Monday 13 April 2015

Croome with(out) a view

I hope you've all been having the stunning weather that we have had here in Worcestershire over the past week!  It gradually got warmer and warmer until Thursday when I was burnt to a crisp whilst doing some painting outside in the garden.  As a consequence I had to wear long sleeves when we visited Croome Court and park on Friday.

Croome (managed by the National Trust) is in South Worcestershire, and our 45 minute journey there was memorable for the fact that we didn't pass through any towns or cities, it was just all pretty country roads, absolute heaven!  

The property itself was remodelled by Lancelot "Capability" Brown, his first commission, and the interiors were done by Robert Adam.  There are no furnished rooms in the property, as it has had many varied uses over the past 100 years, namely a boys school and during the Second World War it housed the Dutch royal family and RAF Defford.  It has also been used by Hare Krishnas.  

We were expecting the usual spectacular views of the Malverns from Croome, but unfortunately, due to the previous day's hot weather and apparently lots of sand blowing in from the Sahara, the Malverns were shrouded in mist.  They are usually pretty obvious from the view below






It was warm enough for sandals though

As I said, the insides are pretty bare, there are still a few grand bits on show, namely this fantastic marble Adam fireplace, the mantle is well over six feet off the ground

Rather splendid ceilings


Ridiculously high doorways with broken pediments (I'm using OH for scale here as he is 6'2" tall)


and ornate plasterwork and gilding, redone by the Hare Krishnas I believe


I have to admit this isn't my taste

Outside, we wandered around a small part of the substantial grounds, which appear to stretch as far as the eye can see and are pretty much man made by Capability Brown.  He created a lake, and a river, designed and built many follies and this lovely church which he positioned on top of a hill, the interior being designed by Robert Adam


Each twist and turn of a path in the grounds reveals follies, I do love this rotunda

More interesting gateways!


and the odd statue dotted here and there, this one is of Pan

and some modern additions!

The house itself is presently undergoing a huge amount of restoration work, and is almost completely covered in scaffolding and protective wrapping


A shame but ultimately necessary.

Back to reality, and this week I managed only one bargain buy in the charity shops, this rather nice knitted and fringed waistcoat from the Indigo range at M&S.


                                            At a pound I think it was a great buy!

Have you had any good finds this week?  Do tell if you have!!

10 comments:

  1. Made a river - now that is cool!

    I have lovely finds to report. I did a charity shop crawl in Fratton, Portsmouth with my son. I got 8 tops and a fab big thin cotton scarf. Pale orange with skulls and flowers, brill! I then found a vintage/retro skirt, gypsy style in brown patterned with orange, pink and white and another super orange top. I spent £35 but the skirt was £10! A jolly good average I thought.

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    1. I am green with envy, Maureen! At least I know the world wasn't devoid of great charity shop treasure this past week, good prices too, well done!

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  2. Now I do like that enormous door frame with the pediment, how fantastic! Aren't the interiors and architectural features of stately homes meant to be completely over the top, to show how much cash they had to flash? Same with all that taming of nature by landscaping - it might be formal and artificial, but it's very attractive even so. Not to live in, but just to look at when you visit anyway! xxx

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    1. I do love a broken pediment as well, Curtise, and I'm not averse to a nice Corinthian column here and there either! Completely OTT for most of our homes, but nice to look at. xxx

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  3. I'm liking that folly and Pan! How cool that the Hare Krishnas used to have it - grand homes and free curry - a match made in heaven! x

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    1. There are so many follies, Vix! The rotunda is big enough to live in and if I remember has a lovely floor, it was shut this time. We have vowed to go back soon just to wander around the grounds and find the other follies. xxx

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  4. Another great historical property, it will be interesting to see the exterior when the renovations are complete.Interesting that some of the interior redone by the Hare Krishnas. The grounds are interesting, I remember seeing Capability Browns gardens many years ago, always over the top but wonderful. Hope you are coping with the unpredictable Spring weather.

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  5. Hi Jill, thanks for stopping by. We will certainly be going back to see the completed restoration, not sure how long it will take though. Yes, unpredictable is right, baking one minute, breezy the next!

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