Bulburrow Court [ Edited ]

[Maria_H]

In her letter (the one that accompanied your arc), Poppy writes about the house that inspired Ginny's (and Vivien's) Bulburrow Court:

You may be interested to know that the house where THE SISTER is set -- Bulburrow Court -- does exist, or the inspiration for it anyway. I walked into it a few years ago in the deepest English countryside. A Victorian folly, it had almost all the turrets and towers and chimney stacks that I describe in the book (it even had a bell tower), and was a near ruin. It looked as though no one could have lived in it for years. But when I went upstairs and into one of the bedrooms on the south side, there, in the far corner, was a neatly made-up bed, covered with a floral quilt. It was a cosy little corner in an otherwise cast and lifeless house. An elderly lady, who had recently died, had lived in the house all her life and had refused to move out! It was enough to get anybody wondering about her...

Below are photographs of that house: Seaborough Court.

Many thanks to Poppy for these shots and adding another rich layer to the story we are reading!

SEABOROUGH COURT
(credit: Poppy Adams)

INTERIOR OF SEABOROUGH COURT
(credit: Poppy Adams)

INTERIOR OF SEABOROUGH COURT
(credit: Poppy Adams)

GROUNDS OF SEABOROUGH COURT
(credit: Poppy Adams)

GROUNDS OF SEABOROUGH COURT
(credit: Poppy Adams)

EXTERIOR OF SEABOROUGH COURT
(credit: Poppy Adams)

Message Edited by Maria_H on 03-08-2008 09:30 AM

[Peppermill]

Fascinating! Many thanks, Maria and Poppy Adams!

[Tarri]

What incredible pictures, they make me want to go there. 

[Carmenere_lady]

Wow!!!! I love these pics. Gives me a new picture of scenes in my mind.  If that's the belltower it sure seems like a long way down for a little girl to fall. It's hard to believe she could survive that kind of fall even if those spikey things broke her fall.   Thanks Poppy, too cool

[carriele]

Thanks for the wonderful pictures.  It's nice to see how closely my imagination matched the actual dwelling.  I think Bulborrow Court would look sort of spooky at night or when surrounded by the deep fog that Ginny often refers to though. 

Carrie E. 

[DSaff]

Thank you for the pictures. While I had a picture in my mind, these really give the story shape.

[Everyman]

Very cool photos!

I wonder where she got the name Bulburrow from.

(BTW, Maria, it's Bulburrow, not Bulborrow as you had in your post.)

[paula_02912]

Maria, these are great pics and it helps to put some things in perspective...it interesting that there was actually a lone woman living in the house of ruins...one spark of life...was this woman Adam's inspiration for the creation of Ginny's character?

[jclay26]

I love the pictures you have provided. It really helps with visualization when reading the book. What an amazing place!

[Aunt_Beth_64]

WOW! Great photos. Is there any related information about the elderly woman who was living alone in this mansion. (Poppy mentioned her in the letter that accompanied the ARC.)

[Carmenere_lady]

The layout of this house reminds me of the old soap Dark Shadows.  Except for the paint job, the foyer looks exactly like that on the show.  Are there any Shadowphiles out there that may know if this house was a basis for the show or does anyone know if grand English manor homes have similar floor plans?

[Maria_H]

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Everyman wrote: (BTW, Maria, it's Bulburrow, not Bulborrow as you had in your post.)

---

Thanks for the correction -- we're so lucky to have your sharp eyes combing these threads!

[purplepaigetur…]

I love these pictures.  I now want to go there. Giving a face to the house by seeing these pictures increases not only my enjoyment but helps me to understand "the House"

Thanks!

[Bonnie824]

What a fascinating and lovely house. That would have made a great cover IMO.

[nicolemosco]

Thanks for the wonderful pictures.  It's nice to see how closely my imagination matched the actual dwelling.  I think Bulborrow Court would look sort of spooky at night or when surrounded by the deep fog that Ginny often refers to though. 

Carrie E. 

I agree--and being a 19th Century British Gothicist by trade, these images help solidify the Gothic edge I wanted to apply to the story since page one. One of the best things about the book for me thus far is the Gothic ambiance and the Victorian overtones, despite the fact that the novel is set in the present.

[bookhunter]

What I liked about the description of the house on pages 6-9 was that "each generation couldn't resist stamping its mark on it so that the house has become a conspicuous resister of its own history."

The house, especially with all the moth laboratories and displays seems like a museum.

It was sad to me to read that Ginny shut up almost all the rooms and sold all the furniture.  It seems like a waste, even though in her mind it was simplification and decluttering.

We discussed in the last First Look the Riverton house as a character in the novel. 

Do you all think Bulburrow is a character in this story?  Or at least reflects the characters and the story?

Ann, bookhunter

[corym]

What wonderful, fantastic pictures.  From seeing these pictures, I can imagine with the authors description, what the grounds look like and what the "Victorian Home" looks like.

Thank you for the beautiful pictures!

[dumlao_n]

Wow what great pictures. Older homes are fascinating to me with their history and character. I actually pictured the house to look something like the pictures Poppy Adams shared with us.

[mrstreme]

It's nice to have a visual of the manor that inspired Bulborrow Court. How pretty! I already finished the book, and I wish I had these pictures in my "mind's eye" while reading The Sister.

[Carmenere_lady]

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bookhunter wrote:

It was sad to me to read that Ginny shut up almost all the rooms and sold all the furniture.  It seems like a waste, even though in her mind it was simplification and decluttering.

We discussed in the last First Look the Riverton house as a character in the novel. 

Do you all think Bulburrow is a character in this story?  Or at least reflects the characters and the story?

Ann, bookhunter

---

Bookhunter, that's exactly what I was thinking too.  But we just don't know in what kind of dire straits Ginny was up against.  Poverty, would make one do things that you wouldn't otherwise do.

As to the character of the house, I think Bulburrow has much more character than Riverton did.  Don't get me wrong but I was surprised that some of the main characters had left the home for a while and I lost the house/character connection.  This story is just over 4 days and the house as character is much more intense, at least for me.