Snowshill Manor

In which I "meet" the extraordinary Charles Paget Wade, and explore his incredible collections in the Cotswolds.

{Snowshill, England}

Ordinary people can sometimes do extraordinary things when given the opportunity and means.

Charles Paget Wade was seven years old when he was sent to live with his grandmother in Great Yarmouth on the coast of England. The heir to a fortune made in the sugar trade, Charles lived a lonely life with his grandmother at Great Yarmouth, with no children close to his own age to help occupy his time. His grandmother’s house was spare and severe, save for one glorious piece of furniture - a grand Cantonese cabinet filled with hidden nooks and crannies and drawers of all sizes and shapes. Charles was allowed to open this cabinet of wonders once a week, on Sundays, and to handle and inspect the family treasures that filled the drawers - but only if he had been well-behaved during the week.