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| Abbotsford House, home to the Brontes' literary hero Sir Walter Scott, located on the banks of the River Tweed in the magnificent Scottish Borders. |
At the end of November 2018, my Bronte travelling companion Alison and I went to the other end of the country from our visit to Wethersfield in Essex, to visit the home of Sir Walter Scott. We were following in the footsteps of Charlotte Bronte who visited Abbotsford on 7th July 1850 with her publisher George Smith. Charlotte had gone up to Edinburgh to meet both George and his sister Eliza who had gone to collect their younger brother from school. Being so close to Edinburgh, George Smith organised a trip so that Charlotte could visit the home of her and her family's literary hero - Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832).
You can also read of Helen McEwan's visit to Abbotsford House, four years before we visited, in 2014 here. Helen is the founder of the Brussels Bronte group, the Belgian branch of the Bronte Society, and the author of three excellent books: 'The Brontes in Brussels' (2014) about Charlotte and Emily Bronte's time at the Pensionnat Heger, 'Down the Belliard Steps: Discovering the Brontes in Brussels' (2012), an account of her experiences setting up the Brussels Bronte Group to promote interest in the Brontes stay in the city and 'Through Belgian Eyes: Charlotte Bronte's Troubled Brussels Legacy' (2017) provides a fresh perspective on Charlotte Bronte and explores the background to her two novels set in Belgium, 'The Professor' and 'Villette'.
Helen was lucky to be given access to view the visitor book at Abbotsford House which shows both Charlotte Bronte's and George Smith's signatures.
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| Abbotsford visitor book showing Charlotte's and George's signatures. |
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| Abbotsford House which Scott bought in 1811. As he added to what was originally a farmhouse, he described the house, at different times, as picturesque, rambling and whimsical. |
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| On the deeds the house was called Newarthaugh but the locals called it Cartleyhole. Scott renamed it Abbotsford after the ford that crossed the River Tweed below the house used by the monks of Melrose Abbey in times gone by. |
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| The walled kitchen garden with the breath taking house as a backdrop. Scott loved his gardens being involved in all of their designs. |
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| Abbotsford House set in the rolling green hills of the Scottish Borders. |
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| The entrance. |
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| Sir Walter Scott |
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| Scott created his library. Thanks to his international popularity, many famous people sent him books from all over the world, including the Brothers Grimm who sent him their first book of fairy tales from Germany and books were also sent from America by Washington Irving who had visited Scott at Abbotsford. |
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| My Bronte travelling companion Alison enjoying the views. |
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| The views from the house. |
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| The Chinese Drawing Room where Scott's eldest daughter Sophia would play the harp. Dora Wordsworth (William Wordsworth's daughter) was one of many visitors to enjoy this room. |
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| The wallpaper was hand-painted in China and a gift from Scott's cousin Hugh. The painting above the fireplace is of Scott with his two dogs Percy and Camp. |
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| A green and pleasant landscape surrounds Abbotsford House. |
We then went on to visit Dryburgh Abbey where Sir Walter Scott is buried. Charlotte did not visit Dryburgh Abbey although she did go to Melrose Abbey.
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| The ruins of atmospheric Dryburgh Abbey |
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| Sir Walter Scott's grave within the arch at Dryburgh Abbey. |
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| Sir Walter Scott's grave with history board. |
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| Sir Walter Scott's final resting place. Rather a nice spot at Dryburgh Abbey. |
Charlotte Bronte, together with her publisher George Smith, did visit Melrose Abbey, which Sir Walter Scott, in his role as Sheriff-Depute of Roxburgshire, and with the financial assistance of the Duke of Buccleuch, supervised the repair work that was necessary to preserve the ruins of the abbey in 1822.
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| Melrose Abbey which Charlotte Bronte visited with her publisher George Smith. |
Ellen Nussey, Charlotte's friend, was alarmed to hear that Charlotte was going to go to Scotland with her publisher George Smith. Initially the plan was that Charlotte would meet up with George Smith and his sister Eliza in Glasgow and then travel with them on a tour that would take in some of Scotland's great highlights: from Tarbert on Loch Lomond to the lovely coastal town of Oban at the mouth of Loch Linnhe and then on through the Highlands to Edinburgh. But Ellen, who suspected that there was more to Charlotte's and George's relationship than Charlotte admitted to, was shocked that Charlotte would consider offending the rules of propriety and go travelling with her handsome and eligible young publisher and his sister. Mrs Smith, George's mother, had also noticed this excess of friendliness and discouraged this intimacy. In the end, Charlotte decided, probably under pressure from Ellen, to simply join the Smiths for two days in Edinburgh and forego the tour.
Charlotte, no doubt enjoyed her visit to Abbotsford House and to Melrose Abbey, as we did one hundred and sixty eight years later. if you are ever in Edinburgh, or touring the Scottish Borders, it is worth a visit to the house and to both abbeys.
