Angleterre

So as promised a quick review of my trip to England about a month ago. I had a splendid time and I’m so lucky to have a belle-soeur  to travel with. The highlight of the trip was, as you see above, visiting Pemberley. Okay, it’s really called Lyme Park, but it was magnificent and totally fit being cast as Pemberley in the BBC production of Pride and Prejudice. The inside, was equally amazing with an immense library overlooking the park, but sadly photographs weren’t allowed.

Our visit to Pemberley was simply by chance. We randomly decided to head into the Peak District and it was only once we were there that we discovered our dream destination was just an hour away. We stayed at a lovely hotel which provided a relaxing contrast to our busy days snooping about Manor Houses.

Yes this was our hotel!

Some of the other houses we visited included. Erdigg in Wales, note the sign in Welsh and English, and it included an interesting tour of the “downstairs” servant’s quarters, as well as the usual decorative and opulent “upstairs” rooms.

In some cases, the house was eclipsed by the gardens that surround it. This was the case with Tatton Park and Packwood House below. It is completely understandable why the rich built these homes as retreats and hunting lodges. The natural beauty of these places was a welcome contrast from my own city life, and I can only imagine that they would be a welcome oasis when one lives most of one’s  life in a fourteenth or fifteenth century dirty metropolis.

The garden’s of Packwood House made me think that at any minute a white rabbit with a pocket watch would be popping it’s head around a corner.

History was all around us, but some of the history which intrigued me most and has been a point of interest for some time was that surrounding the reformation in England. We saw an example of a Catholic Bible from the time of Elizabeth the first at Lyme Park. It would have been hidden away somewhere in the house but included annotations about how much the family hated the local protestant minister. At Baddersly Clinton (below) we also saw the reconstruction of the hidden chapel that the household used for worship and three priest holes which would have hid Jesuit priests from the local Sheriff who would periodically search households suspected of Catholicism. It is difficult to imagine keeping one’s faith so secret and it is interesting to think about the political significance these prominent houses played, which remained Catholic at heart, but Protestant in everyday life.

Elise finding her intials. Is it a secret code.

The hidden chapel.

I also had a grand time meeting Elise’s English mates and I was able to sit in on one of her classes. Stevenage is quiet suburban place, but it was an excellent jumping off point for some local sights. These included Hatfield House, Cambridge and of course London. All in all a wonderful and much needed week of English and relaxation. If only I could travel all of the time! (sigh)

Cambridge

Cambridge

Fun at the Cambridge Market

The grave of Robert Cecil, spy master to Elizabeth I, at Hatfield House.

Hatfield House