Modernizing The Manor: Part 1

In Episode Four, "The Nation's Heritage," Audrey fforbes-Hamilton observes a truck parked outside the manor from her drawing room window. When she picks up her binoculars, she sees workmen carrying out an old Adam fireplace. Although she never liked this fireplace, she objects to Richard Devere removing it from the manor she once owned. So she storms out of the old lodge, stomps across the field, and bursts into his office (while he's in conference) to decry his disdain for England's national heritage.

The neoclassical design of fireplace, associated with three brothers of the Adam family, suggests that this particular fireplace was installed in the manor between 1760 and 1795. In 1980, when this episode was made, the fireplace would have been roughly two centuries old. Or, to put it another way, as viewers in America had recently celebrated their nation's bicentennial, Richard was celebrating this Adam fireplace's bicentennial by carting it off to the local landfill. 

It's all too easy to dismiss Audrey's frequent criticisms of Richard as hypocritical. After all, Audrey often disposed of old pieces of her family's heritage. The thing is, Audrey always knew what she was getting rid of. She might not know the current market price for any particular piece, but she knew its history, and what it had meant to previous generations. To Richard, it was just an old fireplace. To Audrey, such a casual dismissal of the past threatened to strip everything from the manor that truly mattered.

Some people see little or no value in anything that does not address their present needs. Others would preserve their heritage, even at the cost of current effectiveness. History can enrich our lives, but preserving it shouldn't prevent us from achieving our best efforts each day. Where should draw the line between preservation and modernization? How best can we address the needs of today, while honoring the sacrifices, achievements, and traditions of previous generations? What do you stand on this issue? And how have such stands positively or negatively impacted your life?

Dragon Dave