Ightham gardens

Early in spring is not always the best time to visit the gardens of many National Trust properties. Ightham, however, had some pleasant surprises hidden away in the shape of some species tulips . A lack of plant labels means that I have had to guess at their identification. Hidden under a hedge was this little gem, probably Tulipa saxatalis or tarda.

It wasn't the only one: again in the absence of a plant label, I suspect that this red species tulip is T. humilis 'Little Beauty'

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.

Knole exteriors

One of the easily missed features of Knole is the decorative leadwork. Each of the downpipes start with a different header. The images show two of these dated 1605 and 1607.

At that date, lead sheet was produced by sand casting. Decorative pieces like the drainpipes and gutter headers at Knole were either directly cast from moulds produced from wooden templates, or were beaten from flat sheets over a wooden former.

The finished articles were often finished by painting in bright colours or were gilded or tinned to provide an attractive finish.

The TD may refer to Thomas Sackville who had been created Earl of Dorset in 1604, and who was responsible for much of the fine wood and plasterwork throughout the house in a renovation between 1603 and his death in 1608.

Knole, Kent

My Easter break was spent visiting my sister in Kent. That was a great opportunity to see (and photograph) her collection of irises. The previous week she had been awarded a bronze medal at the RHS London Flower show, and was mentioned in an article in the Times. For a view of the current stock of irises, see her website at Iris of Sissinghurst where there is a photo gallery.

We made a repeat visit to Knole. I was last there over fifteen years ago, before I met my wife, so it was an opportunity to introduce her to the house and the extensive deer park. Knole is an interesting house, supposedly based on a calendar with 365 rooms, 7 courtyards and 52 staircases. Originally built in the 15th century by Thomas Bourchier, Archbishop of Canterbury, the house and estate was passed to the See of Canterbury before being appropriated by Henry VIII who enlarged the house. The estate was finally given to the Sackville family by Elizabeth I.

The deer in the park are incredibly tame - much more so than those in other deer parks that I have visited. They allow people to approach very closely, even the very young ones. I suspect that this is because people are feeding them (despite the prominent signs to the contrary). I saw several groups sharing their food with the deer.