We set off on Saturday 31st August early to avoid the traffic and paused at the lovely NT property Montacute House in Somerset.
Several reasons:
1. Another NT for my tally
2. My penpal that I had never met in person lived near enough to drive down and meet us there
3. @gardenfolk has an historical connection with the house and asked if I was visiting it
Montacute is a late Elizabethan construction built in about 1598, built for Sir Edward Phelps. He was the Speaker of the House of Commons at the time and also the first prosecutor in the Guy Fawkes Gunpowder Plot.
It is thought the architect was William Arnold, but no one knows for sure. Other residents include the Marquess George Curzon, the American writer Henry Lane Eno and the philanthropist Ernest Cook before it was given to the National Trust.
During the Second World War, American soldiers were billeted in the surrounding parkland and the house was requisitioned by the army just before the Normandy Landings.
The colour of the stone is Hamstone, coming from a local site called Ham Hill in Somerset. Across the main facade upstairs are statues of The Nine Worthies. Nice site to visit and the cafe is good!
What an interesting story this building has - thank you for sharing. A beautiful set of pictures to give us an idea of what this building and grounds look like. You are getting on well with your person challenge of visiting 60 ( am I right) heritage buildings.
@casablanca Thank you! I wish I could have joined you on the visit. I really must make the trip to see my ancestral home. Sir Edward Phelps is in my family tree. Sixty years has passed from the last time one of my relatives visited Montacute House. You made a nice collage from your photos. Fav
@gardenfolk Ah, I wondered who it was and perhaps the American writer......but Sir Edward Phelps! Wonderful. I hope you get there one day to see it for yourself. They do an excellent external tour of the property too, giving lots of the history. They would LOVE to meet you.
Well definitely another visit must be on the cards to meet your pen friend. A beautiful house & grounds…..we are so lucky to have such places & in good repair.
Fave collage.