The Young Georgians
visit
Hatchlands and the Cobbe Collection

 Robert Adam's Hatchlands from the park



Alec Cobbe very kindly welcomed the Young Georgians on saturday to his home, Hatchlands Park in Surrey. Hatchlands is not only a fine Georgian house with a magnificent array of art and furniture,  but it is home to the World's largest collection of historic keyboard instruments. These include those once owned or played by Purcell, Bach, Mozart, Marie Antoinette, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Mahler and Elgar...the latter has writing inside in pencil by the composer denoting which pieces were actually composed on this instrument.

Alec Cobbe plays an early keyboard instrument with an exquisite case below murals, which he painted, in the Dining Room

The usual array of cars arrived at Hatchlands in the usual Young Georgian way...slightly in dribs and drabs! On arrival we had coffee in the Dining Room and Alec gave us an introduction to the house and its amazing collections, almost all of which were collected by him in his lifetime. Hatchlands is very much a living house, and the Etruscan style murals in the panels around the Dining Room, by Alec, confirmed this.

We were treated to music played on instruments ranging from the 1620's to the big Edwardian Walker organ in the music room, which I attempted to play. We also heard a Schnetzler chamber organ, which was utterly magical in its original tone.

Afterwards it was to the pub in East Clandon for a very good lunch after what had already been a true feast for the senses.

                          Assorted Young Georgians, including self

For information on Hatchlands visit: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hatchlands-park/

All images in this blog are under the copyright ownership of Oliver Gerrish