Killerton and Saltram

We got an early start Saturday morning, the 31st, and were able to do two great houses, Killereton, near Exeter, and Saltram, near Plymouth. Killerton is late Elizabethan. The building is not very interesting; relatively small, flat-roofed. However, it houses a national garment and costume collection so large that they exhibit only a fraction of it each year, in accordance with a theme. This year's was "working women," so there were all sorts of womens' uniforms, in addition to the evening gowns, undergarments, etc. Of greatest interest to me was one of Queen Victoria's black day dresses. Did you know that she was only four feet eleven inches tall? That in her more advanced years, only four foot eight? Also at Killerton, in the library, was a false-front bookcase--titles like Books Not Worth Reading, Getting Your Words Worth, etc., all in leather-bound, goldleaf, etc.

But the most interesting thing about Killerton was the back-story, how it came to the National Trust. In fact, it was one of the largest gifts ever, the house, grounds, 6,000 acres, including 20 farms and 4 villages. Most of the properties are donated when there is no heir, or no heir the donor likes; or when the owners can't afford the upkeep. Inheritance taxes in the UK in the 1950s reached 80% and are still quite high, compared with the US (what isn't?), and with a low threshold. Anyhow, the Baronet Aclund was a leading socialist, an MP, fell in with JB Priestly and others such, and he and his wife, the Baronetess (?), decided it was immoral for so much wealth to be in so few hands. So they gave it all to the National Trust, retaining only a modest apartment.

At Killerton, a dragon chain-saw sculpture in front of a

beautiful 300 year-old Sweet Chesnut

Killerton House

Killerton grounds

Summer hut, beatiful rustic woodwork

Hut interior

Saltram is a late 18th century house and grounds, best known

for its original furnishings and paintings; its reputation, among

all the great houses, is for its "homey" feel; I guess you have

to be British...

Chinese wallpaper in one of the Saltram rooms

"The Best 1,000 Houses"...why it's so difficult

to see them all...

Vicki adds:

Plymouth, England October 31, 2009
We have decided to spend tonight in a campground to be sure we aren't the victims of any tricks. Today we managed two great houses in one day only because they were only 1 hr apart and the campground was 2 miles from the second one. It is so strange for it to be getting dark at 4:30 in the afternoon and today was overcast so really even earlier. So far no one has come through the campground trick or treating which is good since we could only given them pence.

We have been trying to get our flu jabs without much luck as the chemists each do them a different day and want appointments. I swear the British have a different term for almost everything—yes, it is easy to figure out that jab means shot and a chemists is a pharmacy, but after a while you get the feeling that they do it on purpose—that whatever the Yanks are calling something, the Brits decide to call it something else!

Tomorrow we have one more great house and that will be the end as the National Trust closes almost all their houses on November 1. It has been great fun and very educational going through them—we will have to make a count, but I would think at least 25—so that only leaves 275 for our next trip.