I’ve been to Attingham Hall twice in the last year and yet I haven’t blogged about it in any detail. Or rather, I have only blogged details – the scagliola and the post box.
Attingham Park is a English country
house and estate in Shropshire. Located near the village of Atcham, near
Shrewsbury. It is owned by the National Trust and is a Grade I listed building.
Attingham Park was built in 1785 for
Noel Hill, 1st Baron Berwick, who received his title in 1784 during the
premiership of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger. Noel Hill was a
politician who aided William Pitt in the restructuring of the East India
Company. Noel Hill already owned a house on the site of Attingham Park called
Tern Hall, but with money he received along with his title he commissioned the
architect George Steuart to design a new and grander house to be built around
the original hall. The new country house encompassed the old property entirely,
and once completed was given the name Attingham Hall.
The entrance hall - Partner-who-loves-tea is looking at the post box.
The entrance hall - Partner-who-loves-tea is looking at the post box.
Part of the hall is divided into Lady
Berwick’s rooms and Lord Berwick’s rooms. Below is GB but I can't recall which room it is.
Lady Berwick’s rooms included the boudoir which is a beautiful circular room with beautifully painted panels.
Lady Berwick’s rooms included the boudoir which is a beautiful circular room with beautifully painted panels.
The drawing room.
This is the library.
The library carpet.
I love library steps.
The dining room – obviously!
All the rooms contain pictures, of
course. Some of them I really
loved. This an unknown man and woman by
an unknown 16th century artist.
I'll show some more of Attingham Park another day.
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Such places are admirable and lovely, and i like looking at them but i'm not so sure i'd want to live there. It would be like living in a museum where you are afraid of breaking something almost every moment.
ReplyDeleteOh wow. I would not have guessed - did not guess! - from the outside that the inside would be so magnificently preserved!!!
ReplyDeleteI'd feel lonely there. I enjoy being alone but never feel lonely. Can't you imagine the parties that were hosted there? Did you hear echoes of voices long past? Was it cool inside? Were there lovely gardens out back? You couldn't pay me to live in such a museum but I wouldn't mind a tour. Beautiful photos. I like library steps too and make do with a three step stepladder. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tour! You're a great guide.
The outside looks a bit austere, but that certainly can not be said of the interior!
ReplyDeleteI am intrigued by the idea that there is, like a set of Russian dolls, an old house inside a newer house. Does that become visible somewhere, or was the older building seamlessly incorporated into the newer one?
It was pretty seamless. It's not an uncommon phenomenon in British country houses, many of which have grown like Topsy over the years.
DeleteI still haven't done my post on Attingham Hall yet and I'll just link to yours for the photos when I do. I'm glad that we went there and hopefully we'll have another opportunity when more of the work has been done to the upper rooms.
ReplyDeleteThe picture of the man and the woman looks as if there is a "story behind the picture" - her expression is so wary. Many years ago I came into a bit of money and decided to buy a small piece of woodland near Attingham Hall. It was lovely woodland although very tiny and I had visions of working in the woods and popping in to the NT tearoom for refreshments, (with my NT card) Sadly the deal fell through. I often wonder if that was a good thing or not.
ReplyDeleteJo and I looked at the idea of buying a little bit of North Wales woodland some years ago. Like you, I'm not sure if the fact that it didn't happen was for the best or not. I had visions of working in it and recording all its wildlife. A few years later my younger daughter and her husband looked at land with a small woodland (and stream on it). It was delightful. That too did not materialise but I live in hope for them!
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