I don't think any trip to the Isle of Wight can be considered complete until you've visited Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's love nest: Osbourne House.😀
Although I always jest about Victoria and Albert's successful and clearly passionate marriage (as the Victorian age was considered one of prudishness, when the Queen was clearly no prude!) it's easy to see why they would have regarded this place as an escape from the court life of London and Windsor. Situated in East Cowes, to the north of the island, it was a haven for the royal couple to bring up their ever-expanding family; although foreign royalty and ministers were often entertained there.
It's the third time I've visited, although do bear in mind that the top floors and the Swiss Cottage are closed during the winter months. Entrance fees start at £25.40 for an adult, and £12.70 for a child, although concessions are available and (if my memory serves me correctly) it is cheaper to visit in winter.
We don't drive, so took two buses from our temporary home in Shanklin to get there. Following a walk down the long driveway and through the carpark, we were greeted by this delightful Queen Vic postbox topper!
Queen Victoria (1819-1901) generally wore widows weeds (a black dress with a white cap) for the rest of her life, following the death of her beloved Prince Albert (1819-1861).❤
Their visitor reception centre was once Petty Officers' Quarters, and it has an adjoining café and indoor and outdoor shops.
I loved this delightful sheep planter.🐑
You walk 230 metres to get to the house, and on the way is a model of the estate which the Queen bought in 1845 for around £28,000. By 1864 the total landholding had risen to 2,000 acres.
The Queen wanted "a place of one's own, quiet and retired," and also somewhere where she and her family could "walk anywhere without being followed or mobbed." She liked the Isle of Wight, and knew the expanding rail network would make journeying to the island fairly easy.
The house is made of brick and stone, and was remodelled from an earlier building by London building contractor Thomas Cubitt.
Visitors would have entered the household wing through this door, which has a Calydonian boar and the dog of Alcibiades guarding it. The dog is the original statue, although the boar is a copy. Both the exterior and interior of the house have been restored over the years.
Today's entrance hall with a portrait of Edward VII (Queen Victoria's son and heir) on the wall. He did not need Osbourne House, but wanted his people to have access to it.
The Grand Corridor serves as a link between the main wings and Queen Victoria's private apartments. The decorations down here reflect Italian Renaissance design.
Pictures line the walls, and I took photos of a couple that I liked, including this stubborn donkey...
The Embarkation, c.1853, by Johann Hermann Kretzschmer (1811-90).
...And this, of Queen Victoria and her daughters. Queen Vic reigned for nearly 64 years- from 1837-1901- making her the longest reigning monarch until Queen Elizabeth II snatched that title in recent years.
Queen Victoria, Princess Helena and Princess Beatrice Knitting for Netley, 1886, by Alexander Melville (active 1846-73).
The Exhibition Room shows boards relating to Tradition and Innovation: Victoria's Final Journey. She died inside this very house.
This cabinet shows Queen Victoria's funeral procession...
Osbourne House became a Royal Naval College, and a Convalescent Home for Officers during the reign of Edward VII, and the route around the house takes you back into the Grand Corridor.
The statues are quite sensual, and there is a lot of dishabille/ nudity...
...And I think they serve as an ode to Victoria and Albert's passionate relationship.
This is a statue of Queen Victoria in classical costume. She gave it to Albert for his birthday in 1849.
The ebonized cabinets were part of the 1850s decorative scheme...
Impressive staircase view...
In the main wing the Council Room is where the Queen met her privy council, but at other times the room was used for entertaining...
In the centre of the ceiling sits the badge of the Order of the Garter and other royal emblems, but more sensuality exists with the caryatids holding up the light.
Elaborate porcelain...
The view back down the corridor, and yet more nudes and barely-clothed caryatids...
Closer view of the sculpture, and Victoria and Albert were the sole creators of the collection...
The statue, entitled Victory, was a birthday gift for Prince Albert; purchased by Queen Victoria at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
View outside, and waaaay in the distance, over the water, is Portsmouth...
This is a statue of Noble: one of Queen Victoria's favourite dogs.
These servants' stairs once led down to the table-deckers' room, where the final preparations for the serving of the food took place. The kitchen court was about 100 m away.
The Drawing Room, and the rooms here are elaborately furnished. The Queen retired here after dinner, played cards and sang whilst playing the piano.
You can just about make out a Vain Old Tart posing in this sumptuously grand mirror!😁
Another sensual offering, and to me Osbourne House oozed sexuality!
A posthumous bust of Prince Albert. Queen Victoria absolutely adored him, and was distraught at his passing at the age of only 42. She entered into a period of mourning from which she never fully recovered.
Passing the first floor you can see the pages' alcove, and a page of the back stairs was in attendance at the door of the Queen's apartment from 8am until she retired at night.
The Nursery Sitting room on the second floor; and servants rooms were also on this level.
I've (rather ghoulishly!) blown it up, so you can get a closer view...😈
No original decoration survives, and the wallpaper, curtains and carpet are all modern, although the mahogany-framed swing cot to the right was made for Vicky (the princess royal) in 1840.
Queen Victoria's Dressing Room...
Queen Victoria's bath which, when not in use was hidden behind mirrored doors to look like a wardrobe, as was the contemporary propriety.
Queen Victoria's hand-operated lift was installed in 1893, as by then she was finding using the stairs difficult.
These paintings were commissioned by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria, and are part of the Painters and Patrons: Emma Gaggiotti and Prince Albert exhibition.
The Durbar Room is the real WOW moment of the house!
The word Durbar means both a state reception and the room in which it is held, and this style of decoration was introduced to Queen Victoria by her son; Prince Arthur.
The decorations are inspired by the architectural traditions of north India, and were created by using wooden moulds, plaster and carton pierre (a type of paper mâché popular at the end of the 19th century).
The ceiling design is derived from ornamentation found in medieval Indian structures.
Queen Victoria lunched, dined and held ceremonial events in here, and at Christmas and New Year the room doubled as a stage for theatrical plays performed by her family.
It was suggested by Princess Louise; her daughter and also a talented artist and sculptor.
The room contains a display of gifts from the sub-continent commemorating Victoria's golden (1887) and diamond (1897) jubilees.
Another Pavilion Terrace view and, incidentally, Queen Victoria's highland servant, John Brown (1826-83), stayed at Osbourne House in his capacity as her pony handler, outdoor guide and personal companion. Was he the widowed queen's lover? I think he was- after all, here was a woman who clearly liked male company and liked sex. And good for her!
Looking down onto the Lower Terrace, and the Andromeda Fountain...
A view down the walkway towards the sea, and you can just about make out third- and the lowest- fountain creeping into view below the urn...
This stone carving looks very much like a wild ram...
The Andromeda fountain is surrounded by eight marine monsters...
...It has a love seat at the end (well, that's what I like to think it is!)
The lowest pond, with a boy with a swan statue in the centre. Unfortunately, the SuperDean contaminated this photo by his sheer presence behind the statue, and I've been partially successful in erasing his form!
Walking to the beach and Swiss Cottage was quite a schlep! Osbourne House's Pleasure Gardens and adjoining woods are quite extensive.
The Swiss Cottage garden was Prince Albert's brainchild, and dates from 1850. It was conceived as part of an educational programme for his children. Each child was allocated a plot where they could grow fruit and vegetables to sell to Prince Albert; as a practical exercise in market gardening.
The Swiss Cottage imitates a traditional Swiss farmhouse...
Nowadays, there are separate sections dedicated to each of Victoria and Albert's nine children, and details regarding what happened to them when they grew up.
You are encouraged to interact with the objects here...
The children laid the foundation stone of a this timber Swiss Cottage in 1853...
Queen Victoria visited, and the children entertained their parents here.
I'm always fascinated by icehouses (which I often nickname igloos!) Integral to large houses in the days before refrigeration, you were able to peer inside its cool interior the last time I was here, but unfortunately this 1846 icehouse is now closed.
Into the Walled Garden we shall go...
Rhubarb...
There were still some plants flowering...
...And some eye-catching colours to enjoy.
The lean-to glasshouses were erected in 1854...
I've always loved topiary hedges!💚
Inside the greenhouses...
By this time I was rather knackered! Osbourne House involves a lot of walking if you want to see everything, although they do run a minibus service down to the Swiss Cottage....
Stumpy palms and flowers outside...
I've had to tweak this shady photo of this timber octagonal summerhouse, where Queen Victoria's children occasionally ate their supper.
The Pleasure Grounds are expansive, and were improved by Prince Albert.
For some odd reason I didn't take a photograph of them, so here's a SuperDean photograph taken when we last visited, on a drizzly February day.
Copyright©Dean P. Grant
And that brings me to the end of my tiring visit to Osbourne House. Just beware that if you do everything there is to do, then a lot of walking is required!
TTFN,
Miss Elaineous
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