Castle Combe and the South Cotswolds

Friday, July 3rd we went done to Bath to see Sue's mother who is 90 years old and continues to live in her own home in Bath.  Martin drove around some more streets with circular houses and some of the other prominent buildings in Bath.  It certainly is an interesting and historic place with the most amazing housing and architecture.

We came back to Gloucester through the South Cotswolds, similar to further north but the stone they use for building is slightly greyer.  One of the villages we went through was Castle Combe, in a valley, a very picturesque village with all modern wiring and TV aerials etc hidden from view.  It has been used for the set of many films in recent years, notably "Dr Doolittle" and "Warhorse".

Main street into Castle Coombe and the houses and stream

Castle Coombe Main Street

The St Andrews Church was interesting and is very old.

Market cross and St Andrews Church in the background

Castle Coombe town centre and Market Square.

The houses and cottages were lovely and the stream going through the village.  The whole village has been declared heritage, is not allowed to be changed or more houses to be built.

Another view of the houses and stream in Castle Coombe

Another street in Castle Coombe

It was further up the narrow country lanes and through several little villages until we got to Tetbury.  Tetbury is famous as it is the closest village to Highgrove, the country residence of Prince Charles.  As we all know he is very conservation minded and grows all sorts of organic food on this property.  Highgrove has a shop in the village and seels all sorts of produce from the property.  I was tempted to bring home a bottle of Highgrove Port but decided I would either drink it before I got it home or would not be able to bring it home safely !!!

Highgrove Shop in Tetbury

Street in Tetbury

The Cotswolds is certainly a beautiful part of England and although similar countryside, it is different from village to village.

Eastnor Castle

Martin and Sue were invited to a function to celebrate the 225th Anniversary of the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust at Eastnor Castle on the 2nd July and I was included too.  Martin was invited due to his involvement with the canals and the function was to launch the fundraising for restoring the canal, a total of 34 miles and 34 locks, that runs from Gloucester to Hereford.

View of the front entrance to Eastnor Castle

The castle is a modern castle not far west of Gloucester, built in 1812, 200 years ago in Gothic style and is situated on a 5,000 acre estate.  It was derelict some 60 years ago and the owner then was going to demolish it, but the cost of doing this was too high.  Instead another member of the Bathhurst family took it over and the present owners, James and Lucy Hervey-Bathurst have restored much of it, especially the Great Hall, Circular Reception Room and Drawing Room and furnished it as much as they could with original furniture.  These were the only rooms that we saw.  They live at the castle.

Front of the Eastnor Castle taken from the entrance gates in the evening sun as we were leaving

The property is now a commercial business with weddings and functions booked in the castle and grounds, a deer farm with camping area in it and various outdoor activities, especially geared around families and children.  There is a large lake on view from the castle and superb grounds.

View of the grounds and estate from the back of the castle

View of the lake from the back of the castle

I had to dress up for the function, champagne and canapés and be on my best behaviour !!  Its not very often one is invited to a function like that !

You can see more of the inside of the castle by clicking onto www.eastnorcastle.com and clicking onto the arrow on the right to the end where it says "Find out more about the castle".


Sue and myself on the balcony at the back of the castle.

Stratford-Upon-Avon the 3rd Time

After getting back to Gloucester the afternoon of 29th June on the train from Stafford the rest of that day and the next was spent catching up and relaxing around the house, it was time for a rest day and the start of the Wimbledon tennis !!!  All games played were live on BBC Two, one of the main TV channels.  That is the reason there is minimal coverage in NZ.

Wednesday, 1st July it was back in the car and heading for Stratford-Upon-Avon again for the third time.  This trip was to see places I hadn't visited before and go the performance of "Othello" at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre that night and complete the Shakespeare experience.

First on the list was Anne Hathaways Cottage and Gardens, the home of Shakespeare's wife's family and where it is said he did his courting.

Anne Hathaways Cottage and the path with the cottage garden

It dates back to the 15th century, is surprisingly large and has old-fashioned cottage gardens and orchard.  It is built on stone foundations, the oldest part has a timber framework using a cruck truss, the walls being of puddled mud and wattles finished with horsehair plaster.  This was the traditional form of construction in medieval times.

The Vegetable Garden at Anne Hathaways Cottage

A path with sweet peas flowering on either side.

It obtains the famous Hathaway bedstead with its rich carvings and the kitchen and pantry downstairs and the 6 upstairs rooms give a wonderful insight as to how life was lived in a country farmhouse 4 centuries ago.

The bed and main bedroom of the cottage

The pantry and the store room in the cottage.

Next it was Mary Arden's House and Tudor Farm, thought to be the home of Shakespeare's mother.  It now turns out to be that she was brought up in the adjacent property, Glebe Farm or now known as the Palmer House and farm.

Mary Arden's House to the right

The Mary Arden's House dates from 1514 and this house was not furnished and you got a feeling what it may have been like.  The adjoining Palmers House was.

The Palmers House and farmyard in the courtyard.

There were examples of Tudor farming on display including the courtyard farmyard with the pig and hens etc.

Farm Buildings at Mary Arden's Tudor Farm.

The surprise was next, Baddesley Clinton, also just out of Stratford-Upon-Avon, a 1200 century old house that was moated in the 13th century.  It is of Medieval origin, in possession of the Ferrer's from 1438, a family of that time, impoverished through adherence to the Catholic faith and also known as a haven for the persecuted Catholics who were hidden from priest hunters in its secret hidings places (we saw them all, some in the sewer) during the 1590's. It was passed from father to son for 500 years, 12 generations before being sold in 1940 to the national Trust.

Entrance and front gate to Baddesley House over the moat.

Baddesley House and Moat, the back view.

 

Baddesley House and Moat with view of the Courtyard.  Originally there used to be a wall and building on this side of the moat.

 The house was full of paintings by Rebecca Ferrer, an artist, painted from the late 1800's till she died in 1930.The grounds were fascinating, especially the moat, lake and walled garden.  This included a lot of roses, peonies and delphiniums in full colour.

The garden in the courtyard of the house.

Notice about the Walled Garden

Roses in side the Walled Garden

Peonies in full colour in the Walled Garden.

We walked around this small lake and the grounds outside the Walled Garden.

It was a fascinating place, now with the National Trust and not the usual Castle or Cathedral. 

Sue and myself on the edge of the moat with the bridge and house in the background.

The climax of the day was attending the modern performance of "Othello" at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.  The theatre has been revitalised in recent years, we were on the upper level and looked down onto the stage, about 30 metres up.  The effects were outstanding, especially a moat of water on the stage which they cleverly had a metal floor that went up and down over it as required.  I had studied "Othello" while at school, but had to refresh the story before I went !!  It was an excellent production with superb acting. 

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

We were back in Gloucester by midnight after an exciting and busy day.

 

Shugborough and the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal

June 28th, woke up to rain but it soon cleared.  We continued down the Trent and Mersey Canal, passed Sandon and Weston-Upon-Trent, through similar countryside, meeting a lot of boats, 5 and a half miles and 2 locks to Great Haywood Junction, at the meeting of the Trent and Mersey Canal with the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal and the junction of the Trent and Sow Rivers.  There is a huge marina and boatyard there as well.

Adjacent to the canals is the Shugborough Park and Mansion and we moored the boat at the start of the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal and walked the short distance to this Park and Mansion, across the river at the junction of the Trent and Sow Rivers via, the historic Packhorse Bridge with 14 arches, 100 yards long, unique and built in the late 16th century.

Historic Packhorse Bridge into Shugborough from the canal.

The 14 arches under the 100 yard Packhorse Bridge

View of Junction of Rivers Trent and Sow from Packhorse Bridge

Shugborough was originally part of the estate of the Bishop of Lichfield during the Middle Ages and the house had been surrounded by a moat.  It was sold to William Anson in 1642, a successful lawyer and the central part of the mansion, as it now is was built by his grandson, William Anson from 1656 to 1720.

Front of Shugborough Mansion

The surrounding land was acquired and open parkland was created on the flood plain surrounding the house, totalling 1,000 acres.  Many monuments were built on the parkland by the Ansons, including the Doric Temple, The Tower of the Winds and Triumphial Arch and Chinese House and bridge copied from the finest architecture in Greece, Rome and China.

Doric Temple and Dogwood Tree

The Chinese House and Bridge

The Mansion was improved by Thomas Anson who inherited it in 1789 and his son, Thomas William Anson, the 1st Earl of Lichfield in 1831, was the architect of the next wave of large scale developments at the estate.  The development included a walled garden. a model farmstead, an improved and expanded mansion house that boasts the classical portico and a number of classically  designed labourer's cottages.  The estate ran like a well-oiled machine, producing its own butter, flour, cheese, meat and hops, while cultivating figs, pineapples, grapes and vines in its much-admired walled garden.  Gentry from across the country travelled to the estate to tour the modern architecture, technology and functionality pioneered here in the heart of Staffordshire.

Back of Shugborough Mansion from the banks of the River Sow

It has continued to be in the hands of the Anson family, through good and bad times,  with some of the contents of the mansion sold in 1841 to pay a gambling debt of the Earl's, was left empty for some years and then continued to by run by successive Earl's until in 1966, on the death of the 4th Earl of Lichfield, the estate was offered in part payment of death duties and is now owned by the National Trust and administered and financed by the Staffordshire County Council as part of a 99 year lease. Lord Patrick Lichfield, the 5th Earl, (the Queen's cousin) continued to use his private apartment in the mansion until his death in 2005.  He was a world renowned photographer and continued to assist in the development of Shugborough as it is today.  The 6th Earl of Lichfield, Thomas Anson does not now play an active part in Shugborough and is living in the south of England.

Another view of the back of the Shugborough Mansion.

We walked around the extensive gardens, explored the entire mansion, including some of the 35 rooms that made up the private apartment.  This included a lot of Lord Patrick Lichfield's own photography, plus all the beautiful furniture and paintings in the mansion itself.

Shugborough Mansion Formal Dining Room

View out of the large windows at the back of the Mansion towards the River Sow

We continued to walk down to The Tower of the Winds and to the array of buildings that make up the model farm.  This is still run as a working farm with a water wheel mill grinding the flour, a dairy shed and cheese making, various types of sheep and long horned cattle are farmed on approx. 900 acres. 

The Tower of the Winds

The top storey of The Tower of the Winds

We ran out of time to visit the walled garden and see through the Servant's Quarters and the Museum in this area, maybe another time !!!  It is a wonderful part of history and beautifully presented with lovely grounds and trees.

Shugborough Servants Quarters, where the Museum is situated

Back on the boat we travelled a short distance down the canal to Tixall Wide, a wider part of the canal and moored for the night on the side of the canal. 

Start of the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal at Great Haywood

Tixall Wide

The evening was lovely, warm and calm and the sunset was beautiful.

Sunset over Tixall Wide

Next morning, the 29th June we left Tixall Wide with a view of the Tixall Gatehouse on the banks of the canal, the original Tixall house was demolished in the 1920's.

View of Tixall gatehouse from Tixall Wide

I conquered the last lock on the canal to Milford where the boat was moored securely on a safe part of the canal. 

Tixall Lock, the last lock I went through on the canal

View of countryside around Tixall and along the canal.

We caught a bus with all our luggage to nearby Stafford and then took the train back to Gloucester, it took 2 hours to cover the distance to Gloucester as it took 3 weeks to by boat !!!

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience on the narrow boat and feel privileged to see so much of the beautiful countryside that is not seen from the road and to learn so much more about the history of the areas we passed through.