User:Ka of Catherine de Burgh/Scrotum Towers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scrotum Towers, the seat of Lady Catherine de Burgh, is a country house, in Northamptonshire, England. The estate was granted to Roger de Bonquebustiere, 1st Baron Broadmoor, in 1067 by William the Conqueror. Originally a hall house built in the dark ages, it was rebuilt in the 17th century by Sir Christopher Wren. In 1870, the house was again redesigned in the Mausoleum Gothic revival style by its owner, Nauseus, 13th Earl of Scrotum a descendant of the 1st Baron Broadmoor.
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I have noticed that many of pages, here and on the internet, covering buildings in Europe and the USA are full of POV, peacock terms and reliance on the guidebook published by the building's owner as a reference. Often the pages lack a basic factual description of the building, which anyone can describe. Many building are given the wrong architectural style attribution – or are attributed to a style their owner would prefer them to be in. Literature published by a building's owner whether it be the Duchess of Devonshire, the Countess of Rosebery (both ladies have written up their husband's "stately piles") or the National Trust is invaluable when writing a page, however, it is rarely the only source and needs, regarding an encyclopedia, to be treated with caution and used in conjunction with other sources. With the intention of pointing out some of the pitfalls of writing an architectural page, my noble and celebratic aunt, The Lady Catherine de Burgh, has kindly and most graciously agreed to share her knowledge of her own "stately home" with us. Like all people of high and noble birth, Her Ladyship has no need of footnotes – if she says something: it's an acknowledged fact. Therefore, knowing that she will not read them, I have added a few notes, which should be of interest to the future writer of such pages. Giacomo 13:13, 29 August 2010 (UTC)
The architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner has described the edifice as "truly remarkable"[1] while Queen Victoria, a great advocate of revivalist architecture, on seeing the former Wren mansion for the first time in 1875, could only gasp to its architect and owner: "Lord Scrotum, this can never be repeated."[2]
Following the cessation of the Earldom of Scrotum in 1965, when Archibald, 15th Earl of Scrotum, suddenly collapsed and died at his sister's dining table, the house, its art collection and estate passed to his grieving sister the Late Catherine de Burgh. Lady Catherine oversaw not only a program of restoration, but also added to the collection with treasures acquired while on her grand tour of Europe between 1939 and 1945.[3]
Today, owned by a private trust, the house is open to selected members of the public who are able to view artworks bequeathed to the nation for the requisite numbers of days necessary to avoid tax. It remains a much loved and very private family home, but is available for hire for weddings, wakes and filming from the Cayman Islands based de Burgh Family Trust (all major credit cards accepted).[4]