A Peek at Pemberly

After yet another lovely breakfast at Callender House, we bid our hosts farewell and headed west towards Disley in Cheshire.   Here is where the largest house in Cheshire stands, known as "Lyme".  The name is taken from the Leghs of Lyme who were granted the estate in 1388.

The house itself dates from the late 16th century and has been maintained under the care of the National Trust since 1946.  If you are a Jane Austen fan, then this view might just be a bit familiar, as it is the house featured as Pemberly in the Masterpiece Theatre version of Pride and Prejudice.  

 

As you can see, the setting is beautiful, despite the dreary weather.  The interior is magnificent as well.

In touring the house, one first enters the drawing room.

There is so much to admire, that it can be a bit overwhelming, and one really can't take it all in within short time.  One of the highlights of this room was learning that it was the location of the annual servant's ball under the direction of Lady Newton.

You might note the tapestries on the wall. They are "Mortlake" tapestries and were made in the year 1625.

Tucked in the corner of the next room, is an extremely rare treasure and considered to be one of its kind. Under glass sits the first copy of the Sarum Missal, printed in 1487. 

It had remained among the Legh family possessions  until it was purchased by the National Trust in 2008.

Moving along the hall, one enters the dining room, filled with warm wood carvings and paintings that reflect family who lived in the household over the years. 

In the corner are two paintings:  One of Richard Legh, which was painted in 1776. 

The other of Martha Bene who married Peter Legh XIII in 1737.  It was said that her marriage was an unhappy one and that the painting reflects her melancholy.  She is supposedly the resident ghost.

If one looks out the window from this dining room, one can see a tower in the distance, up on the hill.  Note that there is a tree with a triangular section cut out.  This particular view was linked to the hunting forecast for the day.  If the Lord could not see the tower, then visibility was poor, so hunting was called off for that day.  The tree needed to be trimmed so that the tower could be visible, of course. 

Here are just a few photos of items in the house that I found to be fascinating.

I was in awe at the age of this photo, which was painted sometime around 1584!  The woman is the first wife of Sir Peter Legh of Lyme.  Can you even imagine walking around in clothing of that fashion?

One thing that I did note in this house, was that the steps were shallow and extremely wide on the staircases.  I imagine that the structure made it much easy to maneuver while wearing that dress. 

There are intricate carvings adorning the walls in the New Parlor.  These were carved from lime wood in 1684.

This was the Black Knight's bedroom, when he would stay in residence.  It is believed that Mary, Queen of Scots, might have stayed in this room, briefly, while under captivity. 

Outside, we enjoyed meeting some highland cows

and walked around the lake to enjoy the views.

One can just imagine Mr. Darcy popping up out of the water!  Although he would certainly have been quite chilly!

As you can see, the tulips were still holding up well in the gardens.

and although the roses were not yet in bloom, the Rose Garden was certainly beautiful.

There is an Italian Garden that is simply stunning and we managed to capture a view from the terrace outside the house. 

We decided to hike up the long stretch of hill to the "Cage", which was a tower that was used for hunting parties.  

As you can see, the wind was whipping up,

 but thank goodness the rain had stopped, at least for a little while.

It was time to head to Conwy, which is on the west coast of Northern Wales, where we are based for a few nights.

Driving in was quite impressive, as you can see.

We checked into our B&B, then hiked into town for dinner.  We passed through the town walls

and headed to the Erskine Arms, where I had made reservations.

Afterwards, we walked around the town a bit, as the rain had stopped and the sun even made an appearance!

Charming, for sure.  I have absolutely no history on that huge castle, but something tells me that I'll be learning a few things while I'm here.

I'll be sure to keep you posted! 

A Glorious Day Exploring Yorkshire

 This morning been drizzly, but breakfast was certainly not a disappointment.  Here you can see the yogurt parfait that I enjoyed first thing!

It was perfection!

After we had our fill, we hopped in the car and headed towards York, to a country home known as Nostell House.  Much to our delight, the sun popped out and the temperatures rose out of the 50's, actually into the low 70's!  Now, that was a surprise!

It was quite obvious to us that many locals were taking advantage of the Coronation bank holiday weekend, as the property car lot was nearly full when we arrived at 11:00 AM!  Luckily, the grounds are quite vast, so there was plenty of room for people to explore.  

And here is the back view of the house.

To the side, stands what would have been the stables. 

Nostell was built between 1727 and 1785, by two generations of the Winn family who had achieved wealth through London textile trade.  They were considered to be members of the gentry class, having been knighted, and they wanted to improve their home to show off their status. 

The famous architect, James Paine, was only 19 years old when he was commissioned by the 4th baronet Sir Rowland Winn to replace the house that already stood on this land.  Unfortunately, the 4th baronet died before its completion, and the house was inherited by the 5th baronet. Also named Sir Rowland Winn, this man had fallen in love with a Swiss heiress named Sabine d'Hervart.  

The family was against Sir Rowland marrying a "foreigner", but when the learned that she was wealthy, they accepted her into the family. 

The newlyweds employed Robert Adam and Thomas Chippendale to make improvements to their newly inherited home.  Sabine gave birth to the 6th baronet, heir to the house, in 1775.

Sabine's husband died young in a tragic carriage accident and she lost the enthusiasm for making improvements on the house. Rooms were left undecorated.  Here you see a photo of what the Top Hall was originally designed to look like.

It wouldn't be until future generations until the room was completed.  Here is what it looks like today.

The 6th baronet passed in 1817, and the estate passed down to Rowland and Sabine's grandson Charles Winn. 

Charles did not have much interest in improving the house, but he was a buyer by hobby, and began to accumulate all kinds of unusual items in addition to a vast collection of books.  He actually had so many books, that he created a second library, adjacent to the first, to hold them all.   When his son, another named Rowland, inherited the house, the rooms were completed to stand as they do today.

The bedrooms were decorated with ornate furnishings:

and the house was filled with countless items made by Chippendale.  Unlike those found in Paxton house these creations were much more ornate:

This is one of the mirrors made by Chippendale.

And this bureau is actually made by Chippendale but designed to have a Chinese look.

Amazing, don't you think? 

I always find these servant bells to be fascinating. It's kind of like Downton Abbey revisited.  We were told that each bell had a unique sound so that the staff would know by the ring who was in need of assistance. 

Not only were the rooms ornate, but the stairs leading to the floors were unique creations of their own.  Both of the sets of steps stand below an ornate ceiling surrounded by windows to let in the sunlight. 

And some of the ceiling detail is truly exceptional. 

One of the treasured items in the household collection is a clock made by John Harrison in 1717.  It is constructed entirely of wood, and is one of the three of the remaining clocks in existence from this time period. 

These are just a few examples of how this once neglected manor house was revised to its present state.  It was gifted to the National Trust in 1954, and they continue to maintain it.

The house stands on an extremely large estate, and we chose to have a look around, strolling along the river walk. We felt quite fortunate that the sun had decided to visit today as well!

Bluebells were in bloom everywhere!

To the side of the house stand some fairly vast gardens which include not only flowers, but also fruit trees and just about any vegetable that one can grow in England.  Here are some examples of the foliage. 

Tulips were out of bloom, and the wildflowers were still yet to show their colors, but we still managed to view some of the beauty of these gardens.

At this point, we jumped in the car and headed back towards where we are staying, stopping at Beningbrough Hall.

I knew that the hall was still undergoing renovations, but had read that there were some unique gardens on the grounds, so we decided to take a look.  I was immediately impressed with the lovely potted plant varieties as we entered the premises. 

But first on the agenda:  cream tea for two.  

Don't judge.  We did a LOT of walking today!  After we were revitalized, we set out to explore the grounds.

There were some magnificent formal gardens to admire.

We strolled along to the back of the house (which, let's face it.....looks pretty impressive!)

and found ourselves in the old Victorian laundry, where the trust was having a used book store.  Actually, that's not really so unusual.  Nearly every National Trust place that we have visited has some sort of used books for sale. 

But, I saw this very clever idea, and felt the need to share it.

Next to this sign, there were several piles of books, each wrapped in brown paper with a description on the outside. 

I have some librarian friends whom I think will find that to be a really unique idea!  You don't know what you get until you unwrap the paper!

The staff suggested that this was the perfect time to take the bluebell walk, and so we decided to give it a try.  There are bluebells nestled under trees for most of the mile long walk. 

This picture frame was set up in the perfect place to capture the house in the distance.  

Lots of fun, for sure.  And, speaking of fun....there's this as well:

After our "Sunday Roast" dinner at a nearby pub, we headed back to our B&B, where, once again, a treat awaited us in the sitting room.

Lemon drizzle cake. 

I'm really going to miss this place!

Tomorrow we begin our westward journey to Wales.  You know I'll keep you posted!