could tell me was that they thought it was an O'Neil and it was called the Recruiter. I've done a search on the paintings in Shugborough Hall and on the painter, but nothing comes up.

It may have been an Irish painter called Bernard O'Neil, but having looked at his paintings online, this one is not amongst the ones attributed to him - though that still doesn't discount it being one of his. Anyone who knows the painter - please let me know!

I stood and stared at it for a good 20 mins. The amount of detail and emotion etched into each characters face breaks my heart. It reminds me of the painting "Evicted" by Fletcher - one of my all time favourite Victorian Realist paintings ( Its in the Brisbane Art Gallery for any of my Aussie mates)

The painting depicts the press ganging and coercion happening during one of the many wars the UK fought, where young men were given the Kings gold - or it was slipped into their drink and once they touched the tankard, it was deemed they had accepted the role in the army. Some went willingly, others - not so much.

Interestingly , about the only character who has dull eyes and it unmoved b the events, is the main character - the young man whose sweetheart pleads with him not to go while his mother begs the sergeant to leave him home.  I wonder too about the little boy in the forefront as he measures something with his hands - he appears to be separate in all aspects to the events and other characters.

Shugborough Hall and Historic Estate

Shugborough Hall is a beautiful maintained Georgian Estate in Staffordshire.  Formal gardens ( see below) frame the expansive home. It sits on a huge amount of ground with woodlands and farming land. Shugborough is proud to promote its status as a working historical estate, meaning that the owners still live in part of it, while the National Trust look after other parts. Its gardens and farm are managed by the owners and from the look of things, they are heavily involved with ensuring that correct historical accuracy with costuming and techniques in farming and servants quarter jobs are maintained. 

One of them most important parts about this estate is that is was owned by the Lords Lichfield. The last one, Peter was the famous photographer. 

His work is on show at a few other National Trust homes, but it was exciting to se his studio, his gear ( from the 60s!) and to appreciate how influential he was, given the actresses, heads of state and royalty he photographed. 

His apartments have only just been open to the public and was a delightful sneak peak into the lives of the incredibly rich and influential. 

The approach to the Estate. Grandeur plus. Only a little of it is open to the public. 

In the gardens at one of the bridges going over the stream which runs in front of the Estate.

The library with mannequins showing the fashion of the late 1800s. 

Hunting was a big drawcard for visitors to the Estate. Very eerie to walk down this hallway. 

Like to play cards?  well why not throw up a tent, or a bit of a building so you can.. or you could build a "temple of the winds" so you can play cards every week.. why not..

Oh my! Can you imagine having dinner here every night?  Just lush! gorgeous classically inspired paintings surrounding you and everything dripping with gold; perhaps it may be a bit much?  I am prepared to take the chance though.

This is what is above the dining table. This piece took nearly a year to complete and is inspired by a classical carving in Greece.