Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Sissinghurst Castle

For our first home and garden visit, we drove to Sissinghurst, just a short distance from Ashford, the home and garden of Vita Sackville-West and her husband Harold Nicolson. The estate began as a Saxon pig farm (origin of the expression "Saxon pigs!"), but by the 16th century had a large Renaissance house, 38 fireplaces and a 120 foot long hall. The next few centuries were rough, however, the estate serving as a POW camp for French sailors in the Seven Years War (the French and Indian Wars to us Yanks) (known to the prisoners as Chateau Sissinghurst and thus Sissinghurst Castle) and even a poor house. When Sackville-West and Nicolson took over, it was a ruin. Now it is one of hundreds of jewels in the National Trust crown. Vicki was hissing "Sackville-Bagginses!" as we toured, but this was (as she knows) the Sackville-West of Bloomsbury and Virginia Wolff fame.
The Elizabethan tower at Sissinghurst


















Sackville-West's study was in the tower; playing was a
recording of her reading her poem "Sissinghurst"















She collected glass, among other things


















Part of the estate, from the tower; note the white Kent hops
hoods on a distant barn; for drying hops; for making beer














And a view of part of the gardens; Harold was a straight-line
classicist, she a Romantic; they often clashed over the
gardens' designs

















Not the first, and not the last Wisteria
you'll see from us; Vicki loves them



















Azaleas in bloom all over...but nothing compared to the
rhododendron riot we'll see in a few more days















Poppies














Irises














And others; it is really earlier spring here; Europe has had
a dreadful long winter and short spring; the good news for
us is that we haven't really missed anything!
















One end of the library; they were both literary types, and
this room contained nearly 5,000 books; is someone out
there thinking about the effect of e-books on great house
architecture?

















Vita Sackville-West; portrait in the library


3 comments:

Mel u said...

She was the inspiration for the central,character in Orlando by Virginia Woolf. Her books will, in think, pass into public domain this year.

Tawana said...

Well, many of the books I buy these days are in e-book form. Wes moved 3 huge bookcases from his university office into my sewing room, and I don't think I have books enough to fill them up any more. Sad to think about that.

Beautiful house and gardens, though.

Mark said...

Mel,

Rather more than inspiration, I gather; alas, another book I shall never read!

Mark