A Visit to the Incredible Hillstead House and Gardens and Lunch by a Riverside Café

Friday, August 11, 2023

Farmington, Connecticut

A Visit to the Incredible Hillstead House and Gardens and Lunch by a Riverside Café.

It was a glorious day and Leslie, my hostess, happened to have the day off. She was keen to spend the day outdoors with me and recommended we go to Yale to stroll around its beautiful Gothic campus. I was game…but then I had a think! Two days ago, she had happened to mention this estate in Farmington, Connecticut, which had a most impressive art collection. She had taken another guest there, a while ago, and thought it might be a place I would like to see. Now I know that not being as mobile now as I was when I lived in Connecticut, I’d have to wait a long while before I could see the place. So, I requested her very gently to drive me there (instead of Yale campus which I have been to dozens of times). She very readily agreed but recommended that we leave as soon as possible to avoid hitting traffic on the way back. The venue was a good 75 minutes’ drive each way and Friday afternoons are notorious for heavy traffic.

About half an hour later, we were both out the door. Leslie had obtained driving directions, I switched the GPS on my phone and we were off with her behind the wheel. Needless to say, we always chat nineteen to the dozen when we are together and the miles simply slipped by. The drive itself was quite lovely especially after Waterbury when we headed into the Prospect hills, very close to my friend Delyse’s place. We were trying hard to make the 11.00 am guided tour (they give tours on the hour), and Leslie had her eye on the clock as we ate up the miles. Fortunately, we had no traffic (generally speaking) though there was much movement when we connected with the 84 heading east.

Touring Hillstead House:

Once we arrived at the parking lot, we raced off to the entrance to buy our tickets. My Metropolitan Museum ID card got me in for free but the regular adult rate is $18. I bought Leslie’s ticket as she had done the driving and refused to let me fill the gas tank. I was really happy to treat her to this tour as she was the one who had told me about it.

After we purchased tickets, used restrooms, stashed away large bags in the lockers, etc. the tour began. We had a very nice man who introduced himself and told us repeatedly that photography was strictly prohibited inside the house. One could take all the pictures in the world outside. I wondered why and felt a bit frustrated…but then I realized that museums/historic houses like these are probably terrified of theft. Just imagine…if there was a heist at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston (from which stolen pieces have never been recovered) how easily the treasures of this place could be ransacked!

The guide gave us an introduction in the porch. He explained that the estate (all 700 acres of it) belonged to Alfred and Ada Pope who lived in the late-19th century. Alfred was an industrialist who made his money during the Industrial Revolution in the iron industry—at a time when Iron was a commodity that was much in demand. It was their only child, however, a daughter named Theodate (a most unusual name—she was named for her grandmother) who showed talent early and was encouraged by her father to pursue her interests. She designed this gorgeous home for them (although she was never schooled in Architecture). She had graduated from Miss Potter’s Finishing School (as was the norm for aristocratic young ladies in those days) but had no formal education after that. She sketched the house, decided upon its dimensions (it has 30,000 square feet) and hired the firm of McVee, Mead and White (the White being the famous Stanford White) to look over her drawings, create the blueprint and build the house. They set to work and in 1901, the house was completed.

It was used by the family of three and by Theodate after she married John Riddle but as they did not have any children, it was never used by a second generation. As there were no heirs, the house was bequeathed to the state of Connecticut, lock, stock and barrel and was turned into a museum in the 1940s. Theodate was a force to reckon with and, as if all her accomplishments were inadequate, she was a survivor of the Lusitania, the ship that sank within half of hour of its being torpedoed. Indeed, On May 7, 1915, the German submarine (U-boat) U-20 torpedoed and sank the Lusitania, a swift-moving British cruise liner traveling from New York to Liverpool, England. Of the 1,959 men, women, and children on board, 1,195 perished, including 123 Americans. Her husband John nicknamed her “Dearest of Geniuses”!

On a side note, we discovered that Theodate had a family connection with my friend, Leslie. In 1915, Leslie’s paternal grand-father, Wesley Frost, was the American Consul-General in Ireland which was the country nearest to the spot where the ship went down. Hence, he was pressed into service as he catered to the needs of the survivors and those who perished. His name is mentioned frequently in books on the Lusitania and Leslie thinks her grand-father might have met Theodate (because, as a survivor, she would have had direct personal contact with him). Such a fascinating element of interest in this story!

Back to the house: There is much to recommend this gigantic receptacle of art, antiques, Victoriana. There is history, aesthetics, interior design and decoration. The tour moved from room to room where we had a glimpse of the lifestyle, culture and monetary wealth of the Popes who were a prominent Connecticut family and entertained frequently. The home is filled with original furniture in living rooms, dining room, a number of bedrooms (many of which served as guest bedrooms), bathrooms (with original fitments), not one but two libraries, (with)drawing room, a kitchen (which was demolished to make way for a boardroom) and a true gem of a pantry. As befitted the Victorian interior, lighting was soft (this was the age of gas lamps and until electricity made an appearance, all rooms were very dimly lit indeed). There are really beautiful lamps all over the house—from stunning chandeliers with glorious glass-edged shades to wall-sconces. The furniture is uniformly dark in color and draped abundantly with luxury fabrics (not sure how much of the drapery is original to the house). The wallpaper in all rooms is original as are all the accessories and objects d’art. These included crystal, china, silver, paintings, sculpture, porcelain, art glass and glassware, etchings, prints, engravings, clocks, ceramics such as lustreware, Japanese wood cuts (very trendy in that era and beloved of artists such as Monet whose home in Giverny, France, is simply covered with them) and sandwich-glass curtain accessories.

It is the art collection, however, that is considered the home’s greatest treasure. In an age in which the Impressionists were the contemporary artists, Alfred adored their work and personally selected the pieces he purchased and displayed throughout the house. There are Monet’s famous Haystacks and a couple of landscapes, Renoir’s portraits of women (including a striking one of a girl with a cat), ballet and fox-hunting scenes in pastels by Degas, a number of portraits by Whistler, and several domestic paintings featuring mother and child portraits by the best-known of the American Impressionists, Mary Cassat. While most of the original paintings are in situ, some of them are merely pictures mounted on cardboard to represent the original holdings that were subsequently sold. Theodate was a huge patron of a school not far away and she diverted funds from the house’s art collection to her philanthropic ventures.

Our group of about eight people (four couples) was highly studied and sked many relevant and interesting questions. The guide was fully competent to answer all of them and did a really good job in keeping us riveted. We could well have spent double the time on the tour as there was simply so much to see. Everywhere the eye descended, there was something of urgent visual interest. The guide was patient but told us the tour was supposed to be just one hour long. If we wished to stay with him, however, he could extend it, he said. In the end, he was with us for an hour and a half and that too was not enough for us to observe, notice and admire it all.

One interesting aspect of the tour was a little table lamp on one of the secretaries (writing desks) on which I noticed an image super-imposed on the shade by the use of a technique that is hard to describe or explain. On a four-sided shade, there were four images imprinted and I was charmed and astonished to discover that one of them was by the British Victorian artist, John Everet Millais, and was entitled ‘Her First Sermon’. It featured a little girl, about nine years old, clad very smartly in a red coat with a fur muff and a black pill-box hat with a feather sticking out of it. She is seated on a church pew and most attentively listens to the sermon being delivered from the pulpit. The funny part is that just last week, I came across this exact same (original) painting in the Guildhall Art Gallery in London. It is by John Everet Millais and has a follow-up painting that features the same girl, dressed in the exact same outfit, sitting on the same church pew but, this time…get this, she is fast asleep. This painting is entitled ‘Her Second Sermon’! I thought the humor in the two paintings was simply the cutest and I had taken pictures on my phone of both—only to find a reproduction of one of them, two weeks later. How much of a coincidence is this?

Leslie specially requested that we be taken to the butler’s pantry and indeed it is the kind of space that a Carson (from Downton Abbey) would have inhabited. The walls were covered with the most beautiful teak cabinetry with glass fronted doors. They were crammed with contemporary glass, china, crystal, ceramic serving pieces, etc. as befitted a grand home that saw many worthies visit it. There was a stone sink, of course, too.

Overall, it was a truly grand visit and I loved every second inside the house as this is exactly the sort of place I liked to spend my free hours exploring. However, we were not done and there were the gardens to stroll through and peruse and we lost no time enjoying them too.

Exploring the Gardens:

Theodate had a very definitive idea of how she wanted the surrounding property to look. She hired the services of one of the best-known landscape gardeners of the era, Barbara Farrant, who designed two gardens: a formal Sunken Garden (you go down four-five steps to access it) and a Pollinator Garden.

The Sunken Garden is designed in the Italianate style with geometric flower beds that were, sadly, past their prime. There were still pink and white phlox that looked lovely but much of the white nicotiana had died and needed to be deadheaded. Roses were also long gone but there were a lot of pink, white and blue perennials that were still very pretty. In the middle of this garden was a lovely trellised gazebo in the Sound of Music tradition that gave it style and formality.

We next moved to the Pollinator Garden which was much less formal. Here, the profusion of late-summer flowers could be enjoyed in their wildness: I recognized purple, pink and white coneflowers, bee balm, buddleia (or butterfly bush), loads of red, yellow and white daisies, Chinese crackers, purple lollies, Joe Pye Weed, Lamb’s ear, Autumn Joy Sedum, Golden Rod. It was quite delightful for me to see these flowers (the kind I never see in tropical India where the flowers are completely different). I could not stop taking pictures especially as the flower beds were positioned so picturesquely against the backdrop of typically white-sided New England cottages and flag-stoned walking paths. It was all just beautiful, and I have to say I missed those days when I was an active gardener and had created a beautiful space out of the wildness of our naturalized backyard in Southport.

We walked all around the property admiring the trees as well as the acreage of pristine and very serene Connecticut countryside that completely enveloped the property. Both Leslie and I could not help thinking what a beautiful painting the vista surrounding the house would make.

By this time, Leslie was hungry and ready for lunch. We browsed around the gift store, bought some postcards and then asked the shop assistant to suggest a place where we could eat. She said that there are many spots, but she always recommends the Wood ‘N Tap which, she said, was by the river. We thanked her and left.

Lunch at the Wood N Tap:

The drive to the Wood N Tap restaurant was much longer than I had expected—it took us about 15 minutes to get there. But it took us past the High Street and Main Street and gave us an idea of how ritzy Farmington is—it is a suburb of West Hartford. We passed by many grand estates including a couple of others that are open to the public. It would be good to explore those on future trips.

When we did get to the restaurant, we were charmed by its location—right on the river. It was packed to the gills (it was a Friday afternoon, after all) but it was lovey to sit under blue skies, on a perfect day, to enjoy the serenity of our surroundings as the river flowed softly by. Leslie ordered a Thai Salad with Grilled Shrimp, I ordered a Pesto Alfredo with Asparagus and Shrimp. We both chose to sip iced water on what was a thirst-inducing day. Our food arrived and was just delicious—both of us enjoyed our meal and, as we had decided to share both entrees, the restaurant itself was happy to do the splitting of the dishes for us. All around us, we could tell that people were on vacation, enjoying the glory of a beautiful day in summer. Indeed, we had a really memorable meal and I even took back a doggie bag so that I could enjoy my lunch again tomorrow.

Drive Back Home:

We had a very pleasant drive back home to Westport. Leslie had been nervous about encountering traffic, but we did not hit any and within 75 minutes, we were back home. However, both of us were a bit tried when we got back and had just enough time to take a nice nap before I had to leave for my evening’s appointment.

Dinner with the Mhatre’s:

Swapna and Rasik Mhatre have grown into close friends of ours in a very short time. They are new immigrants into Fairfield from Bombay and had bought quite a bit of our furniture at our estate sale when we were leaving Southport, nine months ago. Since then, we have stayed good friends and have seen Rasik (who comes to Bombay on business) quite often.

They were very keen on having me over to their place for dinner and we fixed up for this Friday evening. Rasik very kindly drove to Leslie’s place to pick my up. En route, I requested him to make a quick stop at Goodwill where I had seen a brand-new Baggalini bag that I thought about buying. Luckily, it was still there when I returned to buy it, two days later. In Bombay, it is impossible to have a leather bag in the monsoon as it gets mildewed very easily with the warmth and the humidity. I was keen to have a good non-leather bag that I could use at this time of year with little fear of it deteriorating. Hence, I was happy to spot this one and I grabbed it.

Rasik then took the highway to this place and I had a lovely reunion with Swapna and their teenaged son, Parth. It was a little after 7 pm when I arrived and in about half an hour, we were talking drinks and nibbles. There was delicious shards of Parmesan cheese and raw nuts and a gin and tonic found its way into my hands—lovely! Swapna had a Jameson whiskey cocktail and Rasik had his favorite—a single malt. All the time we chatted about the success they have encountered in their one-year in the US.

For dinner, Swapna actually cooked a dish right as we chatted. She made a Prawn Buzne (the Maharashtrian name for what we would call a Chilli Fry). Earlier, she had made a Prawn Curry, a Chicken Pullao and she heated rice rotis on the griddle and served them fresh off the heat. Everything was ultra-delicious. It was good home-cooked fare and I enjoyed it very much. Yes, I had an overdose of shrimp today—but I am not complaining. For dessert, there was mango ice-cream and Falooda ice-cream from Vadilal’s which I thought was really great.

All too soon, the evening came to an end and Rasik and Swapna both came along to drop me off to Leslie’s place. It was 10.45pm when I used my key to enter at almost exactly the same time that Leslie was planning to turn in. We chatted for just a little while (as I told her all about my evening) before we both decided to call it a night.

Until tomorrow…cheerio!