Adventures in York, Chapter Four: Really Cool Georgian Stuff

The next stop on our mad tour of York was Fairfax House which bills itself as the "finest Georgian townhouse in England". I can't say if it is or it isn't, but it is most certainly magnificent!

The house was created in 1762 as a dowry for Anne Fairfax, the only surviving child of Viscount Fairfax. Sadly, Anne never needed a dowry. At one point she did fall in love with a young man, but her father, a devout Catholic, disapproved of the match. Apparently, the man's shocking sin was that he only attended mass 3 or 4 times per week! The engagement was ended, and Anne lived out her life wealthy, but alone.

Each room of Fairfax House is gorgeously decorated with furniture, paintings, and various accoutrements of the time period. What would have been the grand entry hall is now the museum gift shop. Stuffed to the gills with teapots, teacups and crocheted doilies, chocolates and teas and jams of all sorts, it set my little heart aflutter. Tea. Must have tea.

The first actual room is done up as the Viscount's study. It's a very manly sort of room with shelves of leather bound books and a desk of dark wood. The colors are all very muted and somber. I can easily imagine the viscount sitting down with his pipe to read some appropriately mind-improving book or other.

Across the hall is the dining room, which is massive. The walls are done in cornflower blue and one wall boasts a gorgeous marble fireplace. The massive mahogany table is set for entertaining with an antique silver dinner set, candlesticks, china dinnerware, and food that looks good enough to eat. I tried to restrain myself, however. It was made of wax.

The rest of the feast was located down the hall in the kitchen. Pots and pans and a fiery oven dominate the small space. Every surface is covered in food fit for a king. Well, if the king resides in Madam Tussuad's, that is. Still it definitely gave you the idea of what one of those glorious Georgian dinner parties must have been like: fish pies, pork pies, roasted meats, fruit compotes, cheeses and breads. So many different delicacies, my mouth starts watering. Except over the fish, of course.

One of the lasts stops on our tour of Fairfax House is the room that would have been Anne's bedroom. While today the room faces a brick wall, in Anne's day it would have looked over a vast manicured garden all the way down to the river. It would have been a beautiful and peaceful room.

The room has been decorated as closely as possible to how it would have been when Anne lived there. The few records that remain indicated that her wallpaper had been of a Chinese bird pattern in tones of yellow. Fortunately, with the limited variety of wall paper in those days, the historians were able to find a sample of wall paper from Georgian England that answered that description and had it duplicated for the walls of the bedroom. There are even prayer books on the desk that actually belonged to Anne and her sister when they were away at school. A picture of Anne hangs over the mantle. A beautiful girl, and by all accounts very smart and very kind.

As I look about this beautiful and peaceful room, I feel a momentary sadness for this woman I never met. Here she was with all this beauty and wealth and no one to share it with. It reminds me of how grateful I am for the people I have in my life. I much prefer happily ever afters.

With that in mind, next stop: The Dungeon....