In the doghouse

In the courtyard of Ightham Mote there is a giant dog kennel, which is the only Grade 1 listed kennel in the UK. This was made for a St Bernard called Dido.

Other highlights for me are the painted ceiling in the Tudor chapel, and the Great Hall. Of course, the National Trust's "no photography" rule means that I can't show these in the blog (my previous visit pre-dated the no-photography edict, so if I can find the relevant images I'll post them later). The NT has a photogallery of Ightham interiors and exteriors.

Ightham Mote

Another repeat visit was to Ightham Mote. The last time I saw the house was just before the £10 million restoration programme began in 1989. A large proportion of the building has been dismantled and rebuilt, re-opening in 2004. This was an excellent opportunity to record the way in which the building was constructed, and there is an exhibition detailing this. The archaeological investigations were also the subject of a Time Team special, and there is a DVD of the TV programme with lots of additional footage.