Linley Sambourne House was a middle class Victorian home which belonged to Edward Linley Sambourne (1844 -1910 ) It has been preserved almost entirely in tact since then, with each room stuffed with fascinating memorabilia. With our knowledgeable guide we toured each room gaining not only facts about the furnishings, but insight into the life of a Victorian family. Sambourne was a middle class artist who worked from home in the attic and who depended on his wife’s generosity to maintain his life style. He turned his house into a home for aspiring artists with Morris wallpapers, stained glass windows and Benson lightfittings. Sambourne himself was a cartoonist for Punch magazine, a book illustrator and a photographer. Many of us were surprised by his risqué photos of unclad young women at such a repressive time!

After lunch we met again at a very different house. It was the home of the wealthy and very successful classical painter Frederick, Lord Leighton (1830 -1896) It was a large “studio house” with a huge collection of fine and decorative art. Leighton was the very centre of the London art world and many important artists visited his home. There was none of the cosiness of the previous home but the life of Leighton was equally absorbing and he had furnished a magnificent home. The Arab Hall with fountain was the centerpiece of the house which was designed to display Leighton’s collection of over 1,000 Islamic tiles. Both Sambourne and Leighton worked from home, but the rooms of the latter oozed grandeur and his studio was the heart of the house and also the venue for his celebrated musical evenings.

It was an excellent day and having viewed these two contrasting homes I think we were all keen to find out more about our ancestors – the Victorians!!

Ros Anderson, Elizabeth Mitchell & Margaret Raw

Central Newcastle High School (1948-1961)