The whole family having taken off for a few days away, we were cat-sitting rather than babysitting, and the cat did not need to be entertained by being taken on visits and picnics, so we were able to visit places we wanted to see ourselves.
Our first trip out was to Wales to see Erdigg, a country house just south of Wrexham which was originally built in 1684. The first owner spent too much on it and was bankrupted, so the house was sold to John Mellor, who enlarged it in 1725. As he died without children in 1733, the house was inherited by his nephew Simon Yorke, and the house stayed in the Yorke family (all called Simon or Philip) until 1973 when the last Yorke, Phillip lll, gave the house to the National Trust. It is of particular interest because the Yorke family were unusually close to their servants, whose photographs are lined up all along the downstairs corridors.
The tour starts downstairs in the servants’ area and progresses to the kitchens. I always like the kitchens.
I don’t believe I’d have enjoyed cooking on this range! In another part of the kitchen was a huge roasting jack, reflecting the fact that there were large numbers of people to cook for.
Upstairs was very different. We went from the kitchen to the dining room.
The table is set for 10, so probably only the family with possibly one or two guests. The ceiling is particularly notable here; this is one of the rooms for showing off, hung with portraits and with a fine marble fireplace. One of the portraits, of Philip Yorke l, is by Gainsborough.
The table is set for 10, so probably only the family with possibly one or two guests. The ceiling is particularly notable here; this is one of the rooms for showing off, hung with portraits and with a fine marble fireplace. One of the portraits, of Philip Yorke l, is by Gainsborough.
John Mellor filled the house with fine furniture and fabrics, of which there is an example in the Saloon below.
Note the crystal chandelier, the expensive French clocks and the guilt mirrors; this is one of the rooms John Mellor referred to as his ‘parade rooms’.
Next door was the tapestry room, with expensive tapestries.
The library next door is full of valuable antiquarian works, and there is a copy of the warrant to execute Charles 1st which was signed by an earlier member of the Yorke family.
After all the expensive furniture and serious stuff, it was a change to go up to the nursery and see all the toys. I have a granddaughter who would just love this doll’s house.
Just before leaving, it was back to the serious stuff. We visited the state bedroom, to see the state bed, with its back panel of embroidered Chinese silk, bought by John Mellor in 1720. It is also decorated with heavily carved and gilded gesso work. It’s far from certain any royal person ever slept in it though, it’s largely for show I believe.
I know this isn't a great photo, put it down to the conditions. After conservation of the bed, which had become badly decayed, there was concern about how to continue to preserve it while showing it to visitors. Visitors breathe and sweat, which brings in damp as well as bacteria. Putting the bed in a glass case might be the answer but the bed is huge so the glass would be expensive. So it’s the visitor who is in the glass case! The smallish glass case is at the doorway and only a couple of people at a time can enter it. The windows are closed and the curtains drawn, so the whole room is effectively sealed and kept free of damp and visitor bacteria!
Just before leaving, it was back to the serious stuff. We visited the state bedroom, to see the state bed, with its back panel of embroidered Chinese silk, bought by John Mellor in 1720. It is also decorated with heavily carved and gilded gesso work. It’s far from certain any royal person ever slept in it though, it’s largely for show I believe.
I know this isn't a great photo, put it down to the conditions. After conservation of the bed, which had become badly decayed, there was concern about how to continue to preserve it while showing it to visitors. Visitors breathe and sweat, which brings in damp as well as bacteria. Putting the bed in a glass case might be the answer but the bed is huge so the glass would be expensive. So it’s the visitor who is in the glass case! The smallish glass case is at the doorway and only a couple of people at a time can enter it. The windows are closed and the curtains drawn, so the whole room is effectively sealed and kept free of damp and visitor bacteria!
The garden has also been restored, and this is the beautiful Victorian parterre bedding scheme.
The garden is extensive, 13 and a half acres, and includes an area for fruit trees, an ornamental canal, and a 2 and a half acre natural play area called the Wolf’s Den.
There’s also the pleasure park, part of the 1200 acres of woodland and walks to be explored. My back didn’t allow us to go too far, but we were able to do some walking.
The parkland was largely designed by a landscape designer called William Eames between 1768 and 1780. He created an attractive landscape but also had to reduce the serious flooding from the nearby river. So as well as creating gravelled walks and planting trees, he manipulated the flow of water by creating a series of cascades and weirs. His unique water feature is called the Cup and Saucer waterfall
It’s still working today, as you can see. It gathers the water in a shallow stone basin which has a cylindrical waterfall at its centre. The water falls down this cascade and come out through a tunnel several yards downstream.
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