National Trust
The house, built in 1850-1, is the third on the site, the two previous ones having burnt down. It is now a hotel, which you can visit at any time as a guest if you are wealthy. Otherwise, visiting is restricted to three rooms for 2 1/2 hours twice a week.
The extensive and spectacular gardens and grounds are open daily to NT visitors. Notable features are the large Parterre, which offers the best view of the house, the Fountain of Love, the steep drop to the Thames which borders the gardens to the north, and the Water Garden. If your legs are tired, check out the cinema next to the main car park for an interesting film about the house and its occupants.
In March 2012 some works were being carried out below the house terrace to improve drainage. (visited March 2012)
Day: 20 March 2012
Basildon Park
Basildon Park is a Georgian country mansion near Reading. Built for a man who made his fortune in India, it passed through various hands, and when Lord and Lady Iliffe bought it in 1952, it had been unoccupied for forty years except for wartime requisitions, and had escaped demolition but had been stripped of many fittings and decorative features. The Iliffes set about restoring the derelict house to its original grandeur.
Today, a walk from the stable-yard through woodland – part of the park – brings the visitor to the front of the house. The central block is square in plan, with detached service wings tied in by one-storey-high walls which screen service courtyards.
The principal rooms of the main block are on the first floor, with principal bedrooms on the floor above, connected by a grand staircase, a family staircase, and a hidden spiral stair for servants. The ground floor, nowadays occupied by the tea-rooms and function space, was a service area.
The principal rooms on the first floor, the staircase hall, and the principal bedrooms are fully restored and furnished, and well worth seeing. The Old Kitchen in the left wing, though signed, is not open to visitors and seems to be a store or garage. On the other hand, the Iliffe’s 1950’s kitchen in the main house has been restored and opened as an exhibit. Rather more rooms are open to the public than the guidebook (printed 2004) indicates. As well as the 1950’s kitchen these include part of a cloakroom behind the library, and bathrooms and ante-rooms upstairs.
The house is notable for its survival as much as anything. (Visited March 2012)
