24 C O N T E X T 1 2 4 : M A Y 2 0 1 2 Pete Smith The motor car and the country house The coming of the motor car quickly had an impact on country house life, and buildings were soon built and altered to accommodate them, their equipment and their chauffeurs. The Hon Evelyn Ellis, accompanied by his mechanic Frederick Simms, made the first petrol-driven motor car journey in England, from Micheldever railway station to his country seat, Rosenau House near Datchet in Buckinghamshire, on Saturday 6 July 1895. This historic journey of 56 miles was covered in five hours 32 minutes at an average speed of 9.84 mph – well over the speed limit at that time. The arrival of this motor car at this country house marked a moment of change for a traditional institution. Life in the English country house would never quite be the same again. As part of a major study of the architectural impact of the motor car being carried out by John Minnis and Katherine Morrison of the Research Team at English Heritage (Cambridge), I investigated the impact that the arrival of the motor car had on country house life, and on the buildings built and altered to house these new motors. The motoring journals of the day produced fascinating source material. Even relatively early on, articles began to appear extolling the virtues of the motor car in all walks of country house life. From the speed and comfort provided for those met from the station by a motor, to the far greater range provided for hunting, shooting and fishing. As the 6th Duke of Portland recorded in 1937 when discussing his first motor car, an Arrol-Johnston, which he purchased in 1901: ‘I did not realise at the time that the arrival of this very primitive motor car would entirely change our outlook on life, that it would bring places and hills in Sutherland and Ross-shire, upon which I had often gazed with my telescope, within easy access.’ The motor car gave guests, as well as owners, a new independence, especially when attending weekend house parties. Those with motor cars were no longer forced to comply with the wishes of the host or hostess; they could now leave and return whenever they chose.This greater freedom of movement applied to almost all areas of country house life, from visiting estate property to electioneering. It also increased the range of country house visiting enormously. In the days before the motor car, the horse had a range of perhaps a dozen miles for visiting in a carriage.Very soon the motor car extended this range to 30 or 40 miles. Along with electricity and the telephone, the motor car was one of catalysts which helped to break down the rigidity of Victorian country house life and replace it with some of the glamour associated with country house life in the inter-war years, when the bright young things, jazz, the movies and the cocktail became all the rage. A relatively small but significant number of country house owners were involved in the earliest development of the motor car. Most encouraged motoring by simply using their motors, and by allowing their houses and grounds to become the venues for motoring events. Some, like the Duke of Sutherland, who became the first president of the Automobile Club (RAC), took a more active role. Many of these motoring aristocrats built up large stables (as they were known) of motors, and they allowed them to be photographed for the journals of the day. Lord Lonsdale, the first president of the Automobile Association, proudly displayed his 11 Napier motors, of all types, in front of his family’s country seat, Lowther Castle inWestmorland. One country house owner who made a particularly significant impact on the popularity of the motor car was John Montagu (later 2nd Lord Montagu of Beaulieu), who founded the influential magazine, The Car Illustrated. Through this magazine he extolled the virtues of the Lord Lonsdale’s 11 Napier motor vehicles lined up outside Lowther Castle in Cumbria, photographed in 1913 (Photo:The Car Illustrated,VCCGB) The motor house built at Rosenau House in Buckinghamshire for the Hon Evelyn Ellis, photographed in 1902 (Photo: Motors and Motor Driving,VCCGB) The motor house built at Broomhill in Kent for Sir David Salomons before 1902 (Photo: John Minnis)
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