Being a tour guide at this manor was starting to weigh on Barbara . . .
BY CLAIRE HEATHCOTE
IF you look carefully at Rosemary’s eyes, what do you think?”
The guide pointed to a gold-framed portrait of a lady, dressed in Tudor costume, above the imposing fireplace.
“She looks really sad,” Janet, one of the handful of tour participants, remarked.
“Yes, she does,” the guide agreed, “and she had good reason to be. Poor Rosemary lost all three sons in her lifetime.”
“Well, technically, it was two, wasn’t it?” Steve, Janet’s tour partner, interrupted.
Pointedly ignoring him, Barbara continued.
“Local myth suggests you can walk anywhere in this room and Rosemary’s eyes will follow you.
“While we wait to see if any more will join us, why don’t you have a wander round to see if it’s true?”
The visitors dutifully wandered through the darkened timber hall, maintaining eye contact with the forlorn Rosemary on the wall.
Steve moved around the room with intent, gazing at the picture from various viewpoints.
“Look.” He motioned to Janet. “It is a bit strange. She does look as if she’s following you around the room.”
“Oh, don’t say that.” Janet shuddered. “You’ll give me nightmares. It’s probably a silly story, made up by the guides to make the tour more interesting!”
“So,” Barbara began again. “In this magnificent great hall, you can imagine the newly-weds, Thomas and Rosemary, wining and dining their wealthy guests back in the 1590s.”
She positioned herself at the entrance to the room to begin her guided tour.
“Rosemary Hall is an archetypal example of Tudor architecture,” she explained. “It was built in 1590 by Thomas Palmer, a man of some importance in the East Midlands at that time.
“Although Thomas owned several buildings in the area, he chose to live and farm here.
“The extensive use of close studding and herringbone patterns all around the house shows it was designed to emphasise the wealth and status of the owners.”
The tour group gazed aimlessly around the impressive room.
Steve pointed at the walls and roof from time to time during Barbara’s explanation, to draw Janet’s attention to various features.
“Next we will go upstairs. Follow me, please.”
Briskly, Barbara led the group up a winding staircase.
When they had all congregated on the landing at the top, she continued her commentary.
“Upstairs we have the sleeping quarters.”
She entered a relativel
