A journey East this morning to the outskirts of Penrith and Dalemain Mansion, an Elizabethan Manor house with Georgian extensions owned by the same family by over 400 years.
Dalemain Mansion
First stop (of course) was the tea room and unfortunately, we were last in the queue following an influx of coach parties all stopping for their morning break. To our pleasant surprise, the queue was dealt with quickly and efficiently and we were soon sat down enjoying our elevenses in time for the 11.15 guided tour.
http://www.dalemain.com/index.php
Our housekeeper-turned-guide Jan was excellent and we enjoyed a good mix of history, humour and family information as we worked our way around the house. From the family’s early beginnings and links to the murder of Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral to a modern day Paris-based photographer, the family still reside in the house and are looking to a bright future managing the estate. Awarded the prestigious HHA/Christie’s Garden of the Year award in 2013, the estate as a business is going from strength to strength. Organised for the first time some nine years ago by the current Lady of the House, the famous Dalemain Marmalade awards and festival is thriving and 2014’s winner (of which we treated ourselves to a jar) is now in production and being stocked exclusively at Dalemain and Fortnum & Mason (it’s delicious by the way, has a hint of ale in it!).
Humphrey with the Double Gold WInning Dalemain Marmalade.
http://www.dalemainmarmaladeawards.co.uk/
The house itself is a medley of 16th century peal tower, Elizabethan Manor house and Georgian extensions and facades, all of which make for a very interesting visit and a variety of head heights to say the least. The rooms are impressive with an intimate collection of family portraits, both old and new, giving the house a welcoming appeal and a lived in feel. After finishing our tour we ambled around the gardens, particularly enjoying the old fashioned rose specimens and herbaceous perennial borders, just glorious at this time of year.
A short journey around Penrith bought us to our second stop of the day, Hutton-in-the-Forest, another fine example of peal tower, 17th century quarters and a mock Victorian castellated extension all of which from a distance have been skilfully blended into what looks like a property built all of the same period.
http://hutton-in-the-forest.co.uk/
After a tasty lunch in the tea room, our guide for the afternoon Christine (a fellow ceramicist) was very informative and we enjoyed looking around the house with a very exclusive tour of just four people! Pot Fest, a festival of ceramics, is held each year in the grounds so amongst the historical treasures there are dotted several modern ceramics which the family purchase intermittently as an ongoing commitment to extending the family collection. Several of the rooms on the tour were decorated and furnished in the arts and crafts style and our particular favourite was the Victorian drawing room, stuffed with pattern, artefacts of all shapes and sizes, gorgeous textiles and art work. The more the better!
After concluding our tour we made a last minute decision to head North into Carlisle and visit the Tullie House and Carlisle Museum and Art Gallery.
Tullie House, a Georgian house once forming part of the old town centre, has more recently been incorporated into the modern gallery and now houses a significant collection of Pre-Raphaelite art. Much of the collection was bequeathed to the museum in the 1970’s and is now beautifully displayed amongst an impressive collection of 18th and 19th century ceramics, a real feast for the eyes! In the modern day building, the extensive museum houses several displays including a Roman history of the area and Hadrian’s Wall to industrial Carlisle and the Railway network. There is also a gallery of changing exhibitions and currently there is a collection of modern ceramics by contemporary ceramic artist Richard Slee, interesting, but not particularly our cup of tea, give us a cabinet of 19th century Coalport any day! http://www.richardslee.com/
After being kicked out of the museum so that the staff could lock up behind us, we spent the next hour or so wandering around the old town, soaking in the wonderful architecture and listening to choir practice in the Cathedral.
Interior of Carlisle Cathedral.
Interior of Carlisle Cathedral.
Interior of Carlisle Cathedral.
The cathedral and deanery are very pretty and the outdoor information boards were interested in so much as they described how the area had changed over several centuries and evolved into what we see today. The ceiling in the cathedral was particularly impressive and there were some information boards about the Thomas Becket story which tied in nicely with our Dalemain visit earlier on in the day.
Thomas Becket Story, Carlisle Cathedral.
Thomas Becket Story, Carlisle Cathedral.
Thomas Becket Story, Carlisle Cathedral.
The Big Man, The Pretty One & The Animal 