National Trust
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A Classical Landscape at Stourhead
Visiting the gardens at the sprawling estate of Stourhead, Wiltshire, is like walking into a Claude Lorrain painting, or some kind of fantastical neoclassical, Grand Tour dream. In fact, Henry Hoare I, who first acquired the Stourhead estate for his family in 1717 (then known as Stourton Manor) owned a Lorrain painting, Aeneas at Delos. read more
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Visiting Prior Park Landscape Garden, Bath
Print made by unknown artist, A Perspective View of Prior Park, the Seat of Ralph Allen Esq. near Bath, undated, Yale Center for British Art; Yale University Art Gallery Collection, B1998.14.180. Welcome to Prior Park, a beautiful garden overlooking the Georgian city of Bath that is home to this stunning Palladian bridge: one of only read more
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Mini-Post | Wightwick Manor
“The conditions of art should be simple. A great deal more depends upon the heart than upon the head. Appreciation of art is not secured by any elaborate scheme of learning. Art requires a good healthy atmosphere.” Oscar Wilde, “The House Beautiful” Lecture, 1882 Theodore and Flora Mander subscribed to Wilde’s ideas in this lecture, read more
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Mini-Post | Bridgerton and Petworth House
A mini-peek into one of the Bridgerton filming locations for season 2. read more
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Visiting Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire
Join me for a brief jaunt through the whirlwind history of Baddesley Clinton manor house, one of my favourite National Trust properties. read more
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Mini-Post | William John Bankes (1786-1855)
William John Bankes, by Henry Bone, after George Sanders (Saunders). Pen and Ink, 1821 (1812). Creative Commons licence, image courtesy NPG London (NPG D17608). William John Bankes was once described as “the father of all mischief” by his friend Lord Byron: the traveller, collector and draughtsman was an MP before he inherited his family estate read more
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Pre-Raphaelites, Dragons and a Cabinet of Curiosity: A Visit to Wallington
Wallington is a beautiful William and Mary period country house in the Northumberland countryside – the house as seen today, including the beautiful big clock tower you walk underneath as you enter the grounds, was largely remodelled by Sir Walter Calverley Blackett, who had inherited the house from his party-loving and debt-ridden uncle, Sir William read more
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Belton House: A Celebration of Creative Women
2018 is a special year in British Women’s History: it marks the centenary of the Representation of the People Act, when, for the first time, some women were eligible to vote. This moment in history has provided the opportunity for many heritage sites and organisations to reflect on the stories of women and their achievements: read more
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Dynastic Strategist, Architectural Patroness and Businesswoman: Bess of Hardwick
Elizabeth Talbot, Countess of Shrewsbury by Unknown Artist, probably 17th century based on a work c.1590, oil on canvas (on display Montacute House, NPG 203) Elizabeth Talbot, or, as she is more commonly known, Bess of Hardwick, was born into a Derbyshire gentry family that became increasingly impoverished and subjected her childhood to hardships, but read more
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Portraits, carvings and Pemberley: Sudbury Hall
Sudbury Hall will always be one of my favourite country houses to visit as it is so close to home (it is another lovely Derbyshire country house), so I have very vivid memories of visiting (including a school trip when I was five in which I fell in love with this 1920 portrait of Violet, read more
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Dr. Lizzie Rogers 