Touring Britain via its Stately Homes Posted by Kate on May 5th, 2012
We are lucky here in Britain to have The National Trust to whom many great houses have been entrusted and who maintain and preserve the UKs’ history in these buildings. There are also still many privately owned great mansions which open its doors to the public each year. You could literally plan a whole UK itinerary around England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland using these landmarks. Here are a selections of our favourites:
London: Kensington Palace. was bought by William and Mary in the 17th century as a country house outside of London (difficult to imagine now). Diana, Princess of Wales, had an apartment here and now her son William and Kate.
Kent: Penshurst Place has been the family home of the Sidney family since 1552.
Dorset: Kingston Lacy is an elegant country mansion built by Charles Barry, the architect of the houses of Parliament, with an important collection of Old Master paintings.
Devon: Hartland Abbey is the family home of the Stucley family. Built in the 12th century initially as a monastery, it has never been sold. Consequently, it contains collections of pictures, furniture and porcelain which have accumulated over many generations.
Wiltshire: Corsham court. is a splendid Elizabethan house acquired in 1745 to display Sir Paul Methuen’s celebrated collection of 16th and 17th century Old Master paintings.
Gloucestershire: Kelmscott Manor a Tudor farmhouse adjacent to the River Thames, was William Morris’ summer residence from 1871 until his death in 1896.
Oxfordshire:Kingston Bagpuize another lived-in family home, this beautiful house was originally built in the 1660s and remodelled in the early 1700s. The gardens and park are noted for their collection of rare cultivated plants and trees.
Warwickshire:Baddesley Clinton is a picturesque medieval moated manor house dating from the 15th century with lovely gardens.
I have run out of steam for now. I’ll tell you more later!
