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Unit 2 - Homes and households

A drawing of the south front of Warter Priory in 1720. (British Library)	The south front of Warter Priory around 1910

	Can you see the shape of the 1720s house in the view of the south front in 1910?
	What additions were made in the Victorian period?

In the 1880s Charles Wilson added greatly to the north front. In this photograph of the east front the 1880s additions are at the right-hand side.

Can you see the different style of windows and roof of the addition?

Warter Priory in 1901

A visitor to Warter Priory a hundred years ago would arrive by horse-drawn coach or possibly in a motor car and stop in the arched entrance way below the recently built three-storey tower. This was to ensure that the visitor would not get wet when stepping from the coach or new-fangled automobile.

 

Once inside the visitor would be led up the very grand marble staircase, lined with statues and pictures, to the Great Hall or 'Saloon'.

 

The Saloon, which was modelled on the Great Hall of a medieval castle, is shown here as a sitting room full of furniture and potted plants.

What should it have looked like?

Few other pictures survive of the interior of Warter Priory but we know that the house had over 90 rooms. The house was more like a hotel than a family home. When the house was sold in the 1920s the sale catalogue listed 38 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms. On the next page we will tell you a little about them.