Aethelhampton House
In May this year, I visited Aethelhampton House - the house is set in elegant gardens - I was especially taken with the pyramid shaped hedges - I imagined the cunning gardeners cutting the dark leaves with their shears -
I walked past a fountain, set in a shallow stone basin - rain fell steadily upon the lawns and ornamental trees - there were various sights to beguile me - a pond, with a mossy plinth - the statue of a slender woman, her bare shoulders shining with rainwater - a large stone dovecote - the lichened walls - a row of pollarded trees, each side of a gravel pathway, their branches like thin arms - the broad stripes of the recently mown lawns, alternately light and dark -
Once inside, I thought that this house might be the one in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - for it was a maze of dark corridors, mysterious stairways and rooms full of secrets -
The splendid hall had a wide floor of flagstones - linenfold panelling was fixed to the walls - the high oriel window was framed by delicate stone tracery - logs smouldered in a huge fireplace at one end of the hall - there was a gallery overlooking the hall, from which you could look upwards at the beams supporting the roof - the faces of the Tudor politicians in the sombre portraits still exuded power - the smell of wood smoke hung in the air like incense -
Upstairs, I found the library - there were ceiling high shelves of books - a desk with a bust of a frowning Galdstone - dust danced in the light from the window - lamps with green shades hung low from the ceiling - I could see the calf leather volumes, brimful with old words -
Across the landing there was a long low ceilinged room, with yet more books, sofas, a billiard table and an old fashioned gramophone - a globe stood upon a desk - there was a massive Imperial typewriter placed next to the gramophone -
I thought that at any moment, I might catch sight of Digory Kirke, dreaming of Narnia - or that I would hear the foot steps of the Pevensie children, as they ran through the attics -
In May this year, I visited Aethelhampton House - the house is set in elegant gardens - I was especially taken with the pyramid shaped hedges - I imagined the cunning gardeners cutting the dark leaves with their shears -
I walked past a fountain, set in a shallow stone basin - rain fell steadily upon the lawns and ornamental trees - there were various sights to beguile me - a pond, with a mossy plinth - the statue of a slender woman, her bare shoulders shining with rainwater - a large stone dovecote - the lichened walls - a row of pollarded trees, each side of a gravel pathway, their branches like thin arms - the broad stripes of the recently mown lawns, alternately light and dark -
Once inside, I thought that this house might be the one in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - for it was a maze of dark corridors, mysterious stairways and rooms full of secrets -
The splendid hall had a wide floor of flagstones - linenfold panelling was fixed to the walls - the high oriel window was framed by delicate stone tracery - logs smouldered in a huge fireplace at one end of the hall - there was a gallery overlooking the hall, from which you could look upwards at the beams supporting the roof - the faces of the Tudor politicians in the sombre portraits still exuded power - the smell of wood smoke hung in the air like incense -
Upstairs, I found the library - there were ceiling high shelves of books - a desk with a bust of a frowning Galdstone - dust danced in the light from the window - lamps with green shades hung low from the ceiling - I could see the calf leather volumes, brimful with old words -
Across the landing there was a long low ceilinged room, with yet more books, sofas, a billiard table and an old fashioned gramophone - a globe stood upon a desk - there was a massive Imperial typewriter placed next to the gramophone -
I thought that at any moment, I might catch sight of Digory Kirke, dreaming of Narnia - or that I would hear the foot steps of the Pevensie children, as they ran through the attics -
Snooker table looks inviting..
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Paul