Posted by Iain on May 23, 2006 at 20:18:21 from 194.66.208.11 user Bulldozerman.
In Reply to: Re: Carriage driven by Who? with What? posted by Adam Quinan on May 23, 2006 at 19:02:18:
Your comment brings back one of the old arguments about the Blacketts. Just how rich or poor were they? They have a large estate so there must have been money somewhere. Stables but no horses? An economy measure?
extensive house decoration while the Walker children are there? Who would benefit from that?
It had been speculated that the Blacketts had some sort of financial
trouble.
You are right that we never hear of horses and carriages again. They seem to have been a great landowning family, one of the old title, no money types.
The landowning has been inferred by several people from the way the locals treat the Blacketts and the implied forelock tugging from local people to Nancy who might be Lady of the Manor in the future. There has been great debate to exactly how large the Beckfoot estate actually was i.e. did they own a large chunk of the immediate area outside the grounds of the house
Horses and Carriages were indeed hired out rather like modern car hire.
I had thought of this but from what we know about the Blacketts, would they be able to afford it?
Don't forget in one of the books, The Walkers ended up at Mrs Blacketts because Mrs Jolly at Bank Ground Farm was (double booked ?). This may have been the Walkers idea as an emergency measure or just because Mrs Jolly and Mrs B were close friends and helped each other out.
The other possibility not supported by any known reference was that Mrs Blackett was taking in paid guests to help make ends meet. The family would not that made public.
It does say that arrangements had been made for the Walkers luggage to be moved from Mrs Jolly's to Beckfoot. I doubt the Walkers would have known anything about it, had it happened that way, and just thought they were in luck to stay with Nancy and Peggy.
It has been commented on that the Blacketts seem to have a very small staff for the size of the Beckfoot grounds.
One Gardener works for them tending the large Garden.
Family members doing servants tasks such as tending to the garden.
Nancy cutting the grass with the lawnmower
Uncle Jim putting up the Trellis outside Nancy's window.
Billy Lewthwaite doubling up duties of Chauffeur and Gardener.
Clear signs of financial trouble.
Rattletrap is in poor mechanical condition, not helped by Mrs B's driving.
One conclusion is that the money was on the Turner side of the family and not the Blacketts. The GA was clearly a Turner and not a Blackett from the disapproving way she treated Mrs B who was clearly seen as marrying beneath her.
"Keep in with the Great Aunt and we may inherit the family fortune"
Why else do the Blacketts put up with her. It is suggested that the GA seems to have her own effective spy network reporting back on Mrs Blackett.
You could well be right about the Carriage and Horse(s) being hired, but with Turner money not Blackett. They may not have had horses and a carriage then but the stables in the grounds shows that they used to have.