Anna Seward in Wellsburn, nr. Warwick - between late December, 1785 and early January, 1786
from Letter from Anna Seward to Miss Scott, 29 March 1786, pages 133–134:
I ventured to pass the Christmas month at Wellsburn, in Warwickshire, beneath the hospitable and elegant mansion of my friend, Mr Dewes, […]
Our short day and long evening were divided with a regularity that husbanded the hours. They were, in turn, enlivened by music and poetry, by some agreeable evening card-parties, and by convivial sprightliness. Thus it was that we scarce heard the howling of those sleety storms that made the without scene so total a contrast to that within.
Anna Seward, Letter from Anna Seward to Miss Scott, 29 March 1786. In Archibald Constable (ed.), Letters of Anna Seward: Written Between the Years 1784 and 1807, volume 1 (Edinburgh, 1811), p. 133–134. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1535628972797 accessed: 25 April, 2024
Listeners
Listening to
hide composers| unspecified instrumental music | performed by Mr. Williams, The Dewes brothers |
Experience Information
| Date/Time | between late December, 1785 and early January, 1786 |
| Medium | live |
| Listening Environment | in the company of others, in private, indoors |
Notes
Anna Seward spent three weeks in late December to early January with friends in Wellsburn: Mr. Dewes and his two brothers, and Mr. and Mrs. Granville. She described Mr. Dewes' villa as 'the abode of belles-lettres and the arts'. In a previous letter (see listening experience no. 1535628317399) she described the music-making in more detail, and that information has been drawn on in recording this LE.