Saturday 13 July 2019

A story of love and neglect

After our long journey to Shropshire on Saturday, followed by the whirlwind of a day spent with Vix and Jon on Sunday, we didn't feel like venturing too far on Monday.

Sleeping in just that little bit longer was bliss, and the thought of having the whole of our holiday still stretched out in front of us was heavenly. So much so that even the cloudy sky we glimpsed when we drew our curtains couldn't put a damper on it.


We lingered over the first of Jos's famous English breakfasts, then decided to exchange the cowshed for the stables.

Not just any old stables, obviously. These Georgian ones, built around a cobbled courtyard, belong to the nearest National Trust property to our cowshed, Attingham Park!


If the name sounds familiar, it might be because both Vix and I have blogged extensively about the property last year, as it was the location of our previous meet-up.

However, the 18th century mansion and its estate are well worth a repeat visit, especially as last year most of our time was taken up with chatting to and enjoying the company of our fellow visitors.



All visits to Attingham Park start at the stable courtyard where a plant sale, a café with inside and outside seating and a shop are located. There's even a reasonabley priced second hand bookshop tucked away into one corner, which is well worth browsing.



A 10-minute walk takes you to the walled garden and orchard, strolling through part of what is known as the "pleasure grounds". This includes the so-called Mile Walk and was originally planted and landscaped for the Lord Berwicks and their society guests to enjoy a stroll amongst nature.

Passing this delightful cottage, we mused about moving into it. On second thought though, it might be a bit busy with all those passers-by, as the number of annual visitors to the estate soared to half a million last year!


Once in the sheltered walled gardens, planted abundantly with both colourful flower borders and fruit and vegetables, we strolled and explored, taking in the soul-soothing sights and scents.

Deckchairs had been put out on the lawns for all - including the local magpies - to enjoy! We made a beeline for the only ones not occupied by a visiting party of school children, who fortunately didn't hang around for long.

At one point, Jos tried his hand at using one of the vintage gardening contraptions.


The day, which had made a cloudy start, remained mercifully dry, and with temperatures in the low twenties, it eventually turned warm enough to shed my light-weight flower embroidered denim jacket.

And here's a rare sight of me wearing trousers! I loved wearing this pair of wide-legged ones so much that I picked up another pair in a charity shop a couple of days later. But don't worry, frocks and skirts are bound to remain my favourite items of clothing!

You can catch a glimpse of the vintage blouse I'm wearing underneath the jacket in the opening photo of this post. 


Attingham's kitchen garden is an excellent example of a late 18th century Georgian kitchen garden which, unusually, wasn't "modernised" during Victorian times, nor demolished during the 1950s and 1960s when many historic gardens were deemed economically unviable. 

A restoration programme is returning the garden to its original function, producing food and flowers for the people at Attingham and its many visitors.


After lunch at the Carriage House Café in the stable courtyard, we made our way towards the house for the second part of our visit.

The Berwicks have left a fine Georgian mansion with intricate decoration, Regency furniture and art, all set in 4000-acre estate in a fertile valley of the River Severn. 


Both the mansion and the estate were shaped by a story of love and neglect. The same could be said about Dove Cottage, albeit on a much smaller scale. No wonder we did feel quite at home!

Built for the first Lord Berwick in 1785, Attingham Hall and its beautiful parkland were owned by five generations of the same family for more than 160 years, their accumulated fortune dwindled by overspending, ultimately leading to financial ruin. This, obviously, is where the comparison with Dove Cottage ends!


The creators of Attingham were Noel and Anne Hill, 1st Lord and Lady Berwick, and the design of the house adopted the French fashion of a masculine and a feminine side in terms of decoration.

The drawing room (above, top left) and the boudoir (above, top and bottom right) with its exquisite guilding and beautifully painted flowers, birds and Cupid's arrows, are part of the feminine side.


The masculine side, with its strong colours, family portraits and other manly objects, include the library and the dining room.


In the dining room, the table was laid out for a Regency banquet, atmospherically lighted by candelabra as it would have been back in the day.

The friendly and knowledgeable volunteer in this room told us that wine wasn't poured at the dinner table. Instead, glasses would have been brought to the guests by a footman every time a drink was required. I'm rather hoping that the footman in question would have had a good head on his shoulders, unlike the dummy displaying the footman's uniform on the bottom left.


Meanwhile, in the picture gallery, there was an exhibition of portraits on loan from the National Portrait Gallery. Called Faces of Change: Nature's Champions, the exhibition includes portraits of environmental activists, poets, artists, politicians, campaigners, gardeners, broadcasters and scientists.

Beatrix Potter is on the left, while the chap on the right is the one and only Willian Morris!


The picture gallery was added in 1807-10 by the important Regency architect John Nash for the 2nd Lord Berwick, and includes a magnificent top-lit staircase, which I'd rather taken a fancy to last year. It certainly lived up to its expectations this time around.


Our visit ended in the servants' quarters in the basement, where we admired the collection of copper pans in the kitchen and did our very best not to eat cook's food!

Nor did we run off with the well-thumbed and dog-eared set of Mrs. Beeton's books on household management displayed on the housekeeper's desk!


Tired of all that trudging around the house and garden, I gratefully made use of a conveniently placed chair. I'm just guarding the family silver, honestly. 



At the end of this well-spent day, we drove back to the cowshed, half an hour away on quiet country roads, at the end of which we found our view of the Long Mynd veiled in a light layer of fog. 

It definitely looked and smelled like rain and faint rumblings of thunder could be heard in the distance.

Did the weather gods send us any more rain? You will find out in the next installment of my travelogue.


37 comments:

  1. That incredible staircase looks like it is right out of that Marilyn Monroe video.

    Looks like another lovely day. I'm glad you managed to avoid any weather inconveniences up until now.

    I noticed your floral trousers right away. They look fab!

    Suzanne
    http://www.suzannecarillo.com

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    1. Thank you Suzanne, I'd already taken a shine to that staircase last year, and was happy to see its magnificence again! xxx

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  2. Oh what a stunning mansion to visit! I like your colourful floral pants too and the day looks wonderful, it's nice you were able to explore without getting wet with rain!

    Hope that you are having a wonderful weekend :)


    Away From Blue

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  3. How did you resist snapping a selfie on that staircase?!
    Those copper pudding moulds are exquisite-I would love a collection like that.

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    1. Haha, well, I didn't want to spoil the view of that staircase, obviously! xxx

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  4. Attingham Park sounds like such a dreamy place to visit...and revisit (sometimes a revisit is even sweeter than a first visit). I even googled Attingham Park- I had to, it sounded like something worth reading about- and it certainly is. I found their site (Attionham Park/ National Trust) and it is absolutely fascinating. I see there is much to do and see there. It is great that they even organize events. What you said about gardens being restored to their original function made me happy! It is indeed wonderful that this lovely kitchen garden survived the test of time and will once again provide food and herbs. The mansion itself is certainly beautiful but I love the surrounding area just as much. This mansion does have a fascinating tale of love and neglect to tell. All is well that ends well. It is nice to see it so well preserved. Did you mention a second hand book shop? I love second hand book shops. The picture gallery is something I would surely enjoy as well. How lovely you were able to see all that wonderful portrait art, it seems like quite an exhibition. It is a pleasure to be able to see it through your eyes as well. You took some really fantastic photographs. It was interesting to read about the original creators of Attingham Park and how they applied the masculine and feminine aspects of French design to this mansion. You're so knowledgeable about architecture. I remember that post about your childhood home/house, it was really fascinating to read.

    I do really like both of your outfits, so colourful and fab, they make me think of dandy chic and they seem to complement Attingham Park beautifully. It is great you were able to avoid showers despite the sky being cloudy. All in all, it seems you had a lovely visit...and I can't wait for the next installment of your trip.

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    1. Thank you so much for your lovely comment, Ivana! I'm glad you appreciate Attingham Park and find it fascinating! xxx

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  5. This place looks so beautiful. I like the last place in the last blog post too. I might have to give Shropshire a visit! xx

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    1. Thank you Laurie, and yes, do go and visit beautiful Shropshire one day! xxx

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  6. What an amazing place to visit, Ann! Such stunning scenery and architecture. You look fabulous in those floral trousers too! You should definitely wear them more often! Hope you have a wonderful week ahead. XXX

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    1. Thank you Sasha! I spent a big part of my life wearing nothing but trousers, so I'm a bit reluctant to return to them, as I feel so much better wearing dresses and skirts! xxx

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  7. Wow this is a stunning place! What a wonderful house! and these green hills and garden. Thank you for so many nice pictures :)
    With a huge hug Tina

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  8. first - you look fab in your flowery trousers!!!
    the estate is a total dream! house, interior, gardens... out of a book about how has a stately home to be :-D
    we still dream about a roadtrip around england - this would be definitily on our list!
    hugsies! many! <3 xxxxx

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    1. Thank you Beate! It is indeed the perfect stately home! I'll gladly give you some tips if you ever decide on that road trip. We've been all over. xxx

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  9. That sounded like a lovely day out! I loved your wide trousers; I bet they were nice and cool.

    The house looks marvellous and how you resisted sliding down that beautifully curved bannister; I'll never know.

    It's interesting what you said about a 2nd hand book shop near the cafe and plant stall. It was the same at Ham House in Richmond. I didn't get a chance to browse in the book shop, unfortunately.

    I wonder where you'll take us to next?

    Hope your week is going well.
    xxxx

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    1. Thank you Vronni, and now I'll have to revisit it next year, just to slide down those bannisters ;-) xxx

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  10. I love all these beautiful pictures, Ann! How cool that they are restoring the gardens to actual practical use and growing food for the estate (hopefully using it for their cafe).

    I love your wonderful trousers! Watch out, once you start finding interesting trousers, it's a slippery slope. Soon you'll have a dozen pairs or more!

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    1. Thank you Sheila, and indeed they are using the produce in their café. I already have three of such trousers, Sheila, so you might well be right ... xxx

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  11. Well that was a good day out thank you very much. I really feel as if I’ve been myself. That staircase is amazing.
    Lynn xxx

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  12. How fun! I just love learning about how "the other half" lived in days gone by. Really, any historical place is worth a gander, but your photos transported me to that beautiful pink staircase where I got lost in imaginings of ballgowns and orchestral music wafting from another part of the house.

    Those trousers of yours are delightful, especially with the jacket and green top you paired them with. Are they comfortable too?

    Hugs,
    Sherry

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    1. Thank you Sherry! Visiting properties like that is something we very much enjoy. That staircase is quite something, isn't it? And oh yes, those trousers were extremely comfortable! xxx

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  13. I could spend hours in a place like that, just looking at all the bits and pieces and soaking in the atmosphere!
    xx

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    1. So could I, Hazel. And you keep discovering bits you've missed on return visits! xxx

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  14. what a delightful day! and it looks like I've been there with you enjoying the views, watching the house and the gardens in all its glory!. Love that they've restored the house and the gardens in such a beautiful way!
    And your trousers are really fabulous, lovely color and print, and they look even more fab with this cute green shirt!. Perfect ensemble!
    besos

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    1. Thank you Monica, and it was a pleasure taking you along. It looked as if the trousers and blouse were made for each other. I only discovered this fab combo while on holiday, and they were both meant to be worn with different pieces! xxx

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  15. Attingham? Have I been there? I'm sure Jos could tell me!!
    Lovely to see that glorious house again, the magnificent
    staircase, the wonderful kitchen and the art - we need to go back!
    Love you in those trousers, they really suit you.
    Bring on the next installment! xxx

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    1. Jos says he thinks you might have been there ;-) It really is a wonderful house, isn't it? I'm sure it won't be the last time we visit it either. xxx

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  16. Yes, a boudoir was a sitting room reserved for the use of ladies (I get very annoyed when people misuse the term for 'bedroom') so it makes sense for it to be feminine. What a lovely house! And that Georgian kitchen garden sounds jolly intriguing.

    Trousers suit you!

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    1. Oh, I know! I'm not sure why "boudoir" is always associated with bedrooms, either. xxx

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    2. I think it's because people know the expression 'smells like a tart's boudoir' (heavily perfumed) but don't know enough to know Professional Ladies would've had a sitting room to meet their customers in...

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  17. That staircase is rather swish isn't it? It does seem like Attingham's one of those places that is worth a return visit, I am definitely putting this on the list for this year, as I'm sure we'll be up Shropshire way at some point. Thank you for the virtual tour! x

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    1. It was my pleasure! And yes, please do put it on your list and visit it. I'd love to ready your take on it. xxx

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  18. What an astonishing place! Definitely want to go there! I love Kitchen gardens the best. The inside is exquisite too!

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    1. It's well worth visiting, Kezzie, and there's lots of things to see and do. Plus you can combine it with a visit to some EH properties in the area. Wroxeter Roman Village is just up the (Roman) road! xxx

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