"Our Time of Troubles... commenced with the catastrophic events of the year of 1914... Our civilization has just begun to recover." - Arnold Toynbee

Saturday, November 17, 2012

A Visit to Piety Hill: The Last Homely House



In the twentieth century, Russell Kirk laid the intellectual foundations of an contemporary academic defense of traditional conservatism, before passing into glory in 1994 (watch the excellent clip above from Kirk on the Hebraic and Christian foundations of Western civilization and the purpose of the academy). His generational home, Piety Hill remains a haven for those who are being buffeted by Post-modernism in the academy. It is the Imladris of learning and the Last Homely House with professorial manners to many of us Christian conservatives in the academies of America. Needless to say, I visit often, but yesterday I came for Thesis research. Mrs. Kirk invited me to a wonderful lunch and enlightening discussion with the Wilbur Fellows. Quietness seems to pervade the place, a peaceful timelessness. Here are some pictures of my visit, with some accompanying captions. Happy Thanksgiving!

Redeemed in Jesus,
Wesley

The rolling "Bundee Hills," as Professor Kirk referred to them (sorry, the real rises are hidden in the sun's glare and morning mist).





 On the roadside, an old rickety Victorian farmhouse, in stark contrast to...
 Piety Hill, entrance, Victorian Romanesque Revival



 The Library, Victorian farmhouse style

Library trellis entrance
 Library courtyard
 Library front door (with lamp in the reflection)
 Just inside the library
 To the left



 The Professor's friend and distinguished poet, T. S. Eliot
 The Professor's manual typewriter.
 The old family clock
 The library hearth
 Hearth stone murals (the professor was a Roman Catholic)
 The library lecture hall, with Royal Stuart tartan carpet pattern
 Bust of the Professor among his books The Sword of Imagination and The Conservative Mind


 Long-shot of the library lecture hall
 Back at the home for lunch after a morning's read
 For those of you who doubted my involvement in all of this
 The dinning room
 Originals of some of Sir Walter Scott's letters
 Architecture in the dinning room




 Scottish Romantic wall-hangings
Back at the library, my work setup



 Some good books (see my previous post for summary)
 The library hearth with the gas fireplace "on" (it used to burn wood, in the Professor's days)
 The Professor's workplace
 The Professor reviving the Presidential Citizens Medal from Ronald Reagan in 1989
 Notice the book on John Knox to the left
 An inquisitive gnome on the shelf, like me.
 A bust of Robert E. Lee, I think?
A bust of Abraham Lincoln

4 comments:

  1. Quite a place! (Yes, that is Robert E. Lee.)

    -Peter B.
    DV

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Peter. That's what I kind of thought, but I just couldn't remember only three stars on his coat. Do you remember the significance of that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good observation, I didn't notice that. Robert E. Lee, as well as several other Southern generals such as Joseph E. Johnston, sometimes wore the insignia of a colonel (three stars). The book I'm looking at now says that they did it for no apparent reason. Probably because Confederate uniforms were less standardized than the Northern uniforms.

      -Peter B.
      DV

      Delete
  3. Wow, thank you for the cultural history there, Peter. I never knew that.

    ReplyDelete