Drawing Room, Dunster Castle

A drawing room is not what it seems: it is, in fact, a "withdrawing room". In a country house, or even a smaller house (though with pretensions) ladies and/or gentlemen went there for entertainment after a meal had ended, or for a greater degree of privacy than was available elsewhere. In England such a room began to appear in the plans of larger houses in the mid-seveteenth century and remained popular into the twentieth century. This drawing room at Dunster Castle, Somerset, appealed to me and prompted a photograph because of the pleasant light from an adjoining garden room.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: iPhone

Fog at Croft Castle

There was a familiar tale recently - the weather forecaster said unbroken sun but we, the weather observers, saw nothing but fog (until the afternoon). Consequently our day out at Croft Castle produced photographs that I hadn't imagined. For much of the time the details of the building's facade were lost and it became a monochromatic, looming pile.

Only when we walked round to the terrace on the south side did we see something of the structure we recognised.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Views of Croome

Croome is an eighteenth century country house in Worcestershire. It is now in the care of the National Trust and one of the most visited of that organisation's properties. The builders of mansions like Croome invariably spent more money on the main elevation of the house (usually the south-facing front) and less on the elevation that had more utilitarian uses (usually the north front). At Croome the north elevation (shown above) could be mistaken for the most imposing south front (shown below). Perhaps this is because this is the visitor's first view as the road winds its way to the building.

 However, once the south elevation, with its portico, comes into view it is clear which is which. Lancelot "Capability" Brown was responsible for the landscaping around Croome. He widened the Croome River at a couple of points to make it more like a lake against which the house could be seen.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Castles and country houses

In the UK it's not unusual to come across a country house that is based on a former castle. After explosives and cannons became widely used in warfare castles were no longer the safe haven they were formerly. The English Civil War of the C17 was the last time armies grappled for control in fighting on UK soil. When peace came many castles were "slighted" (i.e. blown apart) so they could not be used in any future warfare. Some country houses were made from these remains, others were made by building living accommodation and stately rooms in existing, undamaged castles so that they became homes rather than military architecture. Chirk Castle dates from 1295 and was designed to suppress part of the Marches, the border area between England and Wales. It was bought by Sir Thomas Myddleton in 1593 for £5000 and successive owners converted it to the grand house we see today. The photograph shows the main entrance of the original castle was adapted to be the main entrance of the house, and the adjoining walls were pierced by mullioned and transomed windows to let light into the new rooms.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Front and back

There are not many houses that have more money spent on the back elevation than on the front. They do exist but buildings with more elaborate fronts than backs are pretty much the rule. That is even the case with Britain's country houses, i.e. the houses that were (and to a lesser extent still are) erected by the country's wealthy.

 Berrington Hall near Leominster, Herefordshire, was built in the late C18 by the architect, Henry Holland, and though he took care with, and spent money on, the rear elevation, it has service buildings - kitchens, stables, a laundry etc, and an open courtyard, that would always have impinged on a more opulent rear elevation. Today these utilitarian buildings make useful locations for the cafe, toilets, bookshop etc that visitors to the now National Trust owned property can use.

photo 1 © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300
photo 2 © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Gothic Revival at Tyntesfield House

Tyntesfield House, in Somerset near Bristol, is a Gothic Revival country house designed in the 1860s by the architect, John Norton. It cost £70,000, a large sum that could be well afforded by the owner who has been described as "the richest non-noble man in England."

 Pevsner describes the south elevation (photo 2) as "an object lesson in the technique by which a High Victorian architect endeavored to keep balance while avoiding symmetry." Money was lavished on every elevation - see east elevation,  photo 1 - as well as the interiors. The chapel, on the right of photo 2, was added in 1875, the design of the architect, Sir Arthur Blomfield. It has been likened to the chapels of Oxford colleges. The house became the property of the National Trust in 2002 and the public were first admitted ten weeks after purchase.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Chinese Bridge in the landscape

In the eighteenth century, just as today, fashions and styles came and went. One style  that lingered a while was a liking for all things Chinese: what came to be called "chinoiserie". Blue and white pottery, painted wall-paper depicting Chinese scenes, birds etc, Chinese motifs in chairs and other furniture, mirror frames with oriental decoration and much else was bought from the far east or manufactured nearer to home. A particular favourite was a footbridge based on the ones painted on the scenes that decorated the blue and white plates and saucers. This example at Croome Court, Worcestershire, is a reconstruction of one built there in the eighteenth century. You can find out more about that bridge here.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Country house compositions

The great temptation when photographing a large, ornate, historic country house is to let the architect's symmetrical facade speak for itself. In other words, fill the frame with the facade of the front of the house, the place where all the money was spent. There's nothing wrong with this approach. However, it's an interesting challenge to find a composition that gives less emphasis to the facade. These two shots of Croome Court, Worcestershire, a house completed in 1760 to the designs of Lancelot "Capability" Brown, a man better known for his landscape gardening, do just that. The first retains a measure of symmetry - the house in the centre glimpsed between two trees with a path leading to it. It also contextualises the house in its grounds with the nearby Gothick church built in 1763 for the then owner (also by Brown). 

The second photograph puts the house on the right of the frame with balance achieved by the tree on the left.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Montacute House and south lodge

Montacute House in Somerset was built c.1598, a time when the main influence on English architecture was changing from Gothic to Renaissance. The west elevation, above, and the flanking walls have classically-inspired columns and an overall symmetry but the prevalence of the principal orders of architecture cannot be seen. The windows look backwards rather than forwards, and the Dutch gables show the influence of Flanders rather than Italy. When Montacute was built this was the entrance elevation and instead of a lawn there would have been a carriage turning circle.

A large house such as this needed gatehouse lodges and the South Lodge is a marvellous example of how the grandeur of the main house could be announced by the imposing architecture of the ancillary buildings.

  photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Witley Court

A first glance at Witley Court, Worcestershire, gives the impression of a massive mid-Victorian country house. A second look reveals the absence of roofs, windows and areas of stonework. A closer examination of the remaining shell shows evidence of seventeenth century, eighteenth century and Regency remains. Until a great fire wrought havoc at Witley Court in 1937 the house was a grand building whose nineteenth century owner, Lord Ward (created Earl of Dudley in 1860) lavished enormous amounts of money. Now it is an interesting ruin in the care of English Heritage who have undertaken sensitive restorations, including bringing the Perseus and Andromeda fountain back to life every hour on the hour.

The first photograph shows the main south front of the house with the restored fountain in full flow. The second image shows the east front. The clock tower that can be seen above the south front belongs to a splendid Baroque church immediately next to the house, that was relatively untouched by the fire.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Croft Castle, Herefordshire

The first impression the visitor gets of Croft Castle is a seventeenth century house with decorative rather than functional corner turrets that received remodelling in the eighteenth century. Further examination reinforces this idea and it is a real pleasure to walk around the house (it isn't a castle in the usual sense) and work out what was added and when. The medieval St Michael, only a few feet from the main building, emphasizes the importance of the collective power of nobility and the church in seventeenth and eighteen century England. An early arrival at the house, which is in the care of the National Trust, gave me some deep shadows with which to layer my composition.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300

Weston Hall, Weston under Penyard

 
Most of Weston Hall at Weston under Penyard, Herefordshire, is said to date from around 1600, though it has been suggested it is a later build of c.1650. The arms of the Nourse family and the symmetrical plan, mullioned windows, characteristic doorways, drip moulds and finials all point to the seventeenth century. There are later additions of the eighteenth and twentieth centuries, with the most recent structure (dated 2000) a circular, ornamental gazebo with a tall ogee top. This photograph, that shows one of the formal gardens, was taken through a gate in the roadside wall.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

The tallest hedge in Britain?

At our last house we had the unenviable task of cutting a hedge that was abut 120 feet long and 10 feet high. When I saw the hedge cutting featured in today's photograph I remembered our hedge and reflected that the job was as nothing compared with the task of keeping this monster in shape. I don't know whether this hedge at Cirencester Park is the tallest in Britain but there can't be many, if any, that surpass it. You might wonder why a country house that is surrounded by a stone wall as tall as that in the photograph needs a hedge behind it. It must, I think, be because the house is next to the streets and houses of the town and a taller barrier was felt necessary to preserve the privacy of the owners. Incidentally, watching this hedge cutting was probably the highpoint of our grandson's visit to Cirencester.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Chinese bridge, Croome Court

When, in 1751, Lancelot "Capability" Brown was engaged to re-fashion the landscape around Croome Court, Worcestershire, he decided to keep the Chinese bridge that had been designed by William Halfpenny in the 1740s. "Chinoiserie" was fashionable during the eighteenth century and many British country houses still retain wallpaper, furniture, mirrors, tableware etc that was influenced by this taste for the oriental. Being made of wood the original bridge has not survived the intervening centuries. The National Trust, now the owners of Croome Court, recently had this replacement built. It is based on Halfpenny's original drawing that features in an eighteenth century book, and on Richard Wilson's painting. The National Trust website tells and illustrates the fascinating story of the building of the new bridge.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

On Garway Hill

Garway Hill is a mere 366 metres in height. However, its height relative to the surrounding landscape is such that it gives far better and more distant views than might be imagined. On our first walk to this lowly summit we went on a day of promised sun that never materialised. Distant prospects were on offer but seen through low cloud and haze. Closer views made for better photographs. This shot shows Kentchurch Court, a country house of medieval origins with eighteenth century and later additions, some the work of John Nash, sitting in its deer park. The varied planting makes for a colourful autumn display.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Sony DSC-RX100

Gallery, Croome Court

Croome Court is slowly being restored by the National Trust after having suffered under several short-term owners. The Gallery shown in the photograph was the best preserved room and can now be seen empty of the kind of furniture, rugs, paintings etc that it would have held when built. The house is the work of Lancelot "Capability" Brown, a man better known as a landscape gardener. The interiors include work by the celebrated Robert Adam.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10