This season I went to visit a little known architectural treasure of Alabama, Belle Mont. Yearly they celebrate with a "Plantation Christmas" by decking the halls with period greenery and costumed music and dancing.
Tucked away in the Shoals, it's not far off the main road, yet surrounded by wilderness. Docents informed me that the land that went along with the mansion was 30 acres, mostly unused. I immediately wanted to plant it with a formal gardens...
Little is known about the history of the house itself. The unknown architects who built the Palladian-style mansion may have been connected with the building of the many buildings guided by Thomas Jefferson. Speculations and comparisons can be made, but no definitive information has been discovered. I fell in love with the wallpaper in the foyer. Peeling and damaged beyond repair, it still manages to be a beautiful remnant of the Victorian era.
It overlooked an empty field in the front and I found myself dreaming of the formal gardens again...
Despite having had a family living in it all the way until modern day, the only plumbing is in an out-building, which holds the bathrooms. The photo to the right is looking back towards the house from them. A broken cistern is just the right.
Great care was taken that the decorations were authentic to a 1800s Christmas. Greenery was woven into garlands going around the balconies and the staircase, while an occasional orange and pomegranate among the leaves on the tables added color. These were period delicacies often eaten during Christmases past. Here and there a cotton pod reminded us that we were in the South.
According to the docents, the marble in the fireplaces has been replaced, using the old ruins as a guide to the pattern. The monies from A Plantation Christmas will be going towards the cost of those.
The rooms were lit mostly with natural light from the windows, giving an authentic feel, but an artistic hurdled for me -- I hate to shoot with a flash.
Musicians and dancers performed the entire day, while visitors crammed into the rooms. So many people that day! I hope they raised lots of funds.
At one point carolers took to the stairs and sang to the crowd below.
The
drawing room became a ballroom with dancers performing a miniature
version of the movements they'd learned from performing in The
Nutcracker.
It may sound like a strange choice, but the choreography from the ballet date back to when Belle Mont was new.
The ladies and gentlemen of the ballroom, along with the docents were dressed in their holiday finest.
This is one of the bedrooms, restored with period color paint. Chartreuse was a very popular color back then.
Paint was ordered from England in those days. That, combined with the many closets in the house, was a flaunting of the family's wealth.
(If you're wondering why closets are only for the wealthy, remember closets were taxed as a room back then.)
I learned something new there! This type of bed is called a rolling pin bed, because of the piece on the back that is used to literally roll the bed like a cookie. This straightens up feather beds and would be done by the servants every morning as part of making the bed.
Several antique quilts are on display. When they say 'don't touch' you should probably listen. They are hand-dyed with arsenic.
The house has a wonderful atmosphere - even stuffed with people - and I encourage you to take a tour. Be sure to visit for next year's Plantation Christmas, the first Sunday in December.
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