Simple Gifts: The Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill, KY

Note: this is a repost from my "purged" materials, originally appearing on another blog in early October 2015, shortly before that year's JASNA AGM. I share it again now having recently revisited Pleasant Hill. I will share my updated impressions next week. Please enjoy.

Aerial view of Pleasant Hill

‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free

Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right, 

‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,

To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed,

To turn, turn will be our delight, 

Till by turning, turning we come ’round right.

                     – Words and Lyrics by Elder Joseph Brackett, 1848

Ooooh I’m suffering from major AGM envy! Several of my fellow Austen Authors are gathered in Louisville, KY right now for the JASNA Annual General Meeting, and it absolutely pains me to not be there, especially as I have a great attachment to Louisville, where my husband went to school and my in-laws live. But my place in the world is now Switzerland, which truly is a “valley of love and delight.” So I may not be able to partake of the festivities: c’est la vie! What I can do is share a little bit of my knowledge and experiences of my absolutely favorite 19th century historical site in Kentucky: the Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill.

We receive little hint in Austen of the evangelical and revivalist movements of the 19th century. Mary Bennet is mocked for her religious austerity, but that is about as close as we come. However, the late 18th and early 19th centuries were a boom time for dissenters, or those who interpreted christianity in a manner differing from the Church of England. Unsurprisingly, many persecuted believers found their way to the United States, where they hoped for more religious freedom.

Amazing stairway designed by Micajah Burnett

One of the new sects was the Shakers, or The United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, a group that splintered from the larger Quaker movement. Led by “Mother” Ann Lee, whom the group believed to be the second manifestation of Christ, a small group of believers left England for the New World in May of 1774. Ironically, they were imprisoned upon arrival for six months due to their refusal to take an oath of allegiance. Nevertheless, this was the beginning of what became a powerful utopian movement, at its height in the mid-19th century having many thousands of adherents living the Shaker lifestyle in a bevy of communities across the northeast and mid-west.

There are a few (like four) Shakers still living in their community at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in Maine, but the groups fierce belief in abstinence prevented it from ever becoming mainstream. Shaker men and women, who were considered completely equal within the community and divided all leadership roles, lived in separated communal houses. All property was shared. Everyone worked in the self-supporting communities, as the act of labor was considered a path to god. I’ve always wondered how much abstinence fueled the amazing creations the Shakers produced (need to channel that energy somewhere), for they were incredibly innovative, inventing such things as the first washing machine. The Village at Pleasant Hill is an architectural marvel. Brother Micajah Burnett, who joined the group with his parents at the age of 17, was a self-taught architect who designed the main buildings in the village, using innovative techniques to create large, open spaces, minimizing obstructive beams and supports. The buildings are in amazing condition all these years later. The acoustics in the Meetinghouse he designed are phenomenal. As Shaker worship involves ecstatic singing and dancing, the entire room must have erupted with their voices, clapping, and stomping. Above the main floor of the Meetinghouse was the housing for the village elders: two women and two men.

Attic of the Meetinghouse designed by Micajah Burnett

When I visited Pleasant HiIl we were taken into the attic of the Meetinghouse to see the impressive beams and supports. It is architecturally astounding, but also very dusty. My allergies becoming unbearable while our tour guide spoke, I excused myself and returned, alone, to the living quarters for the elders. The walls were decorated with photographs of Shakers over the years, and I was diligently studying these when something bumped into me, swinging my purse around so that it collided with my chest. I spun around to see who it was, but there was no one there. Keep in mind that while the living quarters are separated into rooms, it is still a very minimalistic space. There were no walls, pillars, or furnishing anywhere near me. I am not one to have otherworldly experiences – this is the only one I can claim – but the absolute sense of peace that filled me when this encounter occurred was truly one of the most thrilling moments of my life. Whatever or whoever it was, the experience filed me with an unshakable (ha ha) belief that the adherents of this way of life truly did create something heavenly on Earth. To visit the Shaker village is, in someways, to become a believer.

The Shakers were pacifists, like the Quakers, and were the first religious group to receive an exemption form military service during the Civil War. Though they were anti-slavery, they tended to both Union and Confederate forces who found their way to the communities. There were many African-American members, who were considered and treated as true equals in a time when even the staunchest abolitionists tended to believe in white superiority. As the members did not have children (unless the family joined as a unit), foundlings and orphans provided population stability. At age 21, members could choose to stay or remain. Most chose to leave, for no matter how prosperous and harmonious life was in the Shaker Villages, abstinence always has and will be a hard sell.

Simple and open interior of the Meetinghouse

I named this post after one of my favorite songs in the world: the Shaker hymnal Simple Gifts. Perhaps the lasting contribution of the Shakers is their music. The below video was filmed many years ago in the Meetinghosue at Pleasant Hill and recreates a Shaker call to worship and service. It is fascinating, but there is one aspect that is not very authentic (other than the fact that Mother Ann never made it to Kentucky), namely the singing. As Shakers believed that god gave everyone a distinct voice, they did not believe in harmonizing their songs. Everyone sang in whatever key was natural to them. The performers in this video are a chorus, and they use elaborate arrangement and harmonization to make it sound good. A real Shaker meeting would be far more cacophonous, but this is probably more pleasant to listen to. Please enjoy, and if any of you AGMers have the opportunity while in Kentucky to visit the Shaker Village, I highly recommend it! There is even a hotel there now so you can stay in the village, and it is only 80 miles outside of Louisville. 

"...in proportion to their family and income": Jane Austen's Houses in Life and Fiction - presentation by Iris Lutz to JASNA of Eastern Pennsylvania

Steventon Rectory as portrayed by Anna Lefroy

Last Saturday I attended the spring meeting of JASNA of Eastern Pennsylvania with my husband (one of the benefits of pregnancy - he's my constant companion!). It is only the second meeting I have been able to attend since I joined, and, unfortunately, it looks likely to be the last one I will make it to this year. I have regretted not being able to take advantage of more of the lectures and house tours planned, but my schedule has refused to accommodate them. The enjoyment of Saturday's meeting only makes me regret my poor attendance all the more. We gathered at the Joseph Ambler Inn, just a bit North of where I grew up, and enjoyed an excellent meal before the presentation by Iris Lutz, our new JASNA president. Ms. Lutz informed us we were her guinea pigs - the first to view the presentation before she takes it to several JASNA branches across North America - and those who will enjoy her discussion after this fall will have the added benefit of all the new images she intends to bring home from the Jane Austen tour of England she is taking this summer. Nevertheless, I found the whole very informative and thought provoking. The slide show began with a very useful chart, breaking down the houses in Austen's stories into two categories by age: those that were the oldest (Northanger, Norland, Allenham, Southerton, Donwell, Highbury Vicarage, Uppercross, and Winthop) and those that were contemporary (Barton Cottage, Rosings, Mansfield, Hartfield, Kellynch Lodge, and Mr. Parker's house in Sanditon, Trafalger House). Obviously, the list isn't all inclusive (where oh where is Pemberley?), but I just had to jot it down as a handy reference for keeping architectural styles straight in my mind. Ms. Lutz then proceeded to discuss the houses Austen both knew and imagined, beginning with the smallest and working her way to the grandest. I want to provide you with a brief synopsis of her points, as much of the information was not only informative, but it also had the effect of triggering my ever-present wanderlust, which I have absolutely no hope of indulging anytime in the near future.

Ashe House

She began with rectories, sharing the famous image Anna Lefroy drew of the Austen home at Steventon (pictured above). Speaking of Austen's tomboyish childhood games, which always conjures up images, for me at least, from the beginning of Northanger Abbey and Catherine Morland's similar activities, it was a touching tribute to this lost monument to our favorite authoress. Pictures of the still standing medieval church, where Mr. Austen preached for so may years, were reassuring in this context. I was particularly excited by Ms. Lutz's attention to a nearly thousand year old yew tree that grows in front of the church, in which the rectory key was hidden by the Austens, and where Jane certainly enjoyed the shade. In order to give us a concrete vision of a rectory, Ms. Lutz then turned to the nearby Ashe House, where the Lefroy family lived. Regarding this mid-sized, Georgian home, she cited one scholar's (missed the name!) notion that it could have resembled Austen's vision of Longbourn or Hartfield, a notion I have grave doubts about, particularly regarding the latter, but perhaps the style of home can give us a image upon which to base our ideas of these domains. I like to think it is more along the lines of Henry Tilney's home at Woodston.

Chawton Cottage

Ms. Lutz proceeded to discuss to cottages, a part of the presentation I found particularly compelling. She began, logically, with Chawton, which was built in the 1600's and, as it was originally an inn, presents a hodgepodge of architectural styles. Those of us who have never been so fortunate to visit this sacred place can at least take solace in the notion that it is well protected until the time when we can make the pilgrimage. She showed us a variety of images from her visit there, but what I found most interesting were the references to Sense and Sensibility that abounded in this part of Ms. Lutz's presentation. Including a picture of the cottage next door to Chawton as a starting point, which, complete with thatched roof, far more conforms to our modern notions of cottages, she turned to Austen's depiction of Barton Cottage: "As a house, Barton Cottage, though small, was comfortable and compact; but as a cottage it was defective, for the building was regular, the roof was tiled, the window shutters were not painted green, nor were the walls covered with honeysuckles." Making the point that the house used for Barton in the 1995 version of Sense and Sensibility better conforms to this description than the one used in the 2008 production, which is far more picturesque, I could not help but wish she had also included a recitation of the passage in which Robert Ferrars describes his notion of a cottage:

Barton Cottage in the 2008 version of Sense and Sensibility

"Some people imagine that there can be no accommodations, no space in a cottage; but this is all a mistake. I was last month at my friend Elliott's, near Dartford. Lady Elliott wished to give a dance. 'But how can it be done?' said she; 'my dear Ferrars, do tell me how it is to be managed. There is not a room in this cottage that will hold ten couple, and where can the supper be?' I immediately saw that there could be no difficulty in it, so I said, 'My dear Lady Elliott, do not be uneasy. The dining parlour will admit eighteen couple with ease; card-tables may be placed in the drawing-room; the library may be open for tea and other refreshments; and let the supper be set out in the saloon.' Lady Elliott was delighted with the thought. We measured the dining-room, and found it would hold exactly eighteen couple, and the affair was arranged precisely after my plan. So that, in fact, you see, if people do but know how to set about it, every comfort may be as well enjoyed in a cottage as in the most spacious dwelling."

Ibthorpe House

This even far grander notion of a cottage, which the ever practical Elinor dismisses as not deserving "the compliment of rational opposition", might be ridiculous, but it does emphasis how our modern perceptions of such structures are entirely influenced by the picturesque rather than reality.

Ms. Lutz next turned to small manor homes, particularly Ibthorpe House, where Mary and Martha Lloyd grew up. Though not large, it is a handsome Georgian property. This house was also suggested as a model for either Longbourn and Hartfield, and while I still maintain that Hartfield would be on a grander scale, I can envision it as a Longbourn, or possibly even a Delaford.

Chawton House

We then moved on to stately homes, commencing with images of Chawton Manor House, which is an old structure, built in the late 1500's. It is an example of Jacobian architecture, and I found it interesting when Ms. Lutz revealed that it had been covered in white stucco during Austen's life, giving it a very different appearance than as pictured to the left. Austen would, of course, have been intimately familiar with this structure, and I can see it being used as a model for the houses in many of her later novels, particularly Sotherton Court or Dowell Abbey. Ms. Lutz made a great argument for the former residence being modeled off of Stoneleigh Abbey, which Jane visited in 1806, upon leaving Bath, as her mother's cousin, Thomas Leigh, had just inherited it. The timing is certainly provocative, and many of this Elizabethan structure's features conform to the description of Sotherton. Landscaped by Repton, who left a previously standing wilderness (!) untouched, the quantities of gilding and mahogany make a compelling case (we listened to the passage containing the "shining floors, solid mahogany, rich damask, marble, gilding, and carving" description). The crux of the case for this being the home that Austen had in mind when she described Sotherton is the chapel which, though not by any means lacking in grandeur (just Gothic influences), does in many ways fit Austen's depiction:

Stoneleigh Abbey

Having visited many more rooms than could be supposed to be of any other use than to contribute to the window-tax, and find employment for housemaids, "Now," said Mrs. Rushworth, "we are coming to the chapel, which properly we ought to enter from above, and look down upon; but as we are quite among friends, I will take you in this way, if you will excuse me."


They entered. Fanny's imagination had prepared her for something grander than a mere spacious, oblong room, fitted up for the purpose of devotion: with nothing more striking or more solemn than the profusion of mahogany, and the crimson velvet cushions appearing over the ledge of the family gallery above.

The Chapel in Stoneleigh Abbey

This is a point that the guides at Stoneleigh apparently dwell on at length, and while the family pews do contain crimson velvet cushion and are accessible from above (unfortunately you can't see that in the image to the right), the room certainly does not appear oblong, but rectangular, and I question whether the pews being mahogany qualifies as a "profusion". Still, it is an exciting theory, and the building undoubtedly has a huge number of windows. Overall, I found this to be one of the most powerful parts of the presentation. I would love to visit this place, for all of the above mentioned reasons but also, more particularly, to view the phenomenally gorgeous library, which houses the Leigh family history.

Goodnestone Park

Next Ms. Lutz quickly discussed Goodnestone Park, family home of Elizabeth Austen Knight nee Bridges, which far more confirms to my notion of Hartfield, or perhaps even Rosings, as the location in Kent and the presence of a church right beyond the park tempts me to believe (it certainly appeared lavish enough). We then turned to the all important Godmersham Park, Edward Austen Knight's main residence, to which Jane was a frequent visitor. Ms. Lutz proposes this as the model for Pemberley, though I, despite never having been there, always thought of it more like Mansfield Park. It's a Palladian style home built in 1782, and the best argument for it being Pemberley is premised upon the approach, the improvement of which Edward oversaw, which concurs with Austen's depiction:

Godmersham Park

They gradually ascended for half a mile, and then found themselves at the top of a considerable eminence, where the wood ceased, and the eye was instantly caught by Pemberley House, situated on the opposite side of a valley, into which the road, with some abruptness, wound. It was a large, handsome, stone building, standing well on rising ground, and backed by a ridge of high woody hills; -- and in front, a stream of some natural importance was swelled into greater, but without any artificial appearance. Its banks were neither formal, nor falsely adorned. Elizabeth was delighted.

While I agree that the approach could be a viable argument for this being Pemberley, I cannot help but question the theory. I think I just consider Pemberley a fairytale place and cavil at any attempt to tie it to reality. I certainly agree with Ms. Lutz that it is highly unlikely Austen premised the house on Chatsworth, no matter how tempting the grandiose dimensions of that place. She put forth the often argued point that the Duke of Devonshire had an income of 100,000 pounds a year, placing his home well beyond the range of what Mr. Darcy could reasonably afford.

Winchester Cathedral

Ms. Lutz then presented an overview of Bath and where in that town Austen and her characters lived. It was an interesting summary but difficult to represent here. She ended with images of the West College Street residence in Winchester where Austen died and the cathedral where she is buried. I found the entire afternoon perfectly lovely. Often I wander through my neighborhood, imagining this or that house as a model for the homes depicted in Austen's novels, and Ms. Lutz's exploration of this subject added fuel to my musings. Perhaps someday I will do a post displaying pictures of these homes which have so captivated my imagination. Better yet, maybe I will eventually have my own snapshots of the homes Austen knew so well to share! I know I'll manage an Austen tour eventually, and I can only hope it happens sooner rather than later.

Images:
Steventon -http://addictedtojaneausten.blogspot.com/2008/09/steventon-jane-austens-real-true-home.html
Ashe House -http://janeaustentour.com/locations
Chawton -http://www.jasna.org/info/about_austen.html
Barton - http://thesecretunderstandingofthehearts.blogspot.com/2011/02/sense-sensibility-bicentenary.html 
Ibthorpe House -http://www.jasna.org/tours/tour2008.html
Chawton House - http://www.jasna.org/news_events/ivp.html
Stoneleigh Abbey -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Stoneleigh_abbey_27j08.JPG
Chapel at Stoneleigh - http://www.stoneleighabbey.org/westwingandchapel.html
Goodnestone Park - http://www.jasna.org/tours/tour2009.html
Godmersham Park - http://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/edward-austen-knight-a-tightwad-or-a-man-with-heavy-responsibilities/
Winchester Cathedral - http://www.planetware.com/picture/winchester-cathedral-eng-gb075.htm