The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1905-04-01
KING EDWARD AS A FARMRR.



healthy methods of life, is more strongly shown /
by King Edward of England than by any other |
great sovereign aside from the unhappy Gar of |
Russia. King Edward, who loves roast short |
ribs of beef and Irish potatoes better than any |
other dish known to the royal cooks also much |
prefers his private country home to the famous |
palaces left him by such famous old English I
monarchs as Henry VIII. or the Inflated Charles
l., who loved Buckingham Palace best Of all the
Stuart royal residences.
The loyal Englishman, too, is proud of the fact
that the man whom he considers the first gentle
man in Europe cares more for his comparatively
modest country estate. loves to look over his
horses and his cattle, to study his wheat crop
and his bird coverts, and is undoubtedly the
most ardent advocate of simple, healthy ex-
istence. lives as close to Dame Natures bosom
as the etiquette that hedges about an emperor
of India and an English king will allow. The
Queen, for her part, can churn as good butter
ard pat it into as shapely mold as any dairy
maid in the three Kingdoms. The Kings daugh-
tiers in several instances have shown decided
preference for country life, without the fuss
and feathers which must be maintained when
the royal family inhabits so-called royal resi-
dence. Sandringham is not one of these, but
the private property of Edward as simple
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makes it pay, a thing that many an untitled
Englishman has failed to accomplish to his cost.
Popular as the King undoubtedly is among all
classes of his Subjects it is as a country gentle
man that he is seen at his best. This is the role
he fulflls when at Sandringham, his country
home, where he can doff his crown and snap the
bonds of royal etiquette. AS such he is a model
landlord, a successful farmer, sanitary re-
former. a generous philanthropist. well-liked
employer and the most practical of all temper
ance reformers. The schools and churches which
he has built for the three villages which COM
prise his estate testify to his real interest in
the permanent welfare of the people. Nowhere
are the poor cared for as they are here, in the
Kings own village.
The Kings country home, known as Sandring
ham House, was purchased for him by his father,
the Prince Consort, some 40 years ago, at the
cost of $l,9O0,OO0. The house stands in park Of
about 600 acres. If to this we add the farms,
kitchen gardens and plantations the estate COM
prises some 1900 acres. 1t has a rent roll
of about $4,000, and, if rumor is correct, the
King has always made a point of spending this
on improving the estate, in which case he must
have spent in this way alone considerably over
million dalars
Sandringham House may be described as a
typical country mansion; it is by no means a
palace indeed, if the truth must be told, a
dozen homes could be mentioned far larger and
more elaborate. Yet Sandringham House has
dignifed and pleasing appearance. tits of mod
ernized Elizabethan architecture, built of red
brick, with Ketton stone dressing. Over the
door at the main entrance one reads the follow
ing inscription: This house was built by Albert
Edward. Prince of Wales, and Alexandra his
wife in the wear of 0ur Lord 1901,
AS matter of fact the estate was purchased
some nine years previous to that date. but the
Old Manor House was in such condition that,
after vainly trying to patch it up and add to it,
it was found desirable to pull it all down and
build an entirely new residence. Thirteen years
ago Sandringham was again in the hands of the
builders after disastrous fire, when the entire
roof Of the main building was damaged and the
whole of the two upper floors we're burned be-
yond the possibility of saving them. But the
King, who was then, of course, the Prince of
Wales, cheerfully set to work to rebuild the
ruined portion of the house, and SandriDgham,
or at least the new part of it, is today completely
fireproof, with iron and concrete floors and roof.
The fire cost the King $7O,OOO and made Sand
bingham an unusually costly residence for that
particular year.
OF the rooms in the house, with their costly
treasures, His Majesty forbids anything like
detailed description. There are three drawing
rooms. two small ones and large one. They
are all connected with the entrance hall by
broad corridor, which is ornamented with pieces
of armor, ancient china, stuffed birds, etc. The
large drawing room is magnificent apartment,
fitted with windows reaching from ceiling to
floor. The walls are paneled with pink and blue
and with holdings of gold and cream.
The apartment best known to the people of
Norfolk county is the ballroom. 1t is of i'm
mense size and of lofty construction. There is
hardly father. a laborer or servant in the en-
ploy of the King who cannot say that he has not
had good time in this apartment. There are
three annual" dances held there-the county"
the tenants and the servants IS balls. Until
few years ago the King and Queen always led
off the dancing on these occasions, but since he
assembled the throne His Majesty has been too
much occupied with affairs of state to always
putin personal appearance, but with character
istic thoughtfulness sees that everything is done
to make the ball success and his working people
made happy.
The spacious dining room, the three libraries,
the Conservatives, the blliard-room, gunroom
and an interesting apartment containing numer-
Gus sporting trophies and cups won by the Kings
cattle competition are all handsome apartments.
quietly but tastefully and artistcally furnished.
After all it is the gardens and farms that are
the chief charm of Sandringham.
To fully appreciate the beauty of the gardens
one should stand on the terrace front, when a
scene of rare beauty enchants the eye. There
are no geometrical beds of gorgeous mosaic, nor
groups of statuary-in fact none of the fashy
devices of so-called ''grand" gardens. The vel
vety turf descends in shallow slopes to the lake,
with its blue surface dotted with tiny islands,
whose trees are mirrowed in the water. Here
the lake narrows until pretty rustic bridge is
able to reach across it, and further on it dimin-
ishes into stream, trucking through purple
heather and fringes of feathery bamboos while
everywhere is the singing of birds and the sooth-
ing cry of the wood pigeon.
Beyond the gardens is the park, which has
peculiarly personal interest. From his mother
the King has inherited a taste for memorial
trees, and the illustrious guests at Sandring-
ham have not often escaped without being
asked to plant one. At the base of each is an
iron label carrying an inscription that describes
the kind of tree and tells who planted it.
Reverting again to the gardens, it is interest
ing to note that pink china roses are said to be
the favorite flower of their Majesties, and no
fewer than 10000 were planted at Sandringham.
these plants proved that from single bank four
feet high no fewer than 10000 roses were taken
in one morning.
His Majestys delight when at Sandringham is
to visit his farm. As soon as his correspondence
is finished he hastens away from his house across
the parks to the kennels and studs, taking visi-
tors with him when he can persuade them to
join him.
His Majesty is a farmer in the true sense of
the word, as distinguished from the owner of
an es tate upon which there are farms. Indeed
the King. whose training has been essentially
that of an English country gentleman. takes the
liveliest personal interest in every detail con-
nected with his land. 1t is a wonderful farm,
for nowhere else is so much high-bred stock to
be seen upon the same area.
The glory of the farms, of course, is their
stock. At Sandringham are to be found a splen-
did herd of pedgreed Shorthorns and South
down sheep of the first quality as tho prizes that
they take at all the leading shows attest. The
Sandringhamshire horses are famous-the finest,
indeed, to be seen anywhere. In December on
the farm there were between 70 and so head of
than hrad from the finest hlood in the world