Past times, gentlemen please... memories of another England

A new book celebrates the strange and unusual world of the English gentleman. Chris Bond takes a look.

OSCAR Wilde once described an English country gentleman galloping after a fox as “the unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable”.

Many would agree with such sentiments, although there are plenty of others who believe society today could learn a thing or two from a gentleman’s style and manners. But while most of us have an image of the archetype gentleman, probably complete with tweed jacket, a large country estate and a double-barrelled surname name, is it really an accurate one?

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A new book, Gentlemen’s Pursuits: A Country Miscellany for the Discerning, delves into the century-old archive of Country Life magazine to reveal some interesting facts and oddities about a true gentleman. It’s based on feature articles, editor’s recommendations as well as letters sent in by readers, some of which date back to the 19th century, and offers insights into everything from table manners in times of austerity and handy hints on how to wear top hats, to unorthodox sporting pursuits such as fishing with dynamite and killing partridges with a tennis racket.

Mark Hedges, editor of Country Life, says the magazine has helped capture the unique tastes and interests of the English gentleman. “Since its first publication in 1897 during the reign of Queen Victoria, Country Life has recorded the full and bewildering variety of activities, enthusiasms and sports at which a British gentleman might proudly excel, from shooting to after-dinner speaking and beekeeping to ferreting.”

Rupert Uloth, the magazine’s deputy editor, says their archive offers a glimpse into a different world. “There was one letter sent in by someone explaining, in quite some detail, the art of cooking a cow’s head. Another person wrote a letter extolling the virtues of a tent he had used in Tibet and recommended it to anyone going big game hunting in Africa,” he says.

“It reflects some of the extraordinary characters who were around, particularly prior to the Second World War. They had more time to pursue their interests than people do today but they covered all kinds of subjects.”

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The book also reveals a few surprises. Tattoos seem about as far removed from the image of a gentleman as it’s possible to imagine, but in 1900 the magazine published an article called Sporting Pictures on the Human Skin, about a master tattooist whose clients included the Duke of York and royalty in Russia, Germany and Spain. “Most people wouldn’t associate gentlemen with tattoos but they were actually quite popular at one time, especially among naval officers,” says Uloth.

Well known figures such as Rudyard Kipling and Robert Baden-Powell are often cited as good examples of gentlemen, but Uloth says their modern day equivalents do exist. “It used to be about who you were but today it’s more about how a person behaves, like being courteous, having good manners and a self-deprecating sense of humour, it’s no longer about someone’s station in society.”

So who would he class as a latter day gentlemen? “I think the Duke of Edinburgh springs to mind for his stiff upper lip. I would say that Boris Johnson, although he doesn’t always behave very well, is always very charming when he apologises. Some people might be surprised by this, but I also think David Beckham is a gentleman because he’s polite and has good manners.”

He says the idea of a gentleman is quintessentially British. “It’s linked to the confidence that came with the British Empire, people didn’t care what others thought of them and they did what took their fancy. He believes, too, that this spirit lives on today. “The well of creative talent we see today is an inheritance from the Englishmen and women who became experts in all kind of esoteric subjects and it’s something we should celebrate and encourage. We don’t want a nation of automatons, we want people who aren’t afraid of new things and aren’t worried about being different.”

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Perhaps it’s best summed up by a member of the Athenaeum, a gentlemen’s club in London, who once put up a notice after his umbrella was taken from the cloakroom. It read: “Will the nobleman who has taken my umbrella please return it.” A friend asked him how he knew it was a nobleman, to which he replied: “The rules state that this club is for gentlemen and noblemen, and no gentleman would take my umbrella.”

Gentlemen’s Pursuits, published by Simon and Schuster, is priced £12.99

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