The drive was easy and went by quickly, especially with Amanda quizzing me on baseball history as we drove along. (My brother-in-law got me a page-a-day Ranger’s calendar for Christmas last year & with the move and chaos in our lives, I hadn’t been faithful to it. So in the 45 minute drive, it went from August 3rd to September 17th – man, time flies when you’re having fun!) Our first stop of the day was Brockhampton Estate. This 1,700 acre estate traces its existence to the 1200’s and comprises of pasture, orchards and woodlands with streams that meander throughout. There are two houses on the property, Brockhampton House which is leased to a private residence and closed to the public (why couldn’t we have found that during the housing woes!), and Lower Brockhampton House which is maintained by the National Trust and open to the public. There are also multiple walking paths that travel up and down the rolling hills of the estate.
Upon our arrival, we decided to take the shortest path that promised magnificent views of Brockhampton House, Brockhampton Church and the surrounding countryside. In truth Brockhampton House was behind a grove of trees and barely visible from the path. However, the surrounding views were impressive and the church was pretty. One of the more interesting aspects about the church is that it was designed by George Byfield who specialized in designing and building prisons. I guess architecture is architecture, but it seems odd to switch building types like that. The Church was completed in 1798 and is still occasionally open for services.
After completing our one mile walk we hopped back in the car and made our way down to Lower Brockhampton House. Situated at the bottom of a hill and surround by a moat Lower Brockhampton House was surprisingly picturesque. Built in the late 1300’s Lower Brockhampton house is in remarkably good condition, even if the gate house leans a little bit. Of course when your building has a stone roof it’s probably going to last for a while. Inside the house has been furnished with period pieces from throughout the estates history as well as a few pieces on loan from other National Trust properties in the area. For instance the canopy bed circa 1500’s was brought over from Croft Castle just down the road.
One of the things I enjoy so much about the National Trust properties like the two we saw today is that they have volunteers in almost every property who act as tour guides and docents within various rooms. From our (admittedly limited) experience, these volunteers also have a connection to the property in some fashion or another. Today, I spoke to the most interesting man…well, he spoke, I nodded a lot and added the occasional ‘wow’ or ‘oh, that’s neat’. He’s the individual that told us about canopy bed from Croft Castle but that’s not where his wisdom ends. He also told us about the main dining table that was designed with removable ends instead of leaves that are added to the middle of the table. He related stories of how portrait artists would typically spend their winters painting backdrops and outfits before approaching the individual they were hoping to be hired by and he showed us a Goat’s Foot which is a hinged implement used to draw back the string of a crossbow. He also had a several personal stories about the ten years he and his wife had been working at this particular site. On display within the house are a vintage 1940’s typewriter and a family bible that’s several hundred years old that he donated on behalf of his wife who passed away five years ago. It’s rather amazing because when I approached him I was really only hoping that he would grant my request to take a couple of photos of the interior and after nearly 20 minutes I came away with so much more than a few photos could have provided.
Amanda also found ways to amuse herself while I was gone. World's largest Jenga game, anyone?
Beyond the house a short distance are the ruins of a Norman chapel which they believe was constructed around 1086 when the area was medieval settlement in the valley. After taking a few photos of the chapel and wandering through the orchard the skies began to open up so we made our way towards the car and our next stop of the day.
Croft Castle is about 20 miles from Brockhampton Estate and was home to the Croft family for nearly 1,000 years. Situated on 1,500 acres at the top of a hill this castle has great views and the impressive stone façade one should expect to find when touring a grand family estate. Inside the castle is well appointed with family heirlooms, portraits and busts throughout. Most of the furniture was very impressive with exotic finishes and inlays of mother of pearl. This was definitely a wealthy family! Mom would love the dentil molding in every room that matched the ornate plaster ceilings. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside, so you’ll just have to take my word that it’s amazing.
After strolling around the interior and visiting with some more of the guides, we made our way to the Walled Garden. While not as impressive as the gardens at Dyrham Park they were still very well done and included a small vineyard.
I’m going to own one of these someday.
I did manage to pick up a couple of souvenirs at the gift shop while Amanda was distracted with the used bookstore inside the stables. Happy with our efforts to discover places we can take guests for a short day trip we decided to make our way home and treated ourselves with a return trip through Wales and a few more mini chocolate chip muffins. It was a great day made even more exciting by the prospects of being able to share it with friends and family when they come to visit.
Cheers!
Looking forward to seeing the dentil molding and sharing a mini chocolate chip muffin!
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