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<\/p>\nGarsington Manor has a long history, having been built in the Middle Ages. Lady Ottoline Morrell and her husband Philip from 1913 to 1928. The couple restored the home during the 20s, creating Italian-style landscaping across the grounds. The Morrells hosted many of their friends over the years at Garsington, including D. H. Lawrence, Siegfried Sassoon, Lytton Strachey, Aldous Huxley, Mark Gertler, and Bertrand Russell; they had many guests during\u00a0the First World War in particular, when they hosted friends who were conscientious objectors (\u201cGarsington Manor, Oxfordshire, England\u201d).<\/p>\n
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The friends who spent much of their time at Garsington Manor were not strangers to drama: \u201cIt has been described variously as \u2018the house of the Ottoline’s,\u2019 a \u2018cesspool of slime,\u2019 \u2018the setting for a Mozart opera,\u2019 \u2018Shandygaff Hall,\u2019 \u2018a Boccaccio court,\u2019 \u2018a refuge from the storm.\u2019 One thing is<\/p>\n sure: Garsington Manor never lacked either attention or comment during the 14 crowded years it was the home of Lady Ottoline Morrell and her husband, Philip\u201d (Seymour). Lady Ottoline had an affair for years with Bertrand Russell, who lived at Garsington for a period of time \u2013 Philip was actually aware of the affair and begrudgingly accepting of it, along with Russell\u2019s spouse as well. Philip had also apparently father two children out of wedlock over the course of one summer. One Christmas in particular got out of hand, much like their other parties:<\/p>\n An incident from Christmas 1914 provided some literary fodder. Katherine, Murry, Koteliansky, the artist Mark Gertler, Lawrence, and Frieda were all staying at Gilbert Cannan’s windmill cottage in Buckinghamshire, when someone suggested putting on an improvised play. Things got out of hand – the gathering was so inebriated that they were unable to carve the Christmas pig – and the play descended towards a bacchanalia, with Katherine flirting outrageously with Gertler. This incident gave Lawrence the episode in Women in Love<\/em>, where Gudrun goes off with the artist Loerke. (Darroch)<\/p>\n Lawrence was one of multiple authors who wrote about Lady Ottoline, often satirizing her. Lawrence depicted her as Hermione in Women in Love<\/em>, who he said trated her guests \u201c\u2018like prisoners marshalled for exercise\u2019\u201d (qtd. in Seymour). \u201cAnother (Siegfried Sassoon) paid ungallant homage to Ottoline as an eccentric aristocrat \u2013 her height, beaky nose and titian hair would always draw attention \u2013 in a satiric account of his hostess wobbling her way down a ladder to greet him in a pair of billowing pink silk bloomers\u201d (Seymour). Aldous Huxley wrote about Ottoline as well in Chrome Yellow<\/em>. Lady\u00a0Ottoline was far from fond of these depictions. Her friendships with Lawrence and Huxley were ruined after their writing, particularly Huxley, who was living rent-free at Garsington at the time.<\/p>\n However, despite all of the drama and negative attention put on Lady Ottoline, she and Philip did their best to provide a haven for their friends, especially from the war. They provided farm jobs and living quarters for objectors, and showed great hospitality. The farm work helped with the upkeep and cost of the property, but after the armistice Philip and Lady Ottoline had to sell \u2013 the land was getting too expensive. Their legacy with the Bloomsbury group lives on, and is forever a staple of Garsington.<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.dhlawrencesocietyaustralia.com.au\/lost%20girl\/lost%20girl.html<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/books\/2014\/jul\/25\/why-garsington-manor-britains-scandalous-retreat<\/a><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.parksandgardens.org\/places-and-people\/site\/1398\/history<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.geni.com\/projects\/Garsington-Manor-Oxfordshire-England\/25409<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/british-modernism-undergraduate\/files\/2017\/11\/SomeBloomsburymembers-349x210.jpg\")
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