Sunday 8 November 2015

Blickling Hall and Gardens, Norfolk Part 1

I'm having a difficult time sorting photos. I think it is an issue with Windows 10. When looking in my Windows Photos Gallery everything is fine but for some reason blogger will not pull my pictures out of there and only Windows Explorer will come up. Explorer brings my photos up in an absolute jumble as it is using some strange filing system. The only way I can get them onto my blog is to make a Binary list and that also means remembering the order in which I took them. Now just a few is fine but I am dealing with over 400 from my holiday.
I have had so many IT problems in recent times that I find this very frustrating and exhausting.
If anyone knows the answer I would love to know.

Blickling Hall was less than 3 miles from our cottage so we made it our first full day out. I'm posting in 2 parts so as not to upload too many pictures at a time.




The Hall has been occupied and owned since c1045 when it was owned by Harold Godwinson (later King Harold 2nd) until 1930 when Philip Henry Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian, left Blickling to The National Trust.



These ancient Yew hedges that line both sides of the entrance walk (see the first picture) 


are interesting from the inside as well as out. This photo shows what it is like inside the hedge on just one side.


I will show the gardens in my next post but here we see the moated gardens around the main house.



That husband of mine who is 84 today is very patient when hanging around while I take photos


Looking back towards the entrance


As already mentioned many of my photos will appear out of order
Facing the main staircase with it's amazing wood carvings


Dining Room


part of the pantry from which drinks were served


A painted doorway showing how this corridor looked in times gone by


Part of the kitchen


The back stairs 






Obviously a later addition


a dressing room


Well I guess this is better that keeping the pot under the bed as we did when I was a child, before we moved into a house that had a bathroom.
This brought back memories for me of having to walk to the bottom of the yard in icy cold winters to a small brick building that was as cold inside as outside. No lights, just an oil lamp outside and gas mantles inside.
Sounds a luxury if I compare it with my Grandmother's cousin who were farmers where they had no running water and only oil lamps for light and we would have to walk across the farmyard to the 'loo' which consisted of a wooden bench with several different sized round holes to fit different members of the family with just a trough underneath. The farm tap was a small field away. 
Well I digress!! 


A sitting room and do note he amazing ceilings in all these rooms



The upper part of the main staircase
Note the wall statue on the left of Anne Boleyn. At one time her Father was the owner of this house in 1505 



Lots of tapestries but this one was amazing for it's size.





You can see how jumbled up these photos are

Part 2 coming soon - hope you enjoyed

11 comments:

Gracie Saylor said...

Happy Birthday, Allen! [and thanks for your patience :)] Thanks for enduring the frustration to keep in touch with us, Barbara. I am sorry I do not have a solution for your computer challenges or my own and hope God brings us both resources to solve our muddles! The hedge is very interesting as was your digression. :) Good sanitation systems are a blessing for sure, and one I pray will soon be enjoyed by everyone in the world.

A Brit in Tennessee said...

Breathtakingly beautiful, steeped in history and magnificently grand.
Thank you for sharing your pictures, we are incredibly fortunate to see such places with our lifetime.
~Jo

Elizabethd said...

What amazing ceilings. Such a privilege to be there.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

Happy Birthday to your dear husband. What a wonderful tour you gave. If out of order I would never have known, but didi enjoy seeing it all.

Vee said...

Such a beautiful estate. Anne didn't look as attractive as I have imagined. So sorry about the photo woes. It does sound annoying. I continue to refuse the upgrade to Windows 10.

Sara at Come Away With Me said...

Happy Birthday to Alan!
Well, your photos are fabulous, jumbled or not. I love the bathroom with the fireplace. Much nicer than a chamber pot!

Lorrie said...

Belated birthday greetings to Alan. There are so many lovely homes in England. I'm glad they are being preserved and that people from near and far can enjoy them. What amazing history this house holds.

Michelle-ozark crafter said...

That is such a beautiful place. I am so sorry that the hall my ancestors lived in was torn down. Loved the name of it too. It was called King's Bromley Hall.

Adrienne said...

I enjoyed this part of the tour very much! I can't wait to see more. Happy birthday to your dear hubby, although a bit late.
~Adrienne~

Linda P said...

Belated good wishes for your husband's recent birthday. Sorry that you're having computer programme problems - the sort of thing that I would find difficult to cope with too so have decided not to upgrade. The house looks very interesting and the kind of place I enjoy visiting during the times when open to the public.

ellen b said...

Happy Belated birthday to your dear husband! What a lovely place to visit. I never grow tired of seeing all there is to see in the beautiful country you live in...