Breakfast at Gather this morning, then off to see some National Trust properties in the surrounding villages of Somerset.
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| Flat Whites and Cortados at Gather Cafe - across the street from K+A's house on the High Street in Batheaston |
After breakfast, we take A36 to A366 to B3139 to A37 to get to the Lytes Cary Manor, about an hours drive.
Lytes Cary is a manor
house with
associated chapel and gardens near Charlton Mackrell and Somerton in Somerset, England.
The property, owned by the National Trust, has parts dating to the 14th century, with other sections
dating to the 15th, 16th, 18th, and 20th centuries.
The House is listed as Grade I by English Heritage. The chapel predates the existing house,
having been built around 1343, and functioned as a chantry chapel, where masses could be said
for the souls of the family, both living and dead.
The great hall was added in
the 15th century and the Oriel Room in the 16th. Various renovations were
undertaken during the 16th and 17th centuries after which the house fell into
disrepair with the north range being demolished by the early 19th century.
In
1907 Sir Walter Jenner of the Jenner baronets bought
the house and restored it in a period style, furnishing it with fine 17th
century and 18th century oak furniture, antique tapestries and fabrics modelled
after medieval textiles, along with historic and period paintings. On his death
in 1948 he left the house to the National Trust.
The gardens are listed as Grade II but the original 17th-century gardens have disappeared.
However, the
Jenners laid them out in an Arts and Crafts style with a series of 'rooms', which
are separated from each other by high, neatly clipped box and yew hedges.
These
are complemented by ponds and walks in and between each of the 'rooms'.
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| The Elm beam roof over the Great Hall dates back to 1450 |
After picking up some plants and other items in the gift shop, we hop back in the car and make our way toward Barrington Court.
We take the A303 toward Shepton Beauchamp and arrive 20 minutes later.
Barrington Court is a Tudor manor
house begun around
1538 and completed in the late 1550s, with a vernacular stable court (1675),
situated in Barrington, near Ilminster, Somerset, England.
The house was owned by several families
by 1745 after which it fell into disrepair and was used as a tenant farm.
After repair by architect Alfred Hoare Powell (1865–1960), it was the first house acquired by
the National Trust, in 1907.
In the 1920s the house was
renovated, the stable block turned into a residence and several outbuildings,
gardens and gateways constructed.
The house was originally surrounded by
a medieval deer park and in the 17th century a formal garden was
constructed. This had largely disappeared until a new garden was laid out
in an Arts and Crafts-style. It now contains walled kitchen gardens, fruit
orchards and ornamental gardens.
We got one of the last tables in the outdoor tea house before closing, to relax after our tour of the house and gardens
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| Observe the unique chimney pots - like Twizzler licorice sticks! |
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| That is live Mistletoe in the tree....Yup, that's how it grows! |
We moved on taking the A378 back up toward Somerton to the White Hart pub for dinner, then back home to Batheaston.....Glorious weather all day and lots of great sites to explore.
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| Medieval Market Cross in the center of town marks the location of market location approved by the local baron. |
