Things are a bit wonky with the internet this evening, but I'm going to make the best out presenting our exciting adventures today.
We awoke to yet another brilliant morning, and enjoyed a lovely breakfast in the dining area downstairs, chatting with the fellow guests who are all very welcoming. Then, we headed to a National Trust Site called Lanhydrock.
I've been surprised to see the parking lots so full as I had originally attributed the crowds to the free National Trust Entry special, but that ended on Sunday, and there hasn't been much of a lull in the visitor count that I can see. I guess a lot of people must be on holiday!
The walk down to the house was quite long, and one must pass through this entrance gate before going into the house.
Can you see Marty standing under the arch? That gives you an idea of the size of the structure.
This amazing dwelling was built in 1630 for the Robartes family. They had been merchants who became so successful that they were able to accumulate enough wealth to purchase this estate and build a house on it.
Once through the gate , we were directed to the back so that we could begin the tour in the kitchen. I found this first item to be quite interesting. It's a rotating knife sharpener that was built in 1889. First time I've ever seen anything like that!
The rooms were cleverly displayed with placards to explain the various functions of a particular room.
I enjoyed the way that the information was presented. This plate gives a description of how clotted cream was made.
The kitchen had several rooms stemming from it. The above being a dairy, and below is part of the pantry.
This was a huge mortar and pestle.
And there was a separate room for baking ovens.
All very interestingly presented.
The house interior focuses on the most recent family, who moved into the residence in 1885. Thomas Charles Robertes and his wife Mary were the occupants who eventually had nine children in residence with them. The house was built in Victorian style, which allocated part of the house to the children, including a nursery and a schoolroom, which was quite unusual at the time.
We walked up a set of steps that led to this very long hallway.
On the landing stood this beautiful clock, still functioning.
It was obvious that the Robertes children grew up with much entertainment in their lives. Here you see a giant puppet show.
complete with costumes for their presenting play.
There were endearing items in every room.
Every room featured a book case filled with books. The inscription on the glass panel gives an insight into the life of one of the daughters.
The shades told the story of one son, who seemed to be in constant trouble.
The wing included this room that held items that, once again, told a story.
There was a rug with steps to teach one how to dance. Marty gave it a try.
Tommy not only had his own bedroom
but he had a dressing room adjacent to it.
There was a billiards room down the stairs and it was set up with music piped in, sounding like a record playing in the background, reflecting the sounds of the time in the 1910's.
I found this daily record detailing who was driven where to be quite interesting. I'd never given much thought as to whether a log was kept for such things.
We continued down a different hall, spying the front gate through a window.
Then we came to the wing that is presently under construction. A long gallery is located in this wing, and the trust has been working on cleaning its unique plaster ceiling. As a result, they have moved items out of the long hall to keep them from harm's way. It's quite obvious that people in charge have quite the sense of humor.
There were 3,348 books removed from the long gallery to keep them safe from the cleaning.
When we finally made it to the gallery, we were able to walk up on scaffolding to get a close up look to the plaster ceiling. The ceiling dates from the reign of Charles I.
The work is attributed to the Abbott family from Frithelstock in Devon and supposedly depicts various Bible scenes among the work. It certainly was fascinating. And so interesting to see so many items moved to other rooms for safekeeping. It reminded me of how we move everything out of one room in order to paint it. Well, imagine all of those items in that extremely long gallery needing a place to go! And the delicate nature of some required special care in moving. Quite a production that the National Trust has undertaken, that's for sure.
Heading outside, we walked around a bit to enjoy some of the gardens.
There is a church on the grounds that stands quite close to the house. It continues to be an active parish.
As you can see, flowers were still in brilliant blooms.
Walking out, I spotted this door near the entrance to the stable area. Small door for people. Large door for horses.
One thing of note about Lanhydrock was that during WWII, the grown children from the family agreed to take in ten evacuees. But when Violet got to the station, she ended up bringing home seventeen. She said that she simply couldn't bear to leave the other seven at the station.
The evacuees were cared for as if they were family, being taught lessons, and encouraged to read, while also allowing time for playing on the huge estate, in addition to daily chores. It's commendable that this family would embrace these children and offer them a safe and loving environment during a difficult time.
The house was gifted to the National Trust in 1953, but some of the family remained living in the house until they passed. The house is now completely under the control of the National Trust.
I found the history and the house itself to be quite fascinating, don't you agree?
But the excitement wasn't over!
We had stopped to pick up tickets to ride a steam train from Bodmin to two little villages on either side. So, we headed to the train station to begin the journey.
Our tickets gave us assigned seating in Car A which was at the front of the train.
To be quite honest, I had expected to see more scenery along the ride. There was a brief moment when I spotted sheep running in the fields, and a couple of vistas appeared along the way. But, the majority of the ride featured hedgerows on either side.
But that didn't dampen Marty's enthusiasm. He spent a lot of time filming.
And he was thrilled that the brakeman and the engineer let him have some hands on fun during the experience. Looks like he has some Cornish railroad friends now!
And that brings this day to an end!
Until tomorrow....
No comments:
Post a Comment