What were your expectations before going into the house?
When I first told people about the Regency House they kept getting it confused with Edwardian and looked at me in sheer disbelief thinking I had volunteered to empty chamber pots for the summer. When I eventually persuaded them that I was a Lady and not a scullery maid (as if!) everyone kept telling me I would have to do lots of embroidery. I think some people also expected me to come out of the house a Grade 8 pianist and fluent French speaker. They were wrong. My expectations were slightly different; to be pretty bored, to have several rows with my chaperone and lots of men vying for my attentions... so I was wrong too.
How well do you think you were suited to the Regency era?
Not at all! I found living in luxury, being wined and dined and waited on hand and foot all incredibly difficult... clearly I'm lying. I took to it like a duck to water, which is actually a bit worrying! I felt guilty that the servants had to work so hard (they were amazing – it wouldn't have been the experience it was without them) and it was sad to think about how awful it would have been for the ordinary people at the time who weren't swanning around at country house parties. But it was scarily easy to get used to having everything done for you and just generally partying and enjoying yourself every day – so I guess you could say I was suited to the hedonism and decadence of the era - and it was pretty impossible not to get swept up in the romance of it all...
I'm not so suited to the rules and restrictions – I need my freedom although I have to say that for 9 weeks it was a massive relief not to have to worry about anything except my bonnet and parasol. Speaking of which, I never thought I'd take to girlie dresses and parasols but I think I regressed slightly and came to quite like them. And I definitely predict Regency fans to be the must-have fashion accessory next summer...
Who did you fancy most in the house?
Francesca. And the delectable Mr Dean (aka the Kentchurch Bruiser) who gives an amazing foot massage and carried my boots all the way up Garway Hill. What a man.
What was your best time?
Oh my word – this is hard...it sounds trite but it really was all amazing...OK, in no particular order: Crying with laughter in our crazy dance lessons. Going to see the Hermit and eating Hermit OriginalsTM and drinking contraband coffee. Swimming with the girls. Playing the Glass Harmonica. Meeting Clare Short and sitting next to Simon Armitage at dinner. Peterloo. The Night of the Masked Ball. Dressing up in Glover's clothes and trying to gatecrash the Hellfire Club. But my top three (drum roll) would probably be the Day We Went To Grosmont For A Picnic, Fireworks Night and everybody's favourite – The Fair.
What was your worst time?
The first few hours. After being dressed in a spencer that I hated and couldn't breathe in I was handed the Rule Book and my profile. The rules seemed impossible "no strong alcohol" (harsh), "bed by eleven" (ouch) and my profile explained how I was the lowest status woman and as such would have to pay even more attention to the rules and the wishes of my hostess and that I wouldn't have the advantages the other girls had ...it really threw me at the time. Then we pulled up at this big scary house and Mrs Enright and I discovered that we would be sharing a room – and a commode. I just wanted to go home. We then waited for ages not really knowing what to do before the dinner bell rang – but once we went down and I saw the girls in the terrace room it was fine.
Do you have any regrets?
Not keeping a diary. I was too scared someone would read and it and besides, if I'm honest, I was totally inept with a quill and all the pencils kept going missing. Apart from that I guess I regret that my position prevented me from getting to know people as well as I would have liked and from trying some things I would have liked to have tried. Most of the day (and night) the boys were off doing things we weren't allowed to do. We only really saw them at breakfast and dinner. As a lower status woman in a house where there were more men than women I wasn't a "priority" on the seating plan (argh – seating plans – a daily bone of contention – it's weird how little things like that became disproportionately important...!) This meant that much of the time I was seated next to the girls at dinner, which was cool but did mean that I really didn't get to know the guys very well (GB and I had our first proper conversation in Week 7!) which was a real shame. And I really would have liked to have been allowed to ride and shoot and fence and stuff. But they're only minor regrets really – I had a wicked time anyway...
What annoyed you most in the house?
STATUS! Everything revolved around it, where you slept, where you sat at dinner, your wardrobe, when you could have a bath (and whether you got clean water), your ability to do fun things – riding, sabreing, shooting, even what you ate and drank. It was a microcosm of how society was then, (and in many ways still is) but everything was magnified because it was so in your face. We literally had announcements at breakfast along the lines of "the higher status ladies will be pistol shooting with the gentlemen, the lower status ladies will be attending to their needlework". It really did grate after a while...particularly when people seemed to actually start to believe in it. I'm not sure that guests at a real Regency House Party would have been treated so differently according to "status"; at least not so blatantly. It would have been bad manners. It was also frustrating at times that people higher up the order were so ignorant of how things were at the bottom; for example being astounded when I didn't know the names of the horses – why on earth would I when I wasn't allowed to ride them any of them?! And there was some ridiculous snobbery. Apart from that, the only real irritant was Francesca's daily rendition of Pachelbel's Canon...
What did you like / dislike most about dating in Regency times?
I liked the fact that had I actually taken to a shine to one of the guys that it was their job to do the chasing and Mrs Enright's job to "facilitate". So the pressure was off the women really so long as they sat up straight and smiled sweetly. I disliked the fact that there was so much emphasis on the financial side of things; a woman in my position would basically have been destitute if she hadn't made a good financial match. This left me in a complete Catch 22 – because I was poor I had to get married but with only £25 no-one would have me... (cue strings). That was all quite dark – the mercenary attitude to relationships and the fact that people were desirable simply because of their money or title. I think the sheer social and financial necessity of making a match was the thing we all struggled most to empathise with – it just felt so alien.
Do you think your experience in the house has changed you?
Well I haven't taken to rubbing lemons under my arms or wearing long crotchless knickers. I think I know who I am and what I want more now...and I'm more appreciative of things...nurofen and plasters in particular.
What did you miss from the 21st Century?
Radio – or just music in general really. That's why we were all so happy when Carrington arrived and bashed out some Beatles – the harps and everything were lovely but we just craved some 21st century sound! Would have been very grateful for some deodorant (it was SO hot – we thought the lemons worked at the time but I've since been informed that they really didn't), a razor and freshly-squeezed orange juice. And much as I loved the maids and footmen I missed being independent and being able to do basic things like dress myself and get a glass of water. But to be honest, I really didn't miss very much at all. And loads of things were much better in Regency times e.g. quills are wicked once you get the hang of them, wax-sealed letters beat e-mail and text hands down and it's much nicer having soap wrapped in brown paper and string than horrible plastic...
What are you doing now?
I'm back in London deciding what to do with my life...
Who will you keep in touch with?
Thanks to e-mail and text I think I've heard from almost everyone, which is nice. Miss Hopkins and I chat a lot and Miss Francesca regularly invites herself to sleep on my sofa. I do miss people, which is weird as we went in total strangers but it was so intense that I think there'll always be a connection between the people who lived it. They're the only ones who really get it; "Third Eye"? "Hermit Originals"? "Mrs Nitpin"? "Ollyade"? See what I mean...
What would you have liked to see happen to your Regency personae?
I would have liked Miss Conick to have won the lottery about 2 months earlier! In all seriousness I was quite happy with the way things worked out. As a woman of £25 no-one was ever going to "marry" me so my little windfall saved me from a life of misery and poverty and meant I could leave alone (with my sabres!) to make a life for myself in London – which is what I honestly think I would have done had it all been real.
If you were to do it again what would you do differently?
I would have crept into the Laurel Walk the day that the boys went with Professor Radcliffe and Mr Dean to do some training and hidden in a bush because then I would have found out about the Fancy and could have secretly gone along to watch.
Are you still single?
No.
Do you treat the opposite sex any differently since leaving the house?
I certainly haven't started curtseying or making love tokens and I don't refrain from talking politics...although I think the boyfriend wishes I would. (Stop talking politics that is – not curtsey and embroider handkerchiefs).
Is there anything else interesting about your experiences?
I really can't emphasize enough how incredible the whole time was. The day to day stuff was even more special than the big events…being woken in the morning by a maid ("would you like some hot water ma'am?"), gossiping in Victoria's room every day before breakfast, swinging in the hammock, walking through the deer park, going up to the temple with the girls (every time the view just staggered me), looking out of the window and seeing the men (and Lady D) gallop by on horseback, visiting the Hermit, secretly sunbathing by the river, dressing for dinner, dinner itself (which had to be seen to be believed), taking a turn around the garden with Mrs Enright while the men had cigars, it was all just so surreal and so normal at the same time...
There are also the funny things that the cameras didn't catch…like the night we sent all the boys notes pretending we wanted meet up with them and then watched from Vs window to see who turned up (2 did) or when Victoria and I sneaked up the tower and got caught by Mr Daly. Or when Francesca and I tried to frighten GB by hiding under his bed one night but were laughing so much he heard us and wasn't impressed. Sounds quite sad but was hilarious at the time. Maybe you had to be there.
Back to top |
