Day: 30 August 2013

Coughton Court, Warwickshire

Coughton courtyard
National Trust
The Throckmorton family have owned Coughton (pronounced ‘coat-on’) since the 1400’s and the present house, with its gatehouse and two wings, dates from the 16th century onwards. The Throckmortons were a Catholic family, and much of their history is a story of persecution, secret worship, and hiding priests. The family were also entangled in the Gunpowder Plot conspiracy.
The house, as seen from the courtyard, has two projecting brick and timbered wings in a Tudor-ish style, connected by an imposing stone gatehouse. From the other, West, side, the stone gatehouse, flanked by a pair of Gothic styled wings, dominates.
Parts of the gatehouse, including the roof, and most of the South wing are opened to visitors. A ‘priests’s hole’ can be seen in the tower. The house contents are interesting, and include some religious relics. The double-height Saloon is the biggest room, and apparently was the medieval Hall. Looking at the ground-floor South wing plan, it appears that there are some spaces near the end of the tour that are easy to miss.

In the grounds, there is no shortage of things for visitors to look at: a walled garden, a lake, river walks, an orchard, two churches, and a vegetable garden. When I visited there were scores of for-sale sculptures dotted around the grounds.

Coughton appears to be a popular destination, and if you want to go around the house it is advisable to go early to avoid being caught out by the timed entry ticketing.

Ragley Hall, Warwickshire

Ragley from gardens
Private.
Ragley Hall was built from 1680, but not fully furnished and decorated till the middle of the 18th century. The house and the contents have not been greatly changed in style since then, but extensive restoration had to be carried out after the Second World war, when the house was used as a hospital. It is still owned by the Seymour family (Marquess of Hertford), who have owned the estate for centuries.
The principal floor contains a number of finely decorated rooms with impressive plasterwork, starting with the double-height Great Hall and continuing through the Music Room, Breakfast Room, Dining Room, Mauve Drawing Room, Red Saloon, Green Drawing Room, and Library. The contents are unremarkable, as all the best stuff went to the Hertford’s house (Wallace Collection) in London.
Some touches let you know that you are in a private home, not a National Trust house: a garish modern art canvas hung above the North Staircase Hall, the Prince Regents bed moved to provide a games room for the teenagers, and a vast and colorful modern mural by Graham Rust enlivening the South Staircase Hall.
Outside, there are formal gardens near the house, a stable block with an interesting carriage collection, an ice-house, and an extensive park including a lake.

Note that the standard admission admits you to the park and grounds only, and you have to pay a further fee at the house, if it’s open.
(If you are expecting to see an outdoor sculpture collection, you won’t, as it was removed over a year ago.)
No interior photography was allowed. Click on images to enlarge.

Informal planting in grounds
Informal planting
North view from house
North view
a Ragley carriage
a Ragley carriage
Ragley stables (curved)
Ragley stables

Submarine Museum, Gosport, Hampshire.

HMS Alliance
The Royal Navy Submarine Museum offers a guided tour of one full-size submarine, HMS Alliance, plus exhibits of several small or miniature submarines, including the very early Holland 1 and a well-preserved X24 minature submarine. There are museum galleries depicting submarine operations, with plenty of audio-visual, and a collection of weapons systems control panels as used for launching missiles, plus a Trident rocket.
The admission fee is significant but worth it if you are interested in submarine warfare. If you’ve never been inside a submarine you may be surprised at how little free space there is and how every square foot of bulkhead is covered with pipes, cables, or equipment.
Visit time ~3.5 hours.

Visiting: It might be worth looking at online mapping to see where you are going before setting off (they say a picture is worth 1000 words.) It’s easy to drive past the entrance without spotting it. The site is on the Haslar Road, a few yards past the end of a single-lane bridge that spans part of the harbour, but there is no in-your-face signage, and sat-nav will probably deliver you to an adjacent site, e.g. Fort Blockhouse which is about 100 yards further on.
The site can be reached by ferry from the Historic Dockyard area which is quite close as the crow flies. The ferry seems rather pricey, but the land access alternative goes through miles of congested built-up area.

Portchester Castle, Hampshire

Castle Keep
English Heritage.
Portchester Castle is the most impressive and best-preserved of the Roman ‘Saxon Shore’ forts in Europe, and was built in the late 3rd century. It is the only Roman stronghold in northern Europe whose walls still mostly stand to their full six metre height, complete with most of the original 20 towers.
It later housed a Saxon settlement, and after the Norman invasion a Norman castle was built in one corner. The castle was used in the middle ages, and was used as a prison during the Napoleonic Wars.
The size of the circuit of Roman walls is impressive, and the medieval keep is worth seeing and has an interesting exhibition in the basement. Rooms in the keep can be reached by modern stairs. Note that in fair weather the more agile visitor can ascend a narrow spiral stone staircase to the roof, from which there should be great views of the harbour, etc. (I didn’t try it in the rain).
The castle is right on the waterfront, so don’t omit to walk out of the seaward gate and have a look.
Visiting: If you pass the obvious car park to the left, there is a smaller one on the right a few yards from the castle entrance. Admission to the Roman fort is free, but there is a charge for visiting the medieval keep. An audio guide is available. The keep has modern stairs to all floors except the roof (see above).

Roman walls
Roman interior

Bishop’s Waltham Palace, Hampshire

Palace ruins
English Heritage
Bishop’s Waltham was a medieval palace used by the wealthy Bishops of Winchester. Also on the site is the Bishop’s Waltham town museum, in a farmhouse adapted from the palace’s lodging range.
There are extensive ruins of this large palace still standing.
I happened to be nearby in the early morning, so had a look over the wall, but was not able to get inside.
Worth a look if you are in the area. Admission free.