The Rectory – the home of Emily Hobhouse

Shortly after Emily’s father, Reverend Reginal Hobhouse, married Caroline Trelawny in 1851, their cottage became too small as they soon expected children. Reginald commissioned the architect William White to build a new Rectory at St Ive.

The architectural style that White chose for the house was Gothic Revival, which was popular at the time. He designed the Rectory to have a steeply pitched roof, tall chimneys and diamond leaded pane windows, underneath pointed arches. Fourteen of White’s original drawings have survived and are kept in our archive.

Come and explore their home, which was restored by experts and decorated in detail with all the splendour of the Victorian era. Family portraits adorn the walls, and if you listen carefully, you may hear Reginald shuffling books in his study.

An essay written by Maud aged 15, one of Emily’s sisters, in 1873, gave us particularly good insight. The essay is titled: Our Rectory.

“The drawing-room has three windows, one a bow window, with a south aspect, this recess just holds a little sofa; the two others look eastward. The sofa is placed on one side of the fireplace, and an easy chair on the other. A large table well filled with books is placed between the two east windows.

“A writing table is in a cosy corner, where one can write without being disturbed. Opposite the large window is a chiffonier. The piano is in the other corner. . . In winter the warm crimson ones appear again. And very comfortable the room is when the curtains are drawn and a bright fire glows in the grate.”

The bright wallpaper in the drawing room and elsewhere in the house, has been replicated based on the original pieces found during the restoration. It would seem that Emily’s mother, Caroline, had a good eye and taste for the fashions of the time. And, she liked to shop…

Emily wrote about her mother: “Economy seemed impossible to her. Alike by temperament and by upbringing she was open-handed to a fault, and under the influence of shop-keepers frequently made most imprudent purchases.”

Caroline, who read widely in French, German and Italian, also had a great love for painting and sketching. A talent which Emily shared with her, you can see replica prints of her six watercolour paintings in the bedroom that she and Maud shared for years.

While in their bedroom, peek into the lacquered wardrobe, where replica dresses of the two girls are displayed.

Maud and Emily loved dressing up. Their aunt Lady Mary Hobhouse noted that the white and black alpaca were for “dancing or small family tea parties” and their sister Blanche had “white kit boots and her locket, of which the little ones are somewhat jealous, I believe”.

It was also Lady Mary who said: “She [Emily] is a remarkable child, and seems to me to have quite a manly character in her girlish frame.” Perhaps deep inside her, a steadfast and determined mind was already developing.

All was not rosy for women during the Victorian era; it was frowned upon when they travelled alone, or challenged the social norms and restrictions placed upon them. There was a clear distinction between the sexes imposed by the ideology of the separate spheres: fragile women were thought to best suited for domestic life and bearing children, while men seen as naturally active and intellectual in the public sphere.

To never marry and to remain childless, was seen as a woman’s greatest failure in life.

While Elizabeth Grace Jones, governess, was educating the girls in the school room at home the 15-year-old Emily wrote in 1875: “All that year I had a deep sense of dawning womanhood, which I could not in the least understand. I looked in vain all my life for someone to talk to and discuss things, and explain things, but no one had the time . . .”

Maud’s detailed description of the school room as in 1873 invites us to imagine the girls during days of study:

“It has a pleasant window looking on the winter-meadows, rather somber just now; we are very glad of the window-seat which has just been made. The little window in the corner looks on the stable yard where there is much going on…

The sofa is placed on one side of the fireplace looking very comfortable. The book-shelves have just been put up, they are well-filled not only with our lesson-books, but also many other interesting books. By the side of the bookcase is the piano. Opposite the large window is the escritoire... The room has green air for the table cloths, curtains and drugget are mostly green.”

In addition to the Hobhouse family and their governess, the Rectory was kept busy with a number of other figures. The cook, Mary Jane Worden, was one of the most important of the six servants employed by the Hobhouses at the time. Under the guidance of Caroline, she would have prepared three meals a day for the family and would have certainly used the recipes in Mrs. Beeton's Cookery Book. There was no snacking at the kitchen table, like today.

The Victorians enjoyed fowl, venison, fish, beef, mutton, poultry, and pork. They indulged in rich sauces, puddings, cakes, and even ice creams. Although, you had to prepare everything by hand!

Remember to explore what lies in the larders, scullery, and fuel stores. The scullery maid had to be up before dawn. She boiled water for use in the kitchen and throughout the household. When not scrubbing clothes and swilling floors, she was clearing up after the cook. Hers was a tough life.

Compared to the slums and workhouses of the cities, the Hobhouse servants lead rather more pleasant lives. Even so, based in the attic, life was tough and labour rights were still decades off. You can also explore a typical maid’s bedroom on the top floor.

And then, dress up in Victorian clothes and take your picture in the studio. And yes, there are outfits for both children and adults.

Come and feel the ambience and see the beauty of Emily’s home.