Mompesson House & Salisbury Cathedral June 21, 2018

I walk by this house every time I go into town…which is a few times a week.  Today I decided to stop in and check it out.  It always fascinates me that these huge homes and big gardens (backyards) exist in the middle of town, behind an unassuming door.  Our first Airbnb in Salisbury looked to tiny from the front, one small yellow door and one window…but inside was a 5 bedroom massive home!  Don’t judge a book by the cover is right!

The last lady to live here ( Barbara Townsend) moved in when she was a baby, never married, and passed away in her 90’s…living in this home all the days of her life.  The house was built in 1701 by Charles Mompesson and bequeathed to National Trust in 1975.  The home is all open, minus the kitchen that was too modern to show…it was updated in the 1970’s…and really, who wants to see that? (ME!)

Barbara Townsend was an artist and her artwork is displayed all through the home.  This is what her studio would have looked like.

The view from the front door.  The home is located in The Close – pretty much in the parking area for the Cathedral (if the cathedral actually had a real parking lot)

Formal Dinning

Library

This is the Entrance Hall, which was my favorite part of the house. I’m standing on the stairs landing looking towards the front door.  It is breathtaking and massive.  I wish I could post my videos on here!

Please always want to appear more weathy then they are…now and then.  The installed these fake doors to make it look like the house continues on…..it doesn’t.

View from the bedroom

The back garden

I’m standing in the same spot the artist painted this painting from.

Barbara Townsend did a painting of her large drawing room.  When National Trust aquired the home they used this painting to recreate how the room would have looked in her time.  Fun fact…do you see that fireplace?  When the Portman family moved in they wanted a fireplace in the drawing room.  Well the ceiling wasn’t high enough…so what do they do?  RAISE THE CEILING!  Where does this kind of money come from?!?!  Oh and every ceiling in this whole house had incredible plasterwork!

In front of Mompesson House…It was really bright…I don’t normally have that many wrinkles

And of course I had to stop at my favorite spot…the cathedral.  I love just hanging out on the front lawn or strolling around it.  The second picture is in the cloister…check out the beam work!