Friday 22 May 2009

More Impressions of Pilgrims Hall and a Surprise

Before moving on to more impressions of Pilgrims Hall, the name coming from the fact that it was a stopping place for pilgrims on their way to Canterbury some centuries ago, I want to share with you an exciting event taking place here this coming week.

Sara of Much Ado About Something is leaving her home in California and coming to stay with me for a week before she embarks on an organised tour of England. We will also have the pleasure of meeting her husband. We have never met in person before but through blogging, phone calls, E-mails and exchanging gifts over two and a half years I feel I know her pretty well already. We are used to having people come to stay in our home that we have never met so it is not a new situation for us but Sara and her husband have never stayed in a 'strangers' home before. They will be Ok. There is always a connection in the spirit when Christians meet as well as the physical. So, I am excited and looking forward to their visit.

We will have so much to talk about in getting to know each other better and with the proposed visits to villages and National Trust and gardens etc., it will probably be some days before I can show you some of the great pictures that we will be taking.

In the meantime do enjoy a walk around some of the grounds of Pilgrims Hall


For new visitors to my blog, Pilgrims Hall is a Christian Conference and Retreat Centre and serves the local community in many diverse ways. I am one of the directors there so it can feel like a second home. If you click on Pilgrims Hall in the 'Labels' on my sidebar you will see more of this very lovely house and grounds.

Here we are enjoying a BBQ with the resident team



This wall was covered in Wysteria until 2 years ago when it all had to be removed as a result of the damage caused by it. It cost us £65,000 to have it repaired. Had to be a traditional repair job as the house is a listed building.



The old stable block, now housing team residents




The conservatory




'My sheep hear my voice' The sheep hear the shepherd approaching




They want the food the shepherd has to give even though they are surrounded by enticing grass. There are always spiritual truths to be found around sheep.




The black sheep follow too



They know the shepherd loves them and will hold them in his arms


Some of the 85 chickens that keep me supplied in eggs


A little of the 19 acres


The only Wysteria that has been kept as seen from the sunken garden
















The path to.....................................?





Hello to you too!




Looking through to the walled kitchen garden








And the tool shed


23 comments:

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

It'll be fun! CT and I are really looking forward to it.

Needled Mom said...

You will have so much fun with your house guests. I can't wait to hear all about it.

Pilgrim's Hall is a lovely place. The flowers are all so pretty right now and that Wisteria is incredible.

Patsy said...

Have fun and get back to us soon.
Patsy

Judy said...

How exciting to have Sara come for a visit! Have a wonderful time...make many great memories.

Thanks for showing us Pilgrim Hall...what a beautiful place. The arbors of wisteria are amazing! And the barn owl...where does he fit in? Our barn owl nest is empty this year...and we are not sure why.

Vee said...

Oh what good fun you and Sara will have. We can look forward to some terrific posts about it on both blogs, I'm sure.

Funny that we both posted owl pictures this week...well, you really did.

I didn't realize that wisteria could cause so much damage. Ivy, I know, can. It's awful pretty to be so destructive.

Oh you could do an entire post on the sheep and the shepherd.

Andrea said...

Barbara, I so enjoyed my tour. As always, it is beautiful. Everything is absolutely lovely, and I really want to know what's down the "secret" path.

Enjoy your time with Sara and her husband.

Many blessings,

Andrea

Deanna said...

Dearest Barbara,
Pilgrims Hall is a pleasant place to see. Appreciate seeing the pictures of this lovely abode.

Do you suppose that it is the Holy Spirit in one person recognizing the Holy Spirit in another when you meet somebody and you feel like you already have met them and already know them? Or possibly God is stirring one's interest in getting to know the other person for His Glory.

Blessings to you,
~Deanna~

Willow said...

Enjoy your time with Sara and CT! It'll be great for you all.

Elizabethd said...

What a wonderful place, the Wisteria and roses are amazing.

duopastorale said...

Great tour Barbara. I love walled gardens and old tool sheds, reminds of of my grandfather. Thanks for the tour. Have a good bank holiday.

Elizabeth said...

Wisteria is so beautiful .......and horrid to buildings!
So glad you have kept some of it.
I'm so thrilled you are having Sara to stay. I'm sure you will have a splendid visit.
I look forward to seeing photos from both of you.
You could take her for a nice walk in Thorndon Park!
They now have nature trails and so forth. St.Nicholas Church in Ingrave is really lovely ( but I would say so....)
And you could have lunch at the Boar's Head by the duck pond in Herongate...
Is sort of thrilling to share the places we love with others

Adrienne said...

I love the pictures of Pilgrims Hall, especially the tool shed! Thanks for sharing. I wish I were going with Sara to visit you! Have fun and tell us all about it. ~Adrienne~

ChaChaneen said...

Well how fun was that tour?! For a moment there I thought I was in a Jane Austen novel. sigh...

And how lovely that you'll meet and host your dear bloggy friend too, I'm sure that will be a blessed week full of memories.

Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

Love these pictures. The wisteria is most pleasing. I have pics from The Biltmore, Vanderbilt's home in N.C. Pilgrim's Hall reminds me of this.
Enjoy your visit.
QMM

a woman who is said...

You and Sara will be having a wonderful time together. You seem very much kindred spirits.

What a very special place you get to be so involved in. I will have to follow your other post to read more about the history.

I have a question though about the rose climbing on the wall. First of all what kind of roses climb that way? What I mean is our climbing roses grow more bushy than those long single canes. And how do they stay attached to the wall. I know these must be some interesting English secrets :)

zetor said...

Pilgrim sHall looks a lovely place, just right for a retreat. Hope you all enjoy the Sara's visit.

Anonymous said...

What a gorgeous place, Barbara. I'd heard that wisteria can be very difficult to dig up, but didn't know that they could be so damaging to buildings. That was one very expensive repair job!

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful place! The ironwork reminded me of angels linking wings. :-) Oh my the wisteria is so wonderful in full bloom. I can almost smell those roses on the wall too.

Thanks for sharing such a special place Barbara.

Barb said...

Hi Barbara,
Pilgrim Hall is stunning. Nothing like that here. I am so excited about your visit with a fellow blogger. Enjoy your time.

hugs,
Barb

Lavinia said...

How exciting that you'll be meeting Sara! Wow, I'm so happy for you both. I know you'll have a great time together.....

More beautiful pics you've posted here....another place I'd love to visit.

Betty said...

Barbara,
I am so excited for you and Sara...what fun you will have talking...talking...talking...Marion and I never ran out of subjects...

Your pictures are fantastic...seeing the sheep brings back vivid memories of my flock...they were such a blessing...I hope one day to have some again...Edward says we have the human kind....

Looking forward to hearing about all the things you do....Betty

Tea Time With Melody said...

OK, I want to be Sara seeing as I too live in California. I just KNOW she is going to have a fabulous time with you because you seem like just a lovely person and know just THE spots to visit. I am totally jealous!!! I am going to go to my corner and sulk awhile, maybe figure out a way to hide in the luggage.....lolol

Have a grand time. I went to the Pilgrims website and at the bottom of the page they have a picture of the place in the "mist" and it looks positively midevel I picture a Knight riding up to the hall on horseback etc. Looks like from a time gone by. Love it!

Mary said...

Just know you are showing Sara and C a wonderful time. Tell her I said "hello" and for them to enjoy the remainder of their holiday as they trek through our gorgeous English countryside.

Mary - ACROSS THE POND