A Victorian Cannon Hall Christmas comes to
This December, step back in time to experience Christmas of 1839 as you are transported to the days of the Spencer-Stanhopes with Cannon Hall Museum’s Victorian Christmas.
Travel back to an era of traditional, opulent splendour, where the grand trees are finely trimmed up, the silverware is gleaming, and the delicious smell of mince pies is wafting from the kitchens downstairs.
Christmas feast of goose or turkey, where Walter and John Roddam would have bickered over who won the cracker-pulling. Explore the kitchens where young daughters Anna Maria, Eliza, Anne and Louisa would have snuck down to taste test the plum puddings on Stir Up Sunday and help hide the gifts inside them.
At this special time, see the wonderfully decorated hall in all its glory and relive how joyous Christmas would have been for Cannon Hall’s most famous residents, the Spencer-Stanhopes, in the Victorian times.
Marvel at the wood-panelled ballroom where John and Lady Elizabeth would have hosted extravagant festive parties with their aristocratic acquaintances. See the elaborate dining room dressed for a heavily laden
The Victorian Era is well-known for being the catalyst of the festive celebrations we know and love today. It is hard to believe that at the turn of the 19th Century, Christmas cards, Christmas crackers and indeed Father Christmas were unheard of. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert popularised many of our Christmas traditions, leading to the holiday becoming the biggest annual celebration by the end of the century.
With nine children of their own, the royal couple were the personification of the importance of family at Christmas time, with other families following suit and spending the day together. The Spencer-Stanhopes would have been no exception, with the children making paper baskets to fill with fruit or gilding silver nuts.
In a time of the Industrial Revolution, tales like Dickens’ A Christmas Carol gave many rich landowners and business owners a goodwill conscience to redistribute their wealth and lifestyle happiness.
On 25th and 26th November, Ebeneezer Scrooge will be visiting Cannon Hall to tell the tale of his ghostly epiphany that made him appreciate the true spirit of Christmas with a reading of this classic festive story. Don’t be a Bah Humbug; get ready to don your hat with audience participation welcome. A heart-warming event for both children and adults, the story will be told in the beautiful surroundings of the traditionally decorated ballroom with 30 minute slots between 11am and 2.30pm and tickets priced at £2.50 for children and £4 for adults. While Scrooge, Marley and Cratchit make history upstairs, the Victorian kitchens down below will also be filled with wonder that weekend as the kitchen maids cook up some festive treats with the assistance of little (and big) helpers.
Nothing says Christmas better than the smell of freshly baked gingerbread; so on Saturday 25th November, children are invited to help make their own gingerbread advent calendars to take home and enjoy the countdown to Christmas for £12.50 per child. For the adults, Sunday 26th November
is the time to make a gingerbread wreath and crumble mince pies, priced at £40 per person. To create your very own wreath using foliage of the season, join the Cannon Hall team for a wreath making workshop on Thursday 30th November, with the finest greenery, berries and adornments for a show-stopping creation included in the price of £25. Illuminate your soul this winter with an evening of Bake, Babble and Bauble on Wednesday 6th December. Inspired by the happiness-inducing Danish concept of hygge, enjoy a cosy evening around the ballroom hearth with festive homebakes and Glogg – a Scandinavian spiced wine. At £15 per person, make a willow ‘poetree’ lantern with warming words as jazz infused yuletide tunes fill the air. And it wouldn’t be Christmas without a visit from Santa Claus, with the big man himself setting up his home in the Victorian grandeur. Enjoy storytelling and letter giving on 23rd December with a special gift for each child for just £6.50.
For a truly traditional Christmas celebration, Cannon Hall Museum is alive with the Victorian magic that started it all.
For more information or to book tickets to any of the events, visit
www.cannon-hall.com
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