The old coffee house (installed around 1774)- Boboli Gardens, Florence, Italy
Photo: Katelyn Vonfeldt
A very dear friend is in Florence right now and I couldn’t resist sharing this photo.
Check out her blog for amazing photographs.
Searching for Georgiana in London
Guest Post by the fabulous Heather Carroll of The Duchess of Devonshire’s Gossip Guide
In the last quarter of the eighteenth century Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire reigned as the toast of the town in London. At the age of seventeen Georgiana married into one of the richest and most influential families in England putting an incomprehensible amount of pressure on the teenager. However, Georgiana rose to the challenge of playing society hostess and delighted London in the process.
Those in search of Georgiana today flock to her beautiful country home, Chatsworth. Sadly though, Georgiana didn’t leave many fingerprints on the breathtaking estate. In her lifetime the Duke of Devonshire owned many properties across England but both he and his wife were known to put most of their time in at only one, Devonshire House on Picadilly Street, London. Due to the couples’ involvement in politics and Georgiana’s legendary hospitality, Devonshire House became a frat house of sorts, complete with endless parties, a fantastic hostess, and guests who were there so often you weren’t quite sure if they lived there or not. Those guest-idents became known as the Devonshire House set.
With so much going on Devonshire House, the Duke figured he could spare the family’s other London homes and rented them out to family. Burlington House was let to the Duke and Duchess of Portland and you can still see it in London today although now it is known as The Royal Academy.
Paradoxically, the more famous house is the one that no longer stands. What once was the hub of aristocratic life in London was sold and destroyed in the 1920s to make room for the unimpressive building that stands there today. The priceless possessions inside were moved to Chatsworth but spaces that captivated an era are now all gone.
However one architectural relic did survive. The gates to the famous house, in which so many famous historical figures passed through, were salvaged. You can see these gates, still with the Cavendish coat of arms in Green Park. A little bit of Devonshire House still remains in London.
Be sure to visit Heather’s blog for more Georgiana (and 18th century) related posts!
Then and Now (Corner of Brewer Street and Lower St. James Street, Soho, London, England c/o BBC in pictures)
This 18th-century building front (left) in central London was once a shop that sold technical equipment. It has now been replaced by a British coffee shop chain.
I never really realised how much homelier and prettier it was back then. All I see now, whenever we hang out in that area, is a street with various shops (Whole Foods, oriental supermarket, restaurants, adult book shops, etc…), with modern, unattractive fronts.
