Montacute House July 19, 2018

Montacute is 15 minutes away from Barrington Court and both were owned by the Lyle family.  Talk about a weathly family huh?!  This village was so cute with all the banners draped across all the homes.

This is the back of the house. The BACK!  I was taking pictures like it was the front.  Then I walked to the front and it took my breath away.

The family motto – welcome friends type – but I can’t remember the exact words.

Now THIS is the front!  Can you imagine this view?!  The picture with the two pillars is me standing at the front door looking out into the front yard.  I had a blast thinking of all the people who did this before me…when it was a family home.

The inside of this house was very detailed orientated.  The wood work was, of course, incredible (he was a carpenter).  The library – always a favorite of mine in every home – was breath taking.  AND the DOORS!  Every single door was picture worthy and HUGE!

Sitting Room

Great Hall

Door to the hallway to the private rooms

The last owner installed water and electric.  He wanted his own bathtub in his room…so he put it in his closet!

These three pictures are the library.  Incredible – right?!

How cool is this mantle piece?  It’s original to the house.

Just like in Barrington Court this is the upper long gallery.  This one, unlike Barrington, had guest suites on each corner.  They would hold parties up here and used it to entertain.  The rug was one solid piece!

This is an interesting story.  See how the wood floors go in different directions?  There used to be a wall there.  The lady of the house felt the room was too small, so she had the wall removed.  The wood shows where the wall used to be.  The wooden walls are the same room….the huge dining hall.

Outside in one of the gardens.  Can I just move in?!

Barrington Court

I’ve been dying to go explore Barrington Court since we moved here.  This is the first house the National Trust took on in 1907…but the National Trust had zero money…and the house was in disrepair…so they struck a deal with a wealthy family.  They would restore it and lease it for 100 years.  The family just moved out in 1991.

This is actually the back of the house.  There is a pond, huge grass area, stables, dog stables, lots of smaller cottages…pretty much a huge village as their backyard.

This is the front of the house.  It is beyond beautiful!

The house grows all its own food!  Here’s part of the kitchen garden..

This walkway smelled AMAZING!

The woodwork in this house was incredible.  I couldn’t stop taking pictures.  The owner of the home was a trained carpenter.

This is a stairwell.  Stunning!

I’m a sucker for doors and this house had amazing doors.  They were massive, old, and full of character. 

This is the main stair hall.  I loved the massive ceilings, incredible woodwork, and openness of this room.  As I was walking up the stairs I noticed this little alcove in the middle of the wall.  I asked someone about it and apparently back in Tudor times the stair hall was not so open.  The floor used to be where the bottom of the floor is…and that was the bathroom!  It had the toilet still in there and everything!  Ummm, gross.

On the top floor of the mansion that is just a massive open space that runs the whole length of the house…and they call it the long gallery.  In this house the kids would use it to ride their bikes when it was wet outside and the ladies would go up there to walk around and exercise so they didn’t get their gowns dirty.  The picture below is now verses when they took over the house.

Second floor hallway.

This is the master bedroom.  The fireplace, mantle, and top of the mantle was the owners gift to his new bride.  His coat of arms is on one side, hers on the other, and theirs together in the middle.  How romantic huh?

More woodwork…so incredible.

The kitchen….was HUGE!  In Tudor times the kitchen was the main hub of the house.  The kitchen staff would work all day, then sleep on rolls on the kitchen floor.  One side was for the married couples, the other side of the room was for single men.  The single girls would then sleep on the shelf.  That’s where the staying “Left on the shelf” came from…girls who never married and stayed on the shelf instead of moving to the floor with their spouse.  Cool huh?!

The view from the kitchen window.

This partition was actually not a part of the original house.  Before it was one massive room, but the owner found this store front and decided it would go perfectly in his home.  It then became the small dining room and the butlery (where they would store all the alcohol).

Ceiling wood work  This red brick building was the horse stables.  It was huge and had a courtyard with a fountain in the middle.  Lucky horses.

This just reminded me of me.

Loved the vines on the side of the house.  It looked even better from in the inside looking out!

Oh this bridge and walkway was breathtaking!

This house was probably my favorite.  The grounds were amazing, the house incredible, and the staff so friendly.  They even let  me peek into two closed rooms!

A Date Walk with Zack

Zack really, really, REALLY wanted to ride his bike to the park…but no one else wanted to…so it turned into our date.  Zack had lots to say as we walked and chatted about the struggles of being in Year 1, living in England, his excitement in going stateside…and 101 other topics.  The best part was the willow tree.  He loved grabbing onto its branches and swinging.  It reminded me of the giving Tree.  Then we walked along the river, saw cows, mooed at cows, and finally strolled home.  My perfect kind of date.