Montacute House and village, Somerset

Montacute House is an Elizabethan mansion, not as large or as elegant as many we visit but interesting all the same.
It was built between 1588 and 1601 by Sir Edward Phelips, and was home to the Phelips family for 300 years. The house and grounds were given to the National Trust by the Society for Protection of ancient buildings in  1931. There is a 12 acre contemporary garden and the park and estate has some wonderful walks.

This is one of the few country houses that allow photos to be taken inside

The famous Hunter tapestry

Amazing, it is more like a painting

Do you like the 'en-suite'?

The side room to a bedroom

This massive oak bed which dominates the Crimson Bedroom is boldly carved from top to toe. Acanthus leaves unfurl themselves up the bed posts and the coat of arms of James I decorates the headboard, and confirms the date of the bed as 1612.

The bed recently brushed up against Hollywood royalty, playing a 'support role' to Johnny Depp in the 2004 film The Libertine. Film goers would not have suspected that one of the staff was hidden underneath the bed during filming, monitoring any effects of Mr Depp being tucked up inside it.

Servants and maids would sit here waiting to be called

These long galleries at the top of many large houses were often used to take exercise. This in one of the longest surviving in  England at 172 ft

Afternoon tea waiting!

Some scenes around Montacute village to end our day