Saturday 30 July 2011

Montacute House and village, Somerset

Montacute House is an Elizabethan mansion, not as large or as elegant as many we visit but interesting all the same.
It was built between 1588 and 1601 by Sir Edward Phelips, and was home to the Phelips family for 300 years. The house and grounds were given to the National Trust by the Society for Protection of ancient buildings in  1931. There is a 12 acre contemporary garden and the park and estate has some wonderful walks.










This is one of the few country houses that allow photos to be taken inside





The famous Hunter tapestry
Amazing, it is more like a painting








Do you like the 'en-suite'?


The side room to a bedroom


This massive oak bed which dominates the Crimson Bedroom is boldly carved from top to toe. Acanthus leaves unfurl themselves up the bed posts and the coat of arms of James I decorates the headboard, and confirms the date of the bed as 1612.
The bed recently brushed up against Hollywood royalty, playing a 'support role' to Johnny Depp in the 2004 film The Libertine. Film goers would not have suspected that one of the staff was hidden underneath the bed during filming, monitoring any effects of Mr Depp being tucked up inside it.




Servants and maids would sit here waiting to be called


These long galleries at the top of many large houses were often used to take exercise. This in one of the longest surviving in  England at 172 ft


Afternoon tea waiting!



Some scenes around Montacute village to end our day










10 comments:

Elizabethd said...

I'm so interested to have seen your photos of the interior. We were there en route in June and only had time to wander in the gardens. I see the roses are still as lovely!

La Petite Gallery said...

Barbara, wonderful post. Wish I was there. The Grounds and Roses are fabulous. That library table
in the hall,I had a smaller version years ago. The cost it would be to rebuild this place, The wall paneling is beautiful, and bath tub clever. Enjoyed it.

yvonne
Hope all is well with you both.

A Brit in Tennessee said...

Ooh just simply spectacular, what a lovely tour, and the gardens perfection !
She's a grand lady, offering the best of English history.
Thank you for sharing.
~Jo

Anonymous said...

Thesea are wonderful. Thanks!

Diane at My Cottage Garden said...

What a wonderful tour! Thanks so much, I felt like I was there.

Needled Mom said...

Montacute is just gorgeous and the flowers add such beauty.

Willow said...

Oh the library!

Lori Zehr said...

Barbara: That tour was wonderful! I loved seeing the house and gardens! I wish I had gotten to tour more homes and such during my trip--thank you so much!

Shawn said...

That was an interesting post. I was thinking some BBC favorites have been film there too? Thanks for sharing!

Vee said...

The peek inside was most enjoyable. I'm glad that they allow photos there. That upper gallery was something else and a wonderful idea for having a place to exercise in inclement weather. The afternoon tea looked most inviting, too.