Millie Mouse Visits the Victorian Parlour

Hi, Millie again! And I want to introduce you to some of the special rooms in the mansion.

I love looking at all the interesting items in Buccleuch. The photo above is me posing in a teacup on the 'What Not' cabinet in the Victorian Parlor. (A 'What Not' is a set of open shelves for displaying small artistic items or objects to ornament a room, like bric-a-brac or knickknacks).

Watch for me when you tour the mansion! I can pop up just about anywhere!

This room may also have been called a 'Drawing Room,' which was a room in the house where visitors were entertained. In size, a small drawing room will be about 16 feet wide by 18-20 feet long. Until the mid-20th century, after a dinner, the ladies of a dinner party withdrew to the drawing room, leaving the gentlemen at the dining table; after an interval of conversation, the gentlemen rejoined the ladies in the drawing room.

In the Victorian Parlor is a furniture suite of two couches, two arm chairs and several side chairs all upholstered in a rose-colored velvet. The set was made by John Henry Belter of New York City around 1850. The entire suite of furniture was donated by the Dey family, who requested that the Jersey Blue Chapter DAR keep the house open as a historic museum to educate school children in the area and the public who visit Buccleuch Park.

Colonel Joseph Warren Scott’s painting (c. 1859) hangs over the mantle in the Victorian Parlour; he is the owner who renamed the property and building from White House Farm to Buccleuch (pronounced ‘BUCK-LEW’) in honor of his Scottish heritage. The home and its parkland are owned and maintained by the city of New Brunswick for use as a public park and to honor Colonel Scott.

Signing off for now – watch my blog for my next adventure!

"Written" by Millie Mouse

Millie's family lived in the mansion from the very beginning of the building. Learn about the story of her life in Colonial America through her observations and adventures as she shares the history of the New Brunswick area with young visitors.