The Fireplace Room
The standing of the mantelpiece is the standing of the room.
About The Fireplace Room
The Fireplace Room is the Manor's Victorian salon. A walnut and marble-effect mantelpiece takes the lead, surrounded by gold damask walls, wine-red curtains, Rococo-style velvet sofas and a six-light JOGLAR chandelier, while a 120-inch motorised screen rises quietly from beside the wall.
In the houses of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the hearth was the heart of the room
The mantelpiece frames the hearth and carries the clock and candlesticks: the centre of the room. Ours is walnut with a marble effect, W1150 × H1019 mm, and an electric flame flickers within.
Above it stand a mantel clock, a pair of candlesticks and a gilt-framed mirror; an oil painting hangs on the wall. Rather than drawing the eye to the flame alone, the butler adjusts the angle at which you sit so that the six lights reflected in the mirror, the outline of the candlesticks and the painting all read as one scene.
For conversation we leave enough light to see one another's faces; for reading we bring the light closer to your hands. When you turn to a film, the surroundings of the mantelpiece stay as they are and only your gaze is led to the 120-inch screen. It is not a choice between flame off and flame on: the butler asks what suits the hour.
One of Europe's oldest patterns, named for Damascus.
The walls are papered in gold damask. Damask weave takes its name from Damascus in Syria and is among the oldest patterns of standing in Europe. At the windows hang wine-red curtains with gold fringe.
The light is a JOGLAR A0822 six-light chandelier (France, 1920s).
Five pieces of the Fireplace Room, their light arranged by the Association's butlers
Four pieces that shape the Fireplace Room
Hearth and sofa
A two-seat sofa stands beside the hearth, with a glass-fronted cabinet in attendance. Tending the light in place of the fire is the butler's charge.
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Chandelier and carpet
A carpet lies beneath the chandelier, and red-upholstered chairs face one another across it.
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The horn gramophone
A gramophone with a great horn rests upon a wooden sideboard.
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The cabinet of tea things
Behind glazed doors with decorative glazing bars, tea things and plates are arranged.
Read moreNetflix, Amazon Prime Video, U-NEXT, YouTube, ABEMA and Disney+ are available.
| Programme | Please choose something that sits comfortably within your booked time rather than by running time alone. The choice of programme rests with you. |
|---|---|
| Guests | From one guest to a maximum of six. Seating is open: choose whichever seat you like. The butler checks everyone's sightline and the surrounding passage. |
| Food and drink | You are welcome to bring your own. We set it where the projector, sound system and sofas are protected. |
| At the end | Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, U-NEXT, YouTube, ABEMA and Disney+ are available. |
The butler asks whether this is an hour for the flame or for the screen
| Flame and screen | To attend in the Fireplace Room is to arrange the light and the direction of seating to suit conversation, reading or film. |
|---|---|
| Your chosen seat, by party size | Alone, you may sink into the Rococo-style wine-red velvet sofa and rest your gaze on the flame or a single book. As a pair, you may sit side by side to watch the same screen, or at an angle to talk. |
| Preparing the equipment | When the theatre is used, the butler prepares the screen, projector and sound, and checks the chandelier and the curtains. |
| After the screening | When the film ends, not every light necessarily returns at once. We leave the flame until your eyes adjust, check your footing and belongings, and only then move to the next level of light. |
| The butler withdraws | During a film, our butlers, women and men alike, withdraw to a distance that does not interrupt conversation. If you would like drinks or a blanket, please let us know before the screening. |
How a screening on the 120-inch screen unfolds
Decide what to watch
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, U-NEXT, YouTube, ABEMA and Disney+ are available.
Choose your seat
Seating is open. Once you have chosen, the butler checks around the sofas and chairs.
Raise the screen
The butler operates the 120-inch motorised screen beside the wall and adjusts the projection.
Set the light and sound
The butler checks the six-light chandelier, the curtains and the sound, and composes a scene with the flame still burning.
Enjoy the film
The butler withdraws to where the screen is unobstructed. Please call whenever you need anything.
What the theatre provides and permits
- Streaming services (Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, U-NEXT, YouTube, ABEMA and Disney+)
- Food and drink you bring yourself. We show you a place away from the equipment
- Viewing for one guest up to a maximum of six
- Reading, conversation, photography and other ways of spending time without the screen
What to leave to the butler
- Meals served by the Manor
- Operating the screen, projector or sound without the butler's guidance
- Using the Manor unattended
From the Fireplace Room to the next scene
The mantelpiece and the hearth
A closer look at the role the hearth played in European houses of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
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The Study
To open a book in quiet after the film, the Study offers a leather chair and two tiers of light.
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The French Rococo Room
Lower the light further still and rest upon a nineteenth-century French bed.
Read moreQHow large is the screen?
120 inches. When not in use it retracts beside the wall, and the room returns to the mantelpiece and sofas.
QWhich streaming services are available?
Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, U-NEXT, YouTube, ABEMA and Disney+.
QHow many may watch together?
The Manor accommodates up to six guests. The butler checks everyone's sightline and arranges the sofas and chairs.
QIs the fire real?
The flame is electric. The butler adjusts the light so that its flicker can be seen.
QMay I bring food and drink?
You are welcome to bring your own; we do not serve meals. The butler will show you where to set it so that the equipment and the collection are protected.
QMay a female butler attend me?
Both male and female butlers are in service. Should you have a preference, please let us know when you book.
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We await you before the fire.
Tell us what you have in mind, and a butler will guide you.