We discover the poignant tale of romance between Hugo and Emily Meynell-Ingram at Temple Newsam House.
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00:00 When it comes to love, there's lots to love about Temple Newsome.
00:06 The Tudor Jacobian mansion just east of Leeds City Centre is loved by history lovers.
00:12 The grounds are enjoyed by outdoor lovers, but what about those that have been in love
00:16 here through the centuries?
00:18 There's 500 years of history and that's not taking into account the 500 years beforehand
00:24 when the Knights Templar were here.
00:26 So there's been a lot of people that have lived here at the house, a lot of romantic
00:31 goings on.
00:32 So the one that I wanted to focus on really was one of the later owners of Temple Newsome
00:37 and it is the lady here, this is Emily Menel Ingram.
00:41 And Emily's grandfather on her father's side was actually Earl Grey, the Prime Minister.
00:46 So she came from a very important family in her own right and she was from the Whigs,
00:51 the Liberals.
00:53 Now her husband, Hugo, he was from a slightly different political family but he was the
00:58 last descendant of the gentleman that actually built Temple Newsome in the 1620s, or should
01:03 I say rebuilt in the 1620s, who was called Arthur Ingram.
01:06 And his family were Tories so they were a very politically divided couple.
01:12 Now he was about 18 years older than Emily, born in 1822.
01:19 And they met in 1860 at a party at the Duke of Devonshire in Chiswick.
01:26 While living in Leeds, the couple exchanged a series of heartfelt and passionate love
01:30 letters which still exist today.
01:32 He actually addresses her, "My dearest kitten", bit of a nickname.
01:36 "And I wondered why I was not blessed by a sight of your beautiful paw, but it's now
01:41 accounted for."
01:42 Which to some people might feel that slightly nauseating, I don't know, but clearly it meant
01:47 something to Hugo.
01:49 So they married in 1864 and they had a happy six or seven years.
01:55 And very, very sadly, following a riding accident, Hugo passed away following complications.
02:02 And Emily descended into a period of complete mourning, something akin to what Victoria
02:08 really experienced.
02:09 She never remarried and she passed away in 1904 and then left the house to her nephew,
02:16 who was Edward Wood, Lord Halifax, who was actually the Foreign Secretary during the
02:20 Second World War.
02:21 With Valentine's Day often coinciding with half term, Temple Newsome welcomes families
02:26 to share the love with crafting activities and a visit to the lovable animals on Home
02:31 Farm.
02:32 It is a wonderful place to come any time of the year, but particularly during the holidays.
02:37 So this half term, our theme is share the love or caring and sharing.
02:41 And we're going to be focusing really on how we as staff here at Temple Newsome share and
02:48 care for the collection.
02:50 And as far as Valentine's Day is concerned, then we're going to be having some specialist
02:55 tours where we're perhaps going to be focusing a little bit more on some of these narratives
02:59 and some of these stories connected with Temple Newsome House.
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