You may have spotted our bright Raby redcurrants in the Walled Gardens this summer. Our Estate Chef, Tom Parry has transformed these into a layered tray bake, inspired by German Coffee shops, that you can make at home – perfect for an afternoon teatime treat.

Preparation time: 1 hour

Serves: 12 portions

Ingredients

For the berry filling

• 200g Raby red currants
• 50g Caster sugar
• 2 tbsp Corn flour

For the cake

• 220g Plain flour
• 4g Baking powder
• 2g Cinnamon
• 50g Ground almonds
• 200g Caster sugar
• 80g Butter, melted
• 2 Free- range eggs
• 40g Yoghurt – thinned with 2tbs milk

 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Grease and line a rectangular baking tin (approximately 26cm x 20cm/10½in x 8in).
2. In a saucepan combine the fruit with 50ml/2fl oz water. Bring the fruit just to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
3. In a mixing bowl combine the caster sugar with the cornflour. Stir into the fruit and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thick and jammy. Set aside to cool.
4. For the crumble topping, add the flour to a mixing bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and no large lumps of butter are left. Stir in the sugar and set aside.
5. For the cake, in a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir in the ground almonds until thoroughly combined.
6. In another bowl beat together the sugar with the melted butter, eggs, yoghurt and milk mixture until thoroughly mixed. Stir into the flour mixture just to combine. Don’t overmix it but watch out for big lumps of unmixed flour.
7. Spoon two-thirds of the mixture into the lined tin, gently spreading out evenly to the corners. Spoon the cooled fruit mixture evenly over the top.
8. Using a teaspoon, dot the remaining cake batter evenly on top of the fruit. This will not cover the entire cake but make little hillocks with gaps in between.
9. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top, filling in all the gaps to cover the fruit.
10. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until the crumble topping is golden-brown. Allow to cool for ten minutes in the tin, then transfer the cake in its paper to a cooling rack.

Download Raby Redcurrant Crumble Traybake

Recipe by Estate Chef Tom Parry

We caught up with Annie Garthwaite ahead of her debut book launch to find out more about her heroine, the fascinating Cecily Nevill. Cecily was born at Raby Castle in the 15th-century and lived through the famous historical period of the War of the Roses. Born a Lancastrian, but a Yorkist by marriage, Cecily had to navigate the challenging political landscape of medieval England. Becoming a mother to two kings of England she was always close to the throne, but never highlighted as a key player. We want to delve deeper to bring Cecily’s story to light and find out more about the woman who once walked the halls of Raby.

What inspired you to write about Cecily? Why is she such an interesting character?

It started in school. My comprehensive wasn’t the most progressive in the world, but I was blessed with a wonderful history teacher, Keith Hill. It was The Wars of the Roses for ‘A’ Level and the stand out figure for me then was Cecily’s youngest son, Richard III – the hunchback, the tyrant, the child-murderer. I was about to write him off. “Was he though?” Keith asked. “Who says so?” That’s when the link between ‘history’ and ‘story’ became clear to me. Stories shift depending who is telling them, the past is the ‘raw material’ of story, open to interpretation, investigation, retelling.  “Read that,” said Keith Hill and lobbed a copy of Rosemary Hawley Jarman’s novel We Speak No Treason, at me. It gave me a new Richard. Not a murdering tyrant, just a man making hard decisions in tough times. I was entranced.

As I got older though, it was the strong women around Richard who captured my interest – Marguerite of Anjou, Margaret Beaufort, Elizabeth Woodville. But one woman kept eluding me. Richard’s mother, Cecily.  Where was she?

Well, you might say Shakespeare ‘did for Cecily’, no less than for her son. Her appearances in his history plays are brief. She has no political agenda, exercises no power and serves no dramatic purpose other than to curse her misbegotten offspring. Shakespeare’s Cecily is old, pious, embittered and dull, and that damning characterisation has, unfortunately, has stuck.

Nothing could be further from the truth of course. Cecily lived through eighty years of tumultuous history, close to the beating heart of power. She mothered kings, created a dynasty, brought her family through civil war. She met victories and defeats in equal measure and, in face of all, lived on. Last woman standing. How could I not want to tell her story?

 

What was Cecily’s life like growing up at Raby?

Raby was, of course, the principal seat of Cecily’s family and would have been her home growing up. She’d have felt secure here, I imagine, at the heart of a powerful family with close connections to the Crown. During her time at Raby her life expectations would have set; an advantageous marriage, a position of power, a close relationship to the crown.

Cecily’s mother, Joan Beaufort, was Henry IV’s half-sister (they shared a father in John of Gaunt). Her father was Ralph Earl of Westmorland, one of the first of England’s nobility to support Henry IV’s bid for the throne and his deposition of Richard II. It seems to me that Ralph’s prestigious marriage to the king’s half-sister was, at least in part, a king’s reward for Ralph’s support.  So, I think Cecily would have grown from childhood to understood that support for the Crown would be rewarded with security and prestige. It’s ironic, too, that she was brought up in the heart of a Lancastrian family at Raby, though she was destined to become matriarch of York, Lancaster’s rival in the Wars of the Roses.

How were Cecily and Richard Duke of York betrothed, and what was their relationship like during the course of their marriage?

Cecily’s was arguably the most brilliant of a series of dazzling marriages that Ralph and Joan made for their children. Cecily was married late in 1423 at the age of eight to Richard Plantagenet, heir to the earldom of Cambridge and dukedom of York. It was a promising match, but not without risk for, as well as being heir to prestigious titles, Richard was also the son of a traitor. His father, Richard Earl of Cambridge, had been executed by Henry V in 1415 for his part in the Southampton plot. To secure his inheritance, the young Richard would have to win the favour of the present King Henry VI. Unless Henry confirmed Richard’s titles at his coming of age, he would not receive them and Cecily’s brilliant marriage would have lost its lustre. One can only imagine that Ralph took upon himself a mission to make a ‘king’s man’ of Richard, to imbibe him with Lancastrian loyalties, to ensure his smooth accession to his titles and, effectively, co-opt the wealth and prestige of those titles into his own family.

Two years later, both the brilliance of the marriage and its risks became greater still. When Richard’s maternal uncle Edmund Mortimer, the fifth earl of March, died childless in 1425, Richard became heir to a vast Mortimer inheritance. All good. However, that inheritance also brought with it a claim to the English throne that rivalled that of the present king. Henry VI took his royal claim from Edward III’s third son, John of Gaunt. Richard, meanwhile, could claim direct descent from Edward’s second son, Lionel Duke of Clarence, and his fourth, Edmund Duke of York.

The fact of Richard’s royal claim dogged their married life and though conspicuously loyal to Henry VI, Richard was always under suspicion. Despite this, Cecily’s closeness to Richard is evident. They spent time together whenever possible and she accompanied him on his travels to France and Ireland when royal duties took him there. She bore him twelve children, lost five in infancy, but succeeded in bringing four sons and three daughters to adulthood. She had a long wait for children, however. Though Richard and Cecily began their married life together in around 1431, she had to wait eight years, until 1439, to deliver a living child (a daughter, Anne) and another three to bring forth a son (Edward) that survived infancy. This must have been challenging. Of the many demands placed upon a medieval aristocratic woman, the greatest was to bear children. But there is no evidence that Cecily’s early failure in this regard led to any fracture in her marriage. She and Richard appear to have remained close during this time and, since there is no evidence that Richard owned any bastards, it seems likely he was faithful or, at least, discreet. Fortunately, after a slow start, Cecily’s childbearing potential – and her ability to deliver strong sons – became one of her most valuable assets.

As Richard’s loss of royal favour became increasingly serious, Cecily shows every sign of striving to revive it. Like Richard, she seems to been at pains to persevere in loyalty to the crown for as long as possible. In 1453, for example, she petitions Queen Marguerite on her husband’s behalf, begging no favour but that he be returned to the king’s good graces. However, it seems to me that, as matters progressed from bad to worse, Cecily must have come to recognise that she and Richard faced a stark choice – either to take power or be destroyed by it. As a wife and mother, and as a woman of high noble birth,  I can well imagine she might have reached the conclusion that the only place of safety for her husband – and by extension, her sons – was on the throne.

What was Cecily’s character like?

Cecily is often referred to as ‘Proud Cis’. I can see why, but it’s too simple. Pride infers a certain arrogance and disdain that I don’t think was part of her character. More accurately I would say that, by the time she left Raby as a married woman at the age of around 15, Cecily would have understood her privileged and prestigious place in the world very well. She was aware and justifiably proud of both her parentage and her marriage, ready to make the most of her advantages as one of England’s principal ladies. Having come from one family that held itself close to the crown, she’d have felt ready, I think, to embark on the serious work of creating another. Everything I’ve learned about Cecily suggests to me that her intention was to raise a family that would continue to serve the royal house of Lancaster. Why not? And only when her hand was forced by circumstances and the weakness of Henry VI’s rule did that change.

 

Which other locations did Cecily travel to and live over the course of her lifetime?

Cecily’s time at Raby was, in fact, quite short. She left her childhood home in 1430 when she was about 15 years old and never lived there again. She and Richard had vast estates across England, Wales and Ireland so, as for many medieval nobles, their life was fairly peripatetic. However, they spent a good deal of time in two key locations, which seem to have acted as their headquarters. From Fotheringhay in Northamptonshire they managed their English estates. From Ludlow on the Welsh borders, they managed their lands in Wales and Ireland. Several of her children were born (and sadly buried) at Fotheringhay as are, of course, both Cecily and Richard. In her widowhood she tended to stay closer to London, either in her town house of Baynards’ Castle on the Thames or in various locations around Suffolk where, it seems, she enjoyed the company of a community of intellectual women. She, of course, also spent time with Richard in France – Rouen for the most part – and in Ireland, and visited the Burgundian Court on at least one occasion.

 

Throughout her life, Cecily embodied many different roles such as a daughter, a sister, a mother, a wife, a duchess, a friend and rival – how did she establish her loyalty at a time when friends and family were on opposing sides?

It seems to me that the great drama of Cecily’s life stems from the fact that she is born into Lancaster and marries into York. It begs a question we all have to answer in our own lives, I think; which family owns our greatest loyalty, the one we’re born into or the one we marry into?

Cecily’s loyalty to Richard and their children over-rode all others, but it can’t have been easy. It always seems particularly poignant to me that Humphrey Duke of Buckingham, the husband of Cecily’s sister Anne, was killed in battle fighting against Cecily’s son at the Battle of Northampton. Anne was nearest in age to Cecily and they seem to have been close. Moreover, Cecily was with Anne when news of Humphrey’s death was brought home to her. Imagine; two sisters, one rejoicing in her son’s victory, the other mourning the death of her husband. It’s one of the scenes in my book I found most challenging to write.

I’ve heard the Wars of the Roses described many times as the greatest of all family squabbles. It was exactly that, and Cecily always at the heart of it. But it seems to me that, once she realised that the only way for her husband and children to be safe was to take the throne, she was determined to set all other considerations aside to achieve that goal. Some people might call that ruthless but, actually, I think it’s a mother’s natural instinct to defend her children at all costs. In that regard at least, Cecily isn’t so different from other women.

At a time when women’s roles were limited and men were in positions of power, how did Cecily use her influence and navigate her way to achieving her ambitions?

It’s easy to assume that women in the middle ages had little power or influence. In fact, that’s not the case. Medieval women, especially those of the aristocracy, or in what we might today think of as the middle classes, had freedoms their Victorian counterparts, or even my own post-war mother, could only dream of. They could own property, run businesses, take up trades. Widows especially could achieve significant economic independence. Men ruled, certainly, but in the margins, women could exercise agency, assume authority, push boundaries. Women of Cecily’s status, with huge households and vast estates, would be responsible for enterprises similar in size and complexity to mid-sized FTSE companies. They would be highly literate, understand finance and the law, have a firm grasp of politics.  They’d be, in short, women of business. At the same time, they’d be expected to support their husbands’ political careers and advance her family’s interests within intricate and hierarchical social networks.

Cecily was adept at all these things and, certainly, appears to have been a trusted confidant and advisor to both her husband and her kingly sons. In the early days of Edward IV’s reign foreign ambassadors wrote home to their masters that Cecily ‘could rule the king in all things’ and that, if they wanted to do business with England, they would have to do it first with Cecily. Historians note that Cecily seems to have emerged as a political power to be reckoned with after Richard’s death. That’s true, but I like to think she sharpened her skills working at Richard’s side. I see them as perfectly matched in intellect, ambition and skill and, when he died, she stepped out from his shadow as a confident and adept politician in her own right.

 

Cecily lived through many horrors during her lifetime. For example, the brutal deaths of her husband and children, watching from the side-lines while family killed family. How did these experiences change her and how did she find the physical and mental will to keep surviving?

Oh, that’s such a tough question to answer! What we do know is that Cecily does survive all of that. She sees her granddaughter become queen of England and seems, to a point at least and in public, to have reconciled herself to Henry VII’s reign. She dies at 80, ten years after the death of her youngest son at Bosworth, outlived by only two of her children.

I think it’s hard for us in the twenty first century to understand how the medieval mind dealt with death and disaster. I sense a struggle in Cecily’s mind always between bending to God’s will and asserting her own. In that sense, at least, she seems to me quite ‘modern’. My mother used to say that God helps those who help themselves, and I think Cecily would have agreed. I’d say she believed in her family’s right to rule, both as a woman of faith and as a pragmatic politician. That means the fall of her family must have shaken her to the very foundations.

It’s intriguing to me that, when her body was exhumed during the reign of her great-granddaughter Elizabeth I, there was found, tied around her neck, a papal pardon penned in fine Roman hand. Cecily must have acquired that pardon during her lifetime, and paid good money for it too. She must have believed (or gambled?) that, at the day of judgement, it would allow her to stand before God, if not justified, at least redeemed. Perhaps it was her way of saying that she surrendered to fate of her family and whatever role God’s will might have played in it.

 

What can we learn from Cecily today?

Too often film and fiction revert to stereotypes when it comes to medieval women. They’re either objects of chivalry, pampered and adored, or they’re repressed voiceless victims. Neither is accurate. In my novel, I’ve tried to deliver a version of Cecily that’s closer to the 15^th century truth. Along the way, I realised she’s not too far from 21^st century truth either.

For much of my life (I didn’t start writing Cecily until I was fifty-five) I’ve worked in business. For many years I worked for large American multi-nationals. For the last twenty I ran my own business advising them. I often found myself the only woman at the big table, finding ways to get men to do what I wanted, needed or thought they ought to do. I think Cecily had those skills in abundance and could have taught me a thing or two!

Yes, Cecily was a woman of her time – of a pre-reformation, pre-feminist, Catholic, male-dominated world. But she was also a woman we can feel kinship with today; fighting with words when swords were denied her, exercising whatever authority was given to her and always pushing for more. Testing boundaries, holding her own. She faced many of the questions women still struggle with today. What comes first, love or ambition? How do we protect our family? How far will our courage take us?

 

If you could go back in time and ask Cecily herself one question, what would it be?

Just one? That’s tough!  Okay, it would be this:  ‘Cecily, where are your grandsons?’

We all know that Edward IV’s sons ‘disappeared’ from the Tower in the early years of Richard III’s reign. What happened to them next is one of English history’s greatest mysteries. I’d love to know what Cecily knew about it. Although perhaps, in the end, she knew no more than you or I.

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Annie Garthwaite’s debut novel, CECILY was published by Penguin on 29 July 2021 and is available in our Stables Shop at Raby Castle.

Raby Castle and our Stables Shop are currently open Tuesday – Sunday from 11am.

If you’d like to visit Cecily’s childhood home and find out more about the Nevill family, book a Castle, Park and Gardens ticket.

Raby Castle, which has stood as a landmark within County Durham for 700 years, has announced the full extent of its significant investment to enhance the visitor experience of the Castle, Park and Gardens, securing it as an important resource for the local community.

The ambitious plans for a two-year major development programme, which were passed by Durham County Council in December last year, will restore and preserve historic buildings within the park and gardens, which have been without purpose for decades.

The development, which has been over three years in the planning, will also support an enhanced visitor journey for Raby Castle, Park and Gardens – providing contemporary spaces for enjoyment but also creating new vistas to the castle within a hub of activity.

The dynamic scheme, known as The Rising, will re-purpose heritage buildings as well as introduce new structures to provide stylish events and exhibition spaces, retail and dining experiences and a visitor information hub – which will all be available without having to pay an entry fee.

Newly designed walled gardens, soft landscaping, and new entrance car park will reposition Raby Castle Park and Gardens as a historical and cultural asset for local communities to be proud of.

The first phase of The Rising scheme will also see the design and build of a bespoke children’s adventure play area to the north of the castle, on the site of the present Christmas tree plantation. The playground attraction, planned to be open for Easter 2022 will also include a refreshment kiosk with a stargazing deck on the roof, perched amongst the trees.

Lord Barnard, whose family home is Raby Castle, has been determined, since his tenure began in 2016, to make the historic landmark an enjoyable and accessible haven for local people, as well as those visiting the county nationally and internationally.

“The feeling was that Raby Castle and Park has been a visitor attraction for a long time and visitors even since the 18^th Century have come here, but somehow it seemed to me that Raby was still very much under the radar, and it has a huge amount to share.

“One of the first things we did was change the paywall, so visitors could enjoy the facilities as well as part of the castle grounds without having to buy a ticket, which felt to us like a much more welcoming experience.

“So, our motivation for this scheme is to really open up the castle and the estate to a great many more people to enjoy. Raby Castle is the flagship of the dale and we wanted to create something that would make people really proud, where they can bring their friends and family and enjoy everything we have to offer,” said Lord Barnard.

Lord and Lady Barnard

The Rising will provide visitors with an enhanced experience, and also provide new, and potentially unexpected experiences to engage, inform and inspire. From the point at which a visitor leaves the new car park, they will be guided naturally towards a hub of activity.

“If you’d arrived in the 1970s, you’d have thought it was a nice place for a cup of tea – that was fine for then, but now it’s time to move on. We felt, apart from opening up the castle’s potential, we also really needed to look after people in a better way as well.

“So, the new Vinery café and restaurant will provide what we hope will be an attractive place to enjoy good food with a stunning view of the castle in the foreground, before taking a stroll through the new Duchess Walk – and all without having to pay for castle entry.

“With a new generation it is time for a new beginning, and we want to make sure that Raby is preserved for future generations to enjoy as well as our own,” said Lord Barnard.

 

The renovation and development of The Rising will be an important two-year phase of a progressive five-year business plan – bringing together a programme of conservation, restoration, repair and upgrades to historic buildings such as Gainford Hall, Raby Castle Park & Gardens, Unthank, Spring Hill Cottage, The Scar Farm, Bowlees Farm, Beck Foot Farm and Hilton Hall.

 

“It is a huge project because of the number of beautiful and significant buildings within The Rising development – we couldn’t just have picked off bits and left the rest because these historic buildings would just have decayed beyond repair.

“I have memories of these buildings from my childhood, such as heaving bales of hay into the Dutch Barn when I was working on the farm during the summer but really these buildings haven’t had a lot of use for 50 years. It’s really time to bring them back to life for a wider audience to enjoy,” said Lord Barnard.

A fundamental strand of the renovation project is a commitment to greater engagement with local communities. Training and community educational programmes, as well as social and charitable events will continue to be supported.

Duncan Peake, Raby’s CEO said, “We will continue the tradition of supporting the younger generation by providing apprenticeships, placements and training programmes.

“New volunteering and work experience opportunities within Raby Estate itself have already been created and external relationships with agencies such as Durham County Council, Visit Co Durham, Historic England and the North Pennines AONBs will be fostered to ensure Raby continues to support its local communities.”

“This is a new era for Raby Castle, Park and Gardens allied not only to the opportunities presented by the introduction of high-quality new housing in Staindrop and Gainford, but also to a stated ambition by Raby Estates to greatly increase visitor engagement with the castle and gardens, heightening awareness and understanding of the heritage building and appreciating its value as a vital cultural landmark.

“While this development plan includes the creation of new revenue streams and the expansion of existing ones, helping to support the up-keep of the listed buildings and the Registered Park, it is also driven by the celebration of the intrinsic character and uniqueness that is Raby and we hope the community will be proud of the castle and everything it has to offer,” said Duncan.

Phase one of The Rising development programme will begin later this year, led by the senior development team and the appointment of a project manager to strategically deliver the build, which is due to be completed in 2023 and open to the public.

Recent Press:

Business News North East

Darlington & Stockton Times

Aycliffe Today

Teesside Live

Chronicle Live

Business Live

The Northern Echo

 

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Gallery of the proposed Raby Castle Development

We are delighted to be taking part in Historic Houses’ #MedievalMondays initiative, to share special stories and pieces from our collections at Raby. For our latest theme, Betrothals and Marriages, we caught up with Castle Curator, Julie Biddlecombe-Brown to explore one of the most famous betrothals connected with Raby. Read on to find out more…

 

Raby Castle and the betrothal that changed the face of England

As the year 1423 turned to 1424, the youngest daughter of Ralph, Earl of Westmorland of Raby Castle and his wife, Joan Beaufort, half-sister to the King, was formally betrothed to her parents’ 13-year-old ward. No ordinary couple, the future bride and groom were Cecily Neville and Richard Duke of York and their union, meticulously planned by her parents, heralded a politically strategic marriage that changed the course of British history.

The teenage Richard first met Cecily when he travelled to Raby Castle after his wardship was formalised. Unlike many aristocratic couples in the 15^th century, they probably had the opportunity to get to know one another before their betrothal. The ceremony, which formally pledged their intent to marry when the bride came of age, took place in County Durham, either at Raby Castle or close by in Staindrop Church. The exact date of their marriage is not known but possibly after Cecily’s twelfth birthday in 1427. They were certainly married by 1429.  No evidence survives to confirm that the wedding took place at Raby although at least one of Cecily’s sisters was married in the chapel so it is possible that the young couple wed in her childhood home.

The momentous impact of the betrothal and marriage of this young girl and teenage boy, rocked England during the decades that followed. Standing at the altar, the young couple could never have imagined the turbulent future that was to unfold. During their lifetimes they would become central to the Yorkist claim to the throne during the Wars of the Roses. During the lifetimes of their children, England witnessed some of the most destructive and divisive family relationships in its history; two of their sons became King and their grand-daughter a Queen through which the present day Royalty can trace its lineage.

 

We asked Annie Garthwaite, whose first novel Cecily will be released this summer, to reflect on Cecily and Richard’s betrothal at Raby, their marriage and relationship. Annie writes…

“Cecily’s was arguably the most brilliant of a series of dazzling marriages that Ralph and Joan made for their children. Cecily was betrothed late in 1423 at the age of eight to Richard Plantagenet, heir to the earldom of Cambridge and dukedom of York. It was a promising match, but not without risk for, as well as being heir to prestigious titles, Richard was also the son of a traitor. His father, Richard Earl of Cambridge, had been executed by Henry V in 1415 for his part in the Southampton plot. To secure his inheritance, the young Richard would have to win the favour of the present King Henry VI. Unless Henry confirmed Richard’s titles at his coming of age, he would not receive them and Cecily’s brilliant marriage would have lost its lustre. One can only imagine that Ralph took upon himself a mission to make a ‘king’s man’ of Richard, to imbibe him with Lancastrian loyalties, to ensure his smooth accession to his titles and, effectively, co-opt the wealth and prestige of those titles into his own family.

Two years later, both the brilliance of the marriage and its risks became greater still. When Richard’s maternal uncle Edmund Mortimer, the fifth earl of March, died childless in 1425, Richard became heir to a vast Mortimer inheritance. All good. However, that inheritance also brought with it a claim to the English throne that rivalled that of the present king. Henry VI took his royal claim from Edward III’s third son, John of Gaunt. Richard, meanwhile, could claim direct descent from Edward’s second son, Lionel Duke of Clarence, and his fourth, Edmund Duke of York.

The fact of Richard’s royal claim dogged their married life and though conspicuously loyal to Henry VI, Richard was always under suspicion. Despite this, Cecily’s closeness to Richard is evident. They spent time together whenever possible and she accompanied him on his travels to France and Ireland when royal duties took him there. She bore him twelve children, lost five in infancy, but succeeded in bringing four sons and three daughters to adulthood. She had a long wait for children, however. Though Richard and Cecily began their married life together in around 1431, she had to wait eight years, until 1439, to deliver a living child (a daughter, Anne) and another three to bring forth a son (Edward) that survived infancy. This must have been challenging. Of the many demands placed upon a medieval aristocratic woman, the greatest was to bear children. But there is no evidence that Cecily’s early failure in this regard led to any fracture in her marriage. She and Richard appear to have remained close during this time and, since there is no evidence that Richard owned any bastards, it seems likely he was faithful or, at least, discreet. Fortunately, after a slow start, Cecily’s childbearing potential – and her ability to deliver strong sons – became one of her most valuable assets.

Rumours emerged, later in Cecily’s life and after her husband’s death, that her eldest living son, by this time Edward IV, was not in fact Richard Duke of York’s child. Whilst these can’t be entirely disregarded, the story is unlikely and the evidence scant. It’s worth noting that the rumours emerged in the French court and while Cecily’s nephew, the Earl of Warwick, and second son, George Duke of Clarence, were in league with France in rebellion against Edward. Accusations of bastardy were effective weapons of war at a time when the right of kings depended upon legitimate descent.

But back to Cecily’s marriage. As her husband Richard’s loss of royal favour became increasingly serious, Cecily shows every sign of striving to revive it. Like Richard, she seems to been at pains to persevere in loyalty to the crown for as long as possible. In 1453, for example, she petitions Queen Marguerite on her husband’s behalf, begging no favour but that he be returned to the king’s good graces. However, it seems to me that, as matters progressed from bad to worse, Cecily must have come to recognise that she and Richard faced a stark choice – either to take power or be destroyed by it. As a wife and mother, and as a woman of high noble birth, I can well imagine she might have reached the conclusion that the only place of safety for her husband – and by extension, her sons – was on the throne.”

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Annie Garthwaite’s debut novel Cecily, will be published by Penguin on 29 July and can be pre-ordered now from all good high street and online book retailers. You will also be able to pick up a copy from our Stables Shop at Raby Castle. We caught up with Annie for an exclusive Q&A to find out more about Cecily. This will be released on our blog soon.

To explore more Historic Houses themes from Raby, read our #FeatureFridays blog post.

Raby Castle is open Tuesday – Sunday from 11am.
The Park and Gardens are open daily from 10am – 4pm.
If you’d like to learn more about Cecily and see her portrait in the Chapel, you can book tickets to the Castle, Park and Gardens on our website.

To celebrate another glorious summer at Raby, our Estate Chef Tom Parry has shared a new recipe for Raby Redcurrant and Red Onion Relish for you to recreate at home.

This delicious sweet chutney will be served in our Stables Café and is perfect for every occasion, especially with our homemade sausage rolls.

Preparation time: 55 minutes

Serves: one 400 gram pot

Ingredients

• 200g Red currants
• 140g Light muscovado sugar
• 200ml Red wine vinegar
• 2 Medium red onions- peeled and cut into wedges
• 1 Medium red pepper- seeded and chopped
• 2 Cloves of garlic
• 20g Fresh ginger grated
• 1 tsp Five spice
• 1 Small red chilli, seeded and chopped
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

 

Method

1. Roll the onions with red peppers and Olive Oil in a frying pan for 5-8 minutes over a high heat until lightly charred and softened. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Put the chilli, garlic and ginger in the pan with half the vinegar. Bring to the boil then simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the onions and pepper plus remaining vinegar, all the sugar, spice and 1tsp salt.
3. Bring to the boil then simmer for 5 minutes until thickened. Add redcurrants and simmer for about 5 minutes more.
4. Remove and pour into a large heatproof jar and seal whilst hot.
5. The relish will keep in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Download our Raby Redcurrant & Red Onion Relish Recipe

Recipe by Estate Chef Tom Parry

High Force Hotel has opened the doors on its latest refurbishments following the easing of lockdown restrictions.

Guests will notice a stylish new look in the bar and communal areas, bringing the interiors in line with the beautiful restoration of the Garden Room restaurant and function room, which was unveiled last year. The bar refurbishment is the final phase of work, which began with the redecoration of the original bedrooms and saw the creation of additional rooms. The hotel now has 11 individually designed en-suite bedrooms, offering luxurious guest accommodation.

We are looking forward to welcoming guests back to the hotel and restaurant and we are delighted that bookings for weddings and other special occasions have continued throughout lockdown, which means an exciting year ahead.

We caught up with Hotel Managers Andrew and George to find out what they are most looking forward to as they prepare to reopen the Hotel.

What are you most looking forward to when the Hotel reopens?

Andrew: Welcoming our guests back and providing our usual great service, working in our newly refurbished hotel. It will be lovely to have all the team back together.

George: Being busy, I love the fast pace of the hotel when its busy and I am looking forward to serving from our new bar which looks stunning.

The Hotel has been transformed over the last 12 months – do you have a favourite room or feature?

Andrew: It’s really hard to choose just one area as the Hotel has undergone such a transformation. I do love the new Garden Room, with its beautiful hand painted mural, especially when it is set for a wedding or an event. It’s just the most stunning room with lots of character and charm.

George: I love it all, but I really do like the new bar, which was the final area to be redesigned. I love the wood that it’s made from and the feeling of warmth the space has – it’s like it’s always been like this.  The tiles set into the back of the bar are really special – they were reclaimed from the Cooks Pantry in the Fish Yard at Raby Castle. The tiles are beautiful and will be a great talking point when we’re up late with residents chatting by the fire.

What can guests expect when they visit High Force this year?

Andrew: We want our guests to feel like they are staying home from home with attention to detail and the little luxuries that make a stay at High Force memorable.  The food is also a big part of visiting High Force, we guarantee that only the best local and responsibly sourced food will be served which will have been lovingly created by our passionate team.

George: Friendly, relaxed service in a comfortable and luxurious setting – our guests often leave as friends who will likely return time and time again.

The new Garden Room looks like a great place to enjoy a meal – which dish on the summer menu would you choose?

Andrew: That’s a difficult question as I really love everything on the menu at the moment.  The Raby Longhorn Steaks are just amazing though, so I would probably go for the Rib Eye.

George:  The Moules Frites, just lovely with warm bread, its my absolute favourite.

Raby High Force Hotel and Waterfall are open daily. For further information visit www.raby.co.uk/high-force

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When High Force Hotel reopens on Monday 17^th May, guests will notice a stylish new look in the bar and communal areas, bringing the interiors in line with the beautiful restoration of the Garden Room restaurant and function room, which was unveiled last year.

The bar refurbishment is the final phase of work, which began with the redecoration of the original bedrooms and saw the creation of additional rooms. The hotel now has 11 individually designed en-suite bedrooms, offering luxurious guest accommodation.

The tiles that have been added to the bar at the High Force Hotel came from the Fish Yard at Raby Castle. Built in the 18^th century, in 1971 an architectural report on the castle noted that the stone walls and windows of the fish yard had become unsafe and were likely to collapse. The Fish Yard was carefully demolished in 1975/76 and the tiles and decorative stone should be kept for future use.

The fish yard was a small, enclosed yard close to the kitchens of the castle and part of a range of working spaces which included larders and cook’s pantry. The high quality glazed tiles came from the Cook’s Pantry  – and not only marked the Cook’s status as an important member of the household staff, but also were a practical  addition – easy to wipe down and keep clean.

The blue and white glazed floral tiles date from the 18^th century and are English delftware.  They may have been already salvaged and reused before adding them to the Cook’s Pantry. The tiles sat between picture panels, including the image of a woman wearing a crown and holding a sceptre, next to a peacock (below).

Almost 50 years later, some of the tiles have been given a new lease of life both at Raby Castle and in the recent renovations to the bar at the High Force Hotel.

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Book Raby Castle, Park and Garden tickets online

Young artists from across the region have been using their paints, pens, crayons and imagination to decorate eggs for our Easter trail.

We have really enjoyed looking through all the entries and it was a very tough job to pick our favourites designs.

Here are just some of the fantastic entries we received.

The 10 winning designs will feature in our Easter Egg trail in the Walled Gardens, which starts on Saturday 27^th March until Sunday 11^th April.

Come and see how many you can find on a visit to Raby this Easter.

The Easter Egg trail is open every day from 10am to 4pm throughout the school holidays and is included in the price of general admission.

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Anne Vane (1710-1735) of Raby Castle has been remembered through history as a royal mistress; a woman entangled in a doomed love triangle between Frederick, Prince of Wales, and his once-close friend, Lord John Hervey of Ickworth. Even more scandalous for her time was the fact that she bore two illegitimate children with the Prince.

Like many women in history, her story, as it has been passed down, seems to orbit around the lives of men: she has been largely remembered as the lover of both Frederick and Hervey, and the mother of the Prince’s illegitimate children. On International Women’s Day in an attempt to reclaim her story, Raby Castle’s 2020 intern, Dorothea Fox considers another aspect of her identity—one that she constructed by her own merit. This is her identity as an artist.

Displayed within a bedroom at Raby Castle are seventeen sepia drawings illustrating various scenes from the 17th-century Spanish novel, Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Each of these drawings bears the signature A.VANE, while two of them are dated to 1733 and 1735, corresponding with Anne’s lifetime

In the course of exploring 18th-century illustrations to Don Quixote, it was discovered that Anne’s drawings were copied after the designs of the French artist, Charles Antoine Coypel (1694-1752). And what excellent imitation it was: the 4th Duchess of Cleveland’s Handbook to Raby Castle declares that the artworks were ‘most intelligently and carefully executed’.

These drawings provide a glimpse of a woman beyond the role of royal mistress. Anne obviously devoted a great deal of time and care to them. While history has cast her as little more than a bit-player in the scandals of the court, her Don Quixote illustrations—her artistic legacy—show a different side to her life.

Anne’s Life in the Court of George II

Born in 1710, Anne was the daughter of Gilbert Vane, 2^nd Lord Barnard and his wife Mary Randyll whose own marriage had scandalized Gilbert’s parents. Little is known about her childhood and adolescence, but she probably entered the Royal Court in 1725, at the age of fifteen as Maid of Honour to Caroline, the Queen Consort to George II. Over seven years, between 1725 and 1732 Anne was said to have been romantically involved with both Lord Harrington and Lord Hervey, before entering into a relationship with the King and Queen’s son, Frederick, the Prince of Wales.

Her position as his mistress was, at first, probably unofficial and unannounced. However, the Prince’s reputation as a womaniser was no secret to the Court. His relationships with women were referenced by Horace Walpole in his Memoirs of the Reign of King George II:

‘[Prince Frederick’s] chief passion was women, but like the rest of his race, beauty was not a necessary ingredient. Miss [Vane], whom he had debauched without loving, and who had been debauched without loving him so well as either Lord Harrington or Lord Hervey, who both pretended to her first favours, had no other charms than of being a Maid of Honour, who was willing to cease to be so upon the first opportunity.’^[1]

When Anne became pregnant she requested leave of absence from her duties, and the Prince had her installed in a house in Soho Square, subsidising her domestic life with £1,600 a year

Anne’s relationship with Frederick was more openly declared upon the birth of their son, who was publicly christened, in June 1732, by the name of Fitz-Frederick Vane. However, the relentless court gossips gave some dispute as to the paternity of Fitz-Frederick. Robert Walpole had been assured by both Lord Harrington and Lord Hervey that they were the true father. Despite those rumours, the Prince was himself convinced that he had conceived the child.

In autumn of that year, Anne moved into a new house in Grosvenor Square, next door to the Bishop of Salisbury. The fascination for her situation gave her near-celebrity status, but also made her an easy target for gossip in newspapers and other publications.

Many of the writings about Anne from this time take the form of satirical prints, plays, stories and poems, which complicates our picture of her. She is cast as a ‘fallen woman’, fashioned as the character of ‘Vanella’: a lesson to unmarried women that bad things would befall them should they deviate from a path of chastity.

After the birth of her son, it seems that Anne’s life began to take a downward turn. In April 1733, she gave birth to a daughter who tragically died within two hours, having first been baptised Amelia. In that same year, Frederick began to drift away from Anne. London gossip reported that he had fathered a child with Anne’s chambermaid before setting his sights on other women.

Not long afterwards, in anticipation of his marriage to Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, the Prince sent letters to Anne persuading her to leave England immediately. He requested that she spent two or three years in Holland or France while he took care of Fitz-Frederick’s education in England. A resentful struggle ensued until it was settled that she would keep her house in Grosvenor Street, with an annual upkeep of £1600 for life, and that she would not be parted from her son.

Not long after this disagreement was resolved, in 1735, that Anne’s health started to decline rapidly. In December, she travelled to Bath to ‘use the waters’ for the recovery of her strength. She died there in March 1736, having received news that her son Fitz-Frederick had died from convulsion fits in Grosvenor Street about a week before.

It was reported that Frederick’s mother and sister thought him ‘more afflicted for the loss of this child than they had ever seen him on any occasion, or thought him capable of being.’^[2] The Prince himself died in 1751, at the age of 44, before he could ascend to the throne. After the death of George II in 1760, the crown passed to Frederick’s son with Augusta, George III.

Anne’s Don Quixote Drawings

Anne Vane’s seventeen drawings were excellently copied after Coypel’s designs for Don Quixote. Coypel was one of the most celebrated illustrators of this novel in the 18th century. The designs that he created took on a life of their own as collections of images independent of the novel.

Coypel’s illustrations were celebrated across Europe. It is likely that Anne encountered the images as engravings within an English folio, whichwould have permitted her close and intimate study of them.

The engravings provided illustrative accompaniments to Cervantes’s text, or, in their own albums, permitted a wide audience to view Coypel’s famous designs. And Anne’s drawings, provided a means of self-expression: a demonstration of her artistic talents and, presumably, her fondness for the story of Don Quixote.

Comparing Anne’s drawings with the engravings not only reveals her outstanding skill in copying, but also her skill in translating one form of image into another. By reproducing the prints into the medium of pen and ink, she gave the designs an appearance of light and freshness. In an engraving, the printmaker applies a system of hatching—lines, dots, dashes and other kinds of marking—in order to produce varying tones with the ink. The closer the marks are placed together, the darker those areas will appear.

In the case of the Don Quixote engravings, this process has resulted in quite a dark and heavy rendering of the illustrations, encumbered by areas of dense shadowing and cross-hatching. Anne, however, was not burdened by this process. She was able to work directly onto the white surface of the paper and apply much smoother textures with an ink wash. With her pen, she highlighted all of the delicate and minute details of the figures, foregrounds and backgrounds.

The fact that Anne Vane was a copyist is no reason to depreciate her artworks; it was in keeping with the ideals of upper-class women’s accomplishments in the 18th century and beyond. During this time, women’s education was social and gender-specific. There was a strong and widely-held belief that what they were taught should prepare them for their future lifestyle. A central theme was modesty and obedience, and women’s education thus fostered no great expectations for a life beyond the domestic realm.

Anne was a self-consciously “amateur” artist: someone who could practise the arts for pleasure, thereby distinguishing herself from someone who was motivated by professional or monetary ambition. An abundance of free time is required for the amateur to practise the arts. It therefore follows that artistic pursuits—such as drawing, watercolour painting, music and dancing—were encouraged amongst upper-class women confined to the home. In turn, the talents and social graces demonstrated by the lady amateur were seen to increase her appeal on the matrimonial market.

Ladies’ “accomplishments”, moreover, served to reinforce social differentiation between the aristocracy and the increasingly wealthy middle classes. Knowledge of the arts, and the ability to perform, create and converse appropriately, formed part of a constantly changing system of taste and refinement that was regulated by the upper classes—people who had the time and resources to devote themselves to such activities.

In their artistic tuition, young ladies learned to develop much of their skill by copying the works of others. ‘Originality’, ‘authenticity’ and ‘genius’ were, at this time, the criteria for discerning the artworks of professional male artists. They had greater access to the public realm of art workshops, academies and galleries. Elite women, however, were taught to entertain prospects no higher than seeing their art and handiwork displayed within family rooms. They possessed neither the training nor the expectation to produce ‘original’ works painted in oil, or indeed the gender-laden concept of the ‘masterpiece’.

In these ways, Anne’s status as an amateur and copyist reinforced her socio-economic situation. Her ventures in art—faithfully reproducing Coypel’s illustrations—were compatible with the concept of the ‘ideal woman’ within aristocratic circles. She demonstrated the artistry and flair that young ladies were taught to aspire to. In executing this expansive and clearly time-consuming project, Anne certainly possessed a high degree of ambition and determination.

It is interesting to view the artworks in relation to the events of her life and the decisions that she appeared to make. The fact that her creative endeavours are reflective of the ideals for a woman of her class is not in agreement with the relationships that she pursued out of wedlock. Whether she actively sought out these relationships, or even fully consented to them, however, we cannot know.

What could have motivated her to endure such scandal? Just as she demonstrated in her drawing project, she was evidently, in some sense, ambitious. It is highly likely that she had hoped to raise her position by entering into a liaison with the prince. Even after their relationship was over, she would have still been supported in London with a sizeable house and income. The Prince was also a dedicated patron of the arts and knowledgeable of painting; they may well have bonded over a shared love of art and design.

As for her relationship with Hervey, perhaps there was genuine affection between them. Or perhaps he seemed to provide a sense of security for her, particularly when she was in a vulnerable position after the end of her relationship with the Prince. But, without being able to access Anne’s own words, we can never truly comprehend her emotions, motives and decisions.

What we can learn from her drawings, nevertheless, is that she possessed a lot of talent, creativity and attentiveness. If it was not for her illness and early death, perhaps she might have been able to complete the whole series of twenty-five illustrations. There is this whole other side to Anne—as an accomplished artist—that allows us to see a more rounded picture of her life: a life that was not defined solely by the notoriety that surrounded her.

The story of Anne Vane and these remarkable drawings are explored in the Women of Raby Tour at Raby Castle.  These tours, launched for International Women’s Day 2020, will be available once again as soon as Government guidelines permit.

Dorothea Fox carried out an internship at Raby Castle as part of her postgraduate studies in visual culture at Durham University during the summer of 2020.

^[1] H. Walpole, Memoirs of the Reign of King George the Second (London: 1847), p. 75.

^[2] Hervey, J., Memoirs of the Reign of George the Second, from His Accession to the Death of Queen Caroline, edited by Croker, J.W. (London: 1855), p. 26.

Main blog image shows Hon. Anne Vane, (1710-1735), Circle of Enoch Seeman  ©Raby Estate