The National Trust by Andrew McElee

Wednesday 2 May 2007

The National Trust by Andrew McElee

Behind the Scenes

Our guest speaker for the Ladies Summer Lunch on 2 May 2007 held at the Cuddington Golf Club was Andrew McElee who until he retired was the manager at Polesden Lacey (above), one of the National Trusts premier houses and indeed the South East Region Office. This lunch was attended on a beautiful and sunny Mayday, when seventy five members and their guests attended, prior to the lunch members indulged in drinks on the bar patio where a magnificent view of London and the proceeding countryside could be seen. In the far distance the arch over the new Wembley Stadium could be observed.

After a splendid lunch well organised by Eric Hussey the assembled throng settled down to hear Andrew tell us not about the structure of the Trust but real stories (?) and hilarious actions in the life/chaos behind the scenes of this delightful house, seen above.

Below as a footnote is a short version of Polesden for those who felt this is what we were about to hear!.

Andrew had all in fits of laughter about the security alarums system and it's action with bat intruders and the subsequent dead bat put in the fridge in a plastic bag (for a later autopsy by the vet who was due the next day) and offered to the lady volunteers at their normal tea break by mistake instead of the plastic bag of cakes, they had hoped to enjoy!

Also keeping the vast army (200+) volunteers informed (resulting of the spoof letter to Prince Charles and his apparent reply) and the hilarious results of misunderstanding and conflicts with outside parties, such as the Animal Welfare society who were concerned with the impact of firework displays on the wild life.

But this was a presentation that cannot be adequately reported due to the presentational skills of Andrew, so make a point of going to one of his talks.

He held us all enthralled with forty minutes of high speed patter, most of which had a punch line result, so when our Vice President gave the vote of thanks, John Mills himself a National Trust volunteer, said "How do you follow that?" but then thanked Andrew for a stimulating talk and as far as he was concerned an accurate account of behind the National Trust scenes, he also said that Andrew who has retired for a good many years is well remembered as a great guy who left behind the legacy of "Meet folk with a Smile" and they will return again and again to the National Trust. Naturally the gathering concurred with John's vote of thanks and showed their appreciation in the normal Probus Club of Ewell's manner.

A collection was then taken for the President’s charity the Zimbabwe Victim Support Fund this has been set up to provide some relief for those who were falling victims to the systematic programme of destruction of the agricultural industry resulting that many of the poor are foodless unless they support the regime. This Fund is administered via the UK Churches with one of the founders and trustee Rev. David Winwood who served as a Methodist Missionary in that country, he is Minister at Epsom Methodist Church in Ashley Road Epsom, who send monies direct to the Zimbabwe churches for food distribution.

This collection raised the sum of £120

Our principal guest was John Moore and Consort, John is the Chairman of the Surbiton Probus Club.

Below are a series of pictures taken by James Court.

Cuddington Golf Club

Below with thanks to the National Trust much more can be found on their website ...click here.

Polesden Lacey, a 1400 acre estate, is situated on the North Downs and commands some of the finest views in Surrey. The Edwardian Garden extends to 30 acres with 10 acres of lawns and elegant grass terraces, including a walled rose garden, summer border and winter displays.

There has been a house on this site since at least 1336. The name 'Polesden' is Saxon and belonged to the earliest recorded owner Herbert de Polesden, who was selling land here in 1198. The 'Lacey' suffix probably derives from the family of John Lacy, who owned Polesden in 1387-93, but it is first described as 'Pollisden Lacy' only in 1562. In 1630 Anthony Rous acquired the estate and shortly afterwards completely rebuilt the medieval house

Polesden has been owned by a number of people, who made many alterations and additions to the property. The most famous owner was the poet and playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, who purchased the house in 1804. Sheridan adored Polesden, rejoicing in his role as a country squire, giving lavish entertainments to his friends and the local populace. He regarded Polesden as a haven from the hurly-burly of his life in London, where he shone in Parliament as an orator and at Drury Lane as a dramatist and theatre manager.

Polesden Lacey was then lived in by two further owners until purchased by Mrs Greville, a legendary Edwardian hostess, and her husband in 1906. The house was converted by Mewes and Davis, the architects of the newly built Ritz Hotel. Mrs Greville was most famous as a collector of royalties and her friendship with Edward VII (who thought her 'gift of hospitality' amounted to 'positive genius') inaugurated a lifelong devotion to the House of Windsor. She was especially fond of Queen Mary (consort of George V) and of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, part of whose honeymoon was spent at Polesden in 1923, and whom the childless Mrs Greville loved like a daughter. Mrs Greville was adored by her friends and feared by her rivals for her indiscreet and acerbic wit.
Mrs Greville bequeathed Polesden Lacey to the National Trust in 1942 in memory of her father, William McEwan, an Edinburgh brewing millionaire and philanthropist.

After Mrs Greville's death, Polesden was rearranged for public opening, but in the process many of the secondary and almost all of the bedroom furnishings were sold in 1943. There was a serious fire in 1960, and although nothing was lost, the original decoration of several rooms was damaged and had to be replaced. In 1995, after extensive research, the Trust embarked upon the restoration and rearrangements of the principal rooms, in order to make their original style and luxury more evident.

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