Wednesday 15 October 2008

Polesden Lacey

We are off to Polesden Lacey today (in real time it was actually last month) and afterwards we are visiting another couple of stately homes but will leave those for another day.


25 miles from central London, Polesden Lacey is a remarkable survival of a small, self-contained agricultural estate which has remained largely intact since the Middle Ages. A substantial house was built on the present site around 1630 to replace a medieval farmhouse. The present building was built in 1880. It was a status symbol for the new rich. In 1906 Polesden Lacey was bought by the Hon. Mr and Mrs Ronald Greville, wealthy and well connected friends of Edward VII. He was the eldest son and heir of 2nd Lord Greville, and his wife Margaret was the sole heiress to an immense brewing fortune.


It's a little wet and drizzly so we will tour the house first and maybe the weather will have cleared by the time we come outside.






Actually when we leave the house it is raining quite hard so although we walk around the gardens our time outside is somewhat limited and my camera kept getting wet.



Taking shelter under the balustrades



Some of the back of the house




The Rose garden looking sorry this time of year


How it looks in the Summer




At least the Dahlias are flowering





An estate cottage




The estate is divided by a public road so at this point this lovely thatched bridge is our way across. Seats on it too if you need a rest and it's dry.


Looking out from the bridge and yes, many of our country lanes are narrow like this



Stepping down into the other side of the garden






On our way back and no, Alan the rain is not stopping




Inside photos curtesy of my guide book.


Mrs Greville's study



The Saloon

French-influenced Italiante theme



The special Tea room


"Tea is at 5 o'clock...and not at 5 minutes past...which means the Spanish Ambassador, who has gone for a walk down the yew avenue, hastily retraces his steps, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer...hurries down the great staircase, and that the various gentlemen rise from their chaise-longues and join the procession to the tea-room. The tea-pots, cream-jugs, the milk-pits and the sugar basins are of Queen Anne silver, the tea service is Meissen; and the doilies, heavily monogrammed, are of Chantilly lace"


"Maggie's teas were terrific, with great Georgian tea-pots and Indian or China, and Muffins and cream cakes and silver kettles sending up their steam, and Queen Mary saying 'Indian, if you please, and no sugar'..."


Unfortunately we are not invited, we will have to make do with the visitors tea-rooms.
The Central Hall

An informal sitting-room

Along the fireplace wall is an intricatley carved reredos (screen behind the altar), originally installed in St.Mathew's, one of Christopher Wren's City churches.



The Duke and Duchess of York (later George VI and Queen Elizabeth) spent part of their honeymoon at Polesden Lacey in 1923.


Hope you enjoyed your visit and are ready to drive with us to both Hatchlands and Clandon Park which are in this vicinity.

24 comments:

Betty said...

Barbara,
The name of the estate is so romantic sounding....the grounds are beautiful and I would be completely happy with the estate cottage....

It is really mind boggling to think that anyone lives or lived in such grandeur and splendor.....

I am always so pleased to see you've been by and taken the time to comment. Sadly, the next and final post of Marion and John's visit is when we carry them back to Atlanta to the airport....

Wishing you God's richest blessings...Betty

TBM said...

Isn't that beautiful! I don't mind the rain so much, but my camera does. Thank you for sharing your visit with us!

Adrienne said...

Hi Barbara -
Absolutely gorgeous! Thank you so much for taking us along for the tour. I would love to see it in person but since that's not possible right now I appreciate you thinking of sharing it with us today.
~Adrienne~

duopastorale said...

Tis a lovely place. Shame about the rain. I remember a scorcher of a day there a couple of June's ago. The grounds are beautiful.

Lavinia said...

I had to enlarge several of these photos. Even in the rain, its stunningly beautiful. Those rooms! If I had a study like that, I doubt I'd ever want to leave it...would probably spend all day in it, except for tea in the tea room~!

Merisi said...

Such beautiful gardens! The entrance with the hydrangeas in front is simply lovely.

Elizabeth said...

I think I will move in to the estate cottage!
looks just about right for me!

Anonymous said...

What a gorgeous estate and I love the little bridge across the country lane, very quaint! I would love to be able to visit beautiful old estates like this, thank you for taking me on the journey via cyberspace :)

Lorrie said...

Thank you for all the lovely tours you do. The gardens are beautiful even in the rain. And tea in the saloon, well, wouldn't that be just lovely! Since I have to imagine being there anyway, might as well imagine an elegant tea, too.

Lorrie

Susie said...

What a magnificent estate. Thanks for sharing all these wonderful pictures and the great narrative.

Linda said...

Another place I've never heard of. My, how beautiful.

Reflection Through The Seasons said...

Hello Barbara.....

Enjoyed going along with you to Polesden Lacey.... your pictures have such a clear and polished look despite the rain. What a dream the rose garden is in the summer. The days of gracious living! Marion

Knitting Mania said...

Hello Barbara....thanks for your recent visits.

I've been enjoying your blog this evening or I should say, this morning, yikes didn't realize how late it was...

Night.............

Anonymous said...

Hi Barbara,
What an interesting house. I like that there has been a house on the site since Medieval times. :-)

Just imagine the parties there over the years! What a setting for an Agatha Christie style story.

Charm and Grace said...

Love the yellow color of the buildings and of course the exquisite architecture. For me, I would take the little cottage on the grounds!

Blessings,
Christi

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

That was a lovely visit. I think it's a very pretty house too, and I love all the yellow. I enjoyed the tea time quote you shared, but with my literal American mind was trying to imagine what on earth a "milk-pit" would look like until I figured out that's an abbreviation for milk pitcher! Silly me!

Kristen said...

As an American,this is what I imagine England to be like..I. loved the house covered with ivy

Nana Trish is Living the Dream said...

I always enjoy your tours. It really makes me feel like I'm there. I especially love the Estate Cottage. It looks so much like a place that would be so inspiring. You are so blessed to live close to these gorgeous buildings and such wonderful places where history was made.

Willow said...

What amazing history in this post, Barbara. The home is incredible. Even the estate cottage is wonderful.

Alan's posing is just so 'Alan'--the optimist.

hester said...

Hello Barbara

Just visiting your blog for the first time - almost all my favourite things in the one place - history, gardens and the English countryside. Your photos of Polesden Lacey are just gorgeous. What a beautiful place.

best wishes
Heather (in Australia)

Anonymous said...

Barbara, I have a sneaking suspicion that I'm never going to get to visit 10% of all the places you're describing. So I'm all the gladder that you are sharing your visit with photos and your informative commentary. Thank you!

Betty said...

Barbara,
Will you just hang an autumnal wreath somewhere....inside or outside?

What I did took less than 2 hours....today doesn't feel like fall...it's in the high 80's F.....

Elizabethd said...

It is years since I went there with my daughter, but I remember how very much we enjoyed our day.

Vee said...

Loved seeing this beautiful home...and clicking on the pictures to see some of the great details. I also enjoyed seeing the last photo. Hard to imagine the Queen Mother ever having been so young and quite lovely. (She's the one who beaned my mother in the head with a bouquet, which knocked off my mother's hat. At three, my mother didn't know not to say, "She knocked my hat off" and quite angrily. She was further angered when her father made her share the bouquet with some other children standing nearby.)

And I really like the redecorating that you've been doing here, too. It looks bright and fresh and lovely. The header is beautiful. You switched the layout around. Someone must have given you some good lessons as you were having some troubles the last time I checked in. I don't dare to do much to mine lest I lose the whole thing.