The weekend has been sunny and clear, but rather chilly. Brad is out at the driving range this morning -- his first golf outing since we moved here.
Yesterday, we took a drive to investigate an interesting building we used to pass on the way to visit Ginger while he was in quarantine. The brown and white signs pointing the way to the building informed us that it was situated in Allerton Park. We made the turnoff from the motorway and soon found ourselves on a narrow country road. Eventually we came to a sign that said Welcome to Allerton Castle, but it was unclear which of the derelict roads we were to take. We chose the one that appeared to be in the direction of the Castle (which was hidden from view at this point). We eventually arrived at the drive in front of the Castle. There were two cars parked at the front, but we also noticed that several of the windows were boarded up. The Castle did not appear to be open to visitors. There was no car park, no signs stating opening hours. We left the Castle grounds and intend to investigate the story behind Allerton Castle on the Internet.
Then we decided to go to Harewood House, a mansion situated between Harrogate and Leeds. It is the home of the 7th Earl of Harewood, George Lascelles, who happens to be a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth. George's mother was Princess Mary, daughter of King George V. Elizabeth is the daughter of George VI, George V's brother. Now that we've got the lineage sorted out...Harewood House was built in the late 1700s by George's ancestor, Edwin Lascelles. With exquisitely decorated ceilings and interiors by Robert Adam, furniture by Chippendale and grounds landscaped by Capability Brown, it is no wonder Harewood House is considered to be one of England's Treasure Houses. And it has admission fees to match: 9.50 pounds per person.
We enjoyed wandering through the mansion's lavishly decorated rooms on a self-guided tour and caught a brief lecture about a portrait by Joshua Reynolds. (We learned that Reynolds routinely painted only the face and hands; the rest of the portrait was completed by anonymous drapery and landscape painters.) Views of the landscape outside the windows were stunning. But our favorite thing was the Old Kitchen, in the basement of the house and the domain of the servants. We saw there an amazing array of copperware and a huge 1930s-oven among other cooking implements.
There is also a Bird Garden on the grounds of Harewood House, scattered over four acres of land and housing over 100 species of exotic, non-British birds. I was struck with a particular pang of nostalgia when I saw the Azure-winged Magpie, a species we saw regularly in our neighborhood in Tokyo.
There is much more to Harewood than the House and the Bird Garden, such as the Terraced Gardens, All Saints Church and Harewood Lake, but we will save them for another day, perhaps. (We'll need to purchase a yearly pass to make it economically feasible.) There is only so much Stately Home visiting one can take in a day.
Yesterday, we took a drive to investigate an interesting building we used to pass on the way to visit Ginger while he was in quarantine. The brown and white signs pointing the way to the building informed us that it was situated in Allerton Park. We made the turnoff from the motorway and soon found ourselves on a narrow country road. Eventually we came to a sign that said Welcome to Allerton Castle, but it was unclear which of the derelict roads we were to take. We chose the one that appeared to be in the direction of the Castle (which was hidden from view at this point). We eventually arrived at the drive in front of the Castle. There were two cars parked at the front, but we also noticed that several of the windows were boarded up. The Castle did not appear to be open to visitors. There was no car park, no signs stating opening hours. We left the Castle grounds and intend to investigate the story behind Allerton Castle on the Internet.
Then we decided to go to Harewood House, a mansion situated between Harrogate and Leeds. It is the home of the 7th Earl of Harewood, George Lascelles, who happens to be a first cousin of Queen Elizabeth. George's mother was Princess Mary, daughter of King George V. Elizabeth is the daughter of George VI, George V's brother. Now that we've got the lineage sorted out...Harewood House was built in the late 1700s by George's ancestor, Edwin Lascelles. With exquisitely decorated ceilings and interiors by Robert Adam, furniture by Chippendale and grounds landscaped by Capability Brown, it is no wonder Harewood House is considered to be one of England's Treasure Houses. And it has admission fees to match: 9.50 pounds per person.
We enjoyed wandering through the mansion's lavishly decorated rooms on a self-guided tour and caught a brief lecture about a portrait by Joshua Reynolds. (We learned that Reynolds routinely painted only the face and hands; the rest of the portrait was completed by anonymous drapery and landscape painters.) Views of the landscape outside the windows were stunning. But our favorite thing was the Old Kitchen, in the basement of the house and the domain of the servants. We saw there an amazing array of copperware and a huge 1930s-oven among other cooking implements.
There is also a Bird Garden on the grounds of Harewood House, scattered over four acres of land and housing over 100 species of exotic, non-British birds. I was struck with a particular pang of nostalgia when I saw the Azure-winged Magpie, a species we saw regularly in our neighborhood in Tokyo.
There is much more to Harewood than the House and the Bird Garden, such as the Terraced Gardens, All Saints Church and Harewood Lake, but we will save them for another day, perhaps. (We'll need to purchase a yearly pass to make it economically feasible.) There is only so much Stately Home visiting one can take in a day.
posted by lenora at 7:12 AM
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