National Trust – Page 4 – My Days Out Blog

Alderley Edge, Cheshire

Alderley Edge is famous for the sandstone ridge above the town, which can be visited by parking in the National Trust’s useful but easy-to-miss car park and walking one or more of the marked trails. The views apparently used to be more open, with the Edge being bare until the 18th century, but now the ridge is quite wooded, and good views over the Cheshire plain and to the hills of the Peak District can be had only from a few vantage points.
The Edge is associated with legends, the best known one being about a farmer meeting a wizard, and also with the writer Alan Garner and his novels, some of which are set in the surrounding country. The woods contain the remains of many old mines. Mining for copper and other metals went on in the area from prehistoric times to the 20th century, and there are many old relics. A stone circle however was apparently built in Victorian times.
From the town, go up the High Street and take the left uphill fork just before the large half-timbered pub on the right.
I walked around one of the trails to the edge of the woods and saw some distant hills.

Turn left at this pub for the Edge — Turn left here for the Edge

Alderley Edge, the town, lies in one of the most sought-after residential districts in Britain. If you have to spend some time there, you could patronise one of the smart cafes and shops etc in the High Street, in hopes of spotting some famous footballer or soap star, or you could wander around the side streets spotting elegant Victorian villas lurking behind exotic flowering trees. There are one or two buildings in the High Street that might be old, including the Barclays Bank and a large pub with lots of external wood.

Tatton Park, Cheshire

National Trust.
Tatton Park is a complete historic estate with the Neo-Classical mansion, a Tudor Old hall, 50 acres of landscaped gardens, a working farm and over 1000 acres of deer park. It was owned for hundreds of years by the Egerton family. The core of the present mansion was completed around 1716. The mansion was then extensively altered in the fashionable Neo-Classical style in two stages between 1780 and 1813, by the architects Samuel Wyatt and his nephew Lewis Wyatt.
The Mansion is richly furnished and has a valuable collection of paintings and books. In the Library, facsimiles are displayed of one or two of the more interesting volumes, including the Wallington Manuscript facsimile (a diary of the Civil War period which makes very interesting reading with its enthusiastic descriptions of executions and civil warfare).

The Gardens have many areas with flowering trees etc, several large ponds, a Japanese garden (seen from perimeter), Italian Garden, 6 acre kitchen garden, tropical and temperate conservatories.

When I visited, I enjoyed an interesting special tour conducted by two “servants” which started at 10.30 am. Then I visited the gardens (large and impressive) then made a free-flow visit to house. Total 4.5 hours. (Click on images below to enlarge)

Tatton Japanese Garden — Japanese Garden

Stairwell ceiling, Tatton — Stairwell ceiling

Maurice Egerton Exhibition Room — Exhibition Room

Lyme Park, Cheshire

National Trust.
Lyme Park has been gradually developed since the Middle Ages. It was largely rebuilt during the reign of Elizabeth I, and the centre of the north front dates from this period. The Palladian courtyard, South front and West front date from the 18th century, and further alterations, mainly affecting the interiors, were carried out by the architect Lewis Wyatt in the 19th century. Wyatt altered floor levels, access routes and the functions of many of the principal rooms as well as changing the decor.
Internally, the house has a generally Jacobean aspect. Some rooms, like the Drawing Room, have survived from the Jacobean period with minor alterations, while others have been reworked, while still being fitted out in a Jacobean style.
The house was owned by the Legh family from the Middle Ages till 1946.
On the first floor, many of the principal rooms are on display, while on the second floor, the Long Gallery and some other rooms can be seen. A tour can take around 2 hours.
The gardens, mostly to the south, are very fine, with a lake and large changes of level. The Dutch formal garden seen from far above is particularly impressive. There is also a substantial park (not seen).
Photography of the interior of the house is not permitted, but I took some pictures of the gardens (click on images to enlarge).

South Front from gardens across lake — South front

Informal garden with lake & house — Informal gardens

Quarry Bank Mill, Cheshire

National Trust.
The Mill was started in the 18th century and remained in the ownership of the Greg family for five generations. The business closed in the 1950’s. The workers, housed nearby, included children as young as nine, and unpaid pauper apprentices. The cotton was cheap because it was produced by slaves in the southern United States. The mill was powered by water-wheels, and later by steam.
The original mill building contains exhibitions and representative old spinning and weaving machines, which can be seen running (noisy!). The machines were originally powered by water or steam power (latterly electricity), and in the lower levels a working restored water wheel and some working steam engines can be seen. It’s interesting to see what impact the production of cotton cloth had (social change, industrialisation, riots) and what ingenuity went into producing a piece of cloth.
Beyond the mill, the Quarry Bank garden and kitchen garden can be seen. Further afield are the Apprentice House and the Styal Village (not seen).
This is an interesting site, and a proper visit will occupy about half a day.

Quarry Bank spinning machine — Spinning machine

Wightwick Manor, Wolverhampton

National Trust
Wightwick Manor is one of the finest surviving examples of a house furnished under the influence of the Victorian Arts and Crafts Movement. Thought built in the late nineteenth century, it is designed to look like a late medieval house, with its external black-and-white timbering and small-paned leaded windows. The eastern half, which was built later, is the more richly decorated, with stripes, swirls and quatrefoils, said to be in the style of Tudor buildings of the Welsh Marches.
Inside, the house has a more or less medieval-style interior, with all the latest 19th century conveniences. The contents, collected at various periods in the house’s history, include Pre-Raphaelite art and other collectibles from the Victorian period.
The formal gardens and grounds of 19 acres include two lakes, a vegetable garden and woodland.
Wightwick Manor (pronounced “Wittick”), inside and out, is a must-see for fans of Victorian art, design and architecture.

A few miles away I stumbled on the “Tudor House” at Histons Hill, Oaken, by the side of a busy road. It looks as if it has been crumbling there since the Tudor period, but in fact was built during the 20th century by the architect KH Smith, using timbers from several ancient buildings.

Knole, Kent

National Trust
One’s first impression of Knole is that it’s big. The frontage is very long, and is exceeded by the depth, and there are seven courtyards. On the approach one can also see part of the massive wall of Lord Sackville’s walled garden.
Passing through the arched main entrance, one enters the Green Court, with some fine frontages. Visitor reception and the garden are to the right. Note that after checking in (or paying) at the visitor reception, one is expected to present one’s ticket at the garden entrance (if open) and at the Great Hall.

It’s worth making the effort to come on a Tuesday, when Lord Sackville’s walled garden is open. The walled garden is the size of a municipal park and features trees rather than flowerbeds in a variety of differing areas. It wraps around two sides of the house, (SW & SE) and these exteriors can not be seen from outside the garden. (Actually when I visited, the south end of the house was wrapped in scaffolding and plastic, and not visible anyway.) The wider park (huge) is rather bare and brown by comparison.

The Stone Court has some fine frontages. The Great Hall is an impressive room with a fine carved screen. Beyond it, only a fraction of Knole is open to visitors, mostly in areas behind the SW and SE frontages. There is a large collection of paintings, and some very old furniture collected from Royal palaces, and a collection of fine china. There is a room with furniture made of silver. The house dates from the Tudor period, and has not been radically remodelled since, so expect everything to look … old. At least one area is alarmed, so don’t let your brat run around unchecked 🙂

Be aware that the interior of the house is unheated and draughty, so if you visit on a chilly, breezy spring day, dress as for outdoors, as it will be as cold as the park! The old ‘Estate Office’ is the only visitor room that is properly heated.

If you have time, walk around the outside towards the tea-room to look at the north exterior and peer into the Stable Court (private).

Knole is a healthy 1.5 mile walk from Sevenoaks railway station, mostly uphill. Parking at the house is £4 (NT members free).

Marsh plant in walled garden, Knole — Garden, Marsh plant

(click on images to enlarge)

Carlyle’s House

National Trust
The house in Chelsea was rented for over 40 years by the Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle and his wife Jane. They were visited there by many of the famous literary names of the Victorian era. Nowadays, Jane Carlyle’s lively letters are probably more widely read than Thomas Carlyle’s multi-volume histories.
Not long after Carlyle died, the freehold of the property was acquired for a museum to commemorate Carlyle. The National Trust took over the property in 1936 and over the years many of the Carlyles’ possessions have been returned to the house. The house is largely unaltered and is presented much as it would have looked when the Carlyles lived there. On the top floor is a study, windowless except for a skylight, where Carlyle did much of his writing. It was designed to be soundproof, but it seems this was not a success.
In each room there are several cards with information about the Carlyles and their famous friends and visitors.
In the basement is the kitchen, and there is access to the rear garden. Even if you don’t know much about Carlyle, it is interesting as a Victorian middle-class house.

Nearest tube stations are South Kensington and Sloane Square (1 mile) and there are buses to Carlyle Square on the King’s Road (1/4 mile)
On foot it is easiest to find Cheyne Walk at the river, then the Carlyle statue and Cheyne Row.

Carlyle statue looking towards Cheyne Row. — Carlyle statue

Leighton House Museum, London

National Trust.
Leighton House was the home of eminent Victorian painter Frederic, Lord Leighton. The interiors have been restored to match their original appearance as closely as possible. The interior of the house is striking. The stairwell hall is tiled with colored tiles. There is an Arab Hall, also tiled, that is two floors high and is topped by a dome visible from the street. Upstairs, the artist’s studio is the size of a baronial hall and has three fireplaces. Remarkably, there was only one bedroom.
Visitors may notice downstairs a couple of fireplaces under windows, that seem to have no chimney breast. Apparently, in the case of the dining room, the flue is in the wall to one side.
The house originally displayed Leighton’s art collection, but this was dispersed after his death in 1898. A few items have been returned to the house, and replicas or similar objects substituted for others.
If you like Victoriana, a visit here is highly recommended. Note that, as the house is owned and operated by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, even NT members have to pay, but get a 50% discount.

The house is regularly used for art exhibitions, in the house itself and/or the attached gallery.

The house is near the south end of Holland Park, and the ‘nearest’ Tube stations are High Street Kensington and Holland Park, both at least 15-20 minutes walk away.

Cherryburn, Northumberland

National Trust
This site is of interest as being the small farm where Thomas Bewick, Northumberland’s greatest artist and wood engraver, lived and worked. He is best known for books containing a set of accurate engravings of British birds. There are two exhibition rooms, and across the farmyard is the house where Bewick lived, with recreations of two rooms. Most of his work was engraved on boxwood, which is only available in small pieces, so many of the engravings are of eye-straining smallness.
The Print Room has the original printing equipment and racks of typefaces, and a small display of prints. There is a short video presentation.

This is worth a visit if you are already interested in Bewick or are in the area.

Cragside, Northumberland

National Trust
Cragside was bought by the Victorian industrialist and arms manufacturer Willian George Armstrong, and the house was greatly extended between 1863-1884. Externally, the house is a jumble of English baronial styles, with mullioned windows, battlements, decorated barge boards, shouldered gables, tall decorated chimneys, steep roofs, and mock timber-framing, and has an irregular outline. Inside it has a number of unusual features incorporating Armstrong’s ideas, often very advanced for the time, including a water-powered spit turning mechanism, electric lighting from a hydro-generator on the estate, a hydraulic powered lift and a sauna suite. There are several rooms with elaborate Victorian interiors. The large drawing room, finished in a Classical Renaissance style, has a vast chimney piece, elaborately carved in marble. A long gallery is lined with pictures and other objects.

From the house, there are spectacular views over the woodland below. A rockery garden plunges down to a stream and an arched metal bridge. Out in the estate there are several of Armstrong’s installations to visit, and 40 miles of footpaths to explore. You can walk to the pair of lakes above the house and back in an hour or so, but the signposting on the paths is vague and the climb is steep.
The exhibition centre & tea rooms are next to the lake visible from the entrance. The formal gardens are 1/4 mile from the house, or from the main car park. The’re quite pretty but could be skipped if you are short of time.
A ‘hopper’ minibus provides free transport around the above-mentioned ‘near’ parts of the estate for those who have difficulty in walking. You can drive your car around a 6-mile one-way circuit to access the ‘far’ parts of the estate. Cragside is a clear candidate for an ‘all day visit’.
Visited 2012 and 2016.

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