Lord Henway's Manor and Menagerie
Lord Henway is one of the more eccentric nobles of the city – a trait he inherits from a line of eccentric ancestors. His mansion is unique not only in its bizarre mixture of architectures, but also the fact that it houses a menagerie of some 100 varieties of birds and perhaps 20 different types of other, larger animals.
A huge multi-structure estate at the very apex of the Garden Quarter, it is one of the Free City’s most beloved institutions. For a generation, young and old alike have visited the estate to view the living animal collection of Lord Henway, an eccentric old man who made a fortune in mining and retired to put his creatures on display for the benefit of the public. All are welcome to visit his grounds every Freeday. Merchants, nobles, and craftsmen must donate a gold orb to gain access to the galleries, but the poor can enter and enjoy themselves for free, though not many of them make the journey across town to see the menagerie. The colourful noble loves the crowds drawn to his establishment even if his neighbors turn up their noses at his accommodation of the filthy beggars of Old City.
The great, conical building that dominates the estate is home to a variety of tropical birds. The air is moist and warm, heated by a coal brazier and steamer that operates on all except the hottest days. A variety of vines and ferns cover the floor and hang across the walls, even crisscrossing overhead like giant beams. Indeed, the highest part of the ceiling is invisible from the door because of the profusion of greenery. But the birds are the true attraction of this huge structure.
Visitors enter the menagerie through an elaborate brass gate built into the aviary, a cylindrical cage filled with more than one hundred varieties of birds from as far south as Hepmonaland. The testy creatures screech and squawk their annoyance at any intrusion, they flutter about and strut back and forth on the heavy branches high above the entrance. Their feathers cover all the spectrum of known colors. Most visitors later recall their unusual forms and inspiring beauty rather than their curious temperament. It is truly a resplendent display, and the observer always feels moved. Visitors proceed through the aviary and into a catwalk in a modified manor house, protected by a thin chain railing on either side that prevent guests from toppling over and into one of several pits containing Henway’s most prized treasures, his collection of unusual and dangerous beasts. The roof here can be opened, and this is an airy, pleasant yard on a sunny day. At night, by torchlight, with the growls and snarls of hungry carnivores rumbling up from the depths, the experience is quite different.
Henway lives with nearly a dozen relatives and hangers-on in the manor house just up the hill from the menagerie. The structure, nicknamed Grey Manor, contains a bizarre mishmash of interior styles, with rooms built according to themes such as a desert palace, a mountain villa, and a spacious tropical bungalow. Some twenty laborers, animal trainers, and ticket takers keep the place running, and all deeply respect their patron as a genuine and caring advocate. Lord Henway sponsors animal-capture operations throughout the Flanaess, and he can be counted on as an excellent source of rumours about unusual creatures.
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