After a night in a quiet layby near
Barton, and a stop at a Cambridge "superstore," we
continued our tour of East Anglia, now (July 4th) on to
Audley End House and Garden, near Saffon Walden, Sussex. Audley End
is owned and managed by English Heritage, another cultural
non-profit. The distinction between English Heritage and the National
Trust is, broadly, that English Heritage does the ruins,
castles and abbeys and such, and National Trust does the "live"
buildings, those still intact (mostly) and furnished and that you can
still visit and in which people (remaining lords and ladies with
sharp lawyers) still live (parts of them; the houses). But there are
exceptions, and Audley End is one of three "live" houses
done by English Heritage. Did I mention that on our British campaigns
we generally become members of the National Trust, English Heritage,
and the Camping and Caravanning Club? Given our interests, and the
entrance fees, these memberships pay for themselves rather quickly.
The organizations do not envisage Americans spending weeks or
months in the UK visiting houses and gardens and ruins and such.
Anyhow, after WWII, Audley came to the government (it had already
been used as an army base) and eventually to English Heritage, and
thus to all of us. It was a superb visit, with a garden tour, the
butler's pantry private tour, and the house tour. Two caveats: 1) no
fotos in the house, and 2) if you're in a motor-home, you'll
have to get to the car park via its exit; the main entrance
has 9'6" height limit.
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Full frontal, but only a fraction of its former glory; Jacobean age, although the
contents vary over the centuries |
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| Front lawn, looking toward a distant folly; note cricket pitches, left |
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| Great cedar, beautiful trees all around |
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| Former glory, 17th |
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| Enormous cloud-sculptured hedge |
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| Tulip tree tulip |
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Water feature near the walled garden (which we left prematurely for the (private)
tour of the butler's pantry) |
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| Back side, formidable ha-ha |
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| Garden view of the house |
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| Looking toward the major folly, a Greek temple |
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| Thus |
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| Helpful model |
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| A few pix off the web...the entry hall is knock-out |
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| Main hall |
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| Just a bit of the library |
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| Ladies' withdrawing room, Pompei-style, painted on the walls |
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| Bedroom |
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| Long hall, filled with dead things, mostly fowl |
