Tuesday 6 September 2016

Stourhead & Marston Bigot


I'm in Hamburg today, returning Thursday afternoon - just in time for my wedding on Friday. Oh, another thing that annoys me - people in security queues at airports who make no attempt at preparation for the scanner. Weather on Friday is looking iffy, so the decision against a garden reception seems to have been a good one.

Went to Stourhead in Wiltshire on Sunday. The place is stuffed to the gills with Chippendale furniture and souvenirs from the Grand Tour, the 18th and 19th century equivalent of the Spanish straw donkey and those hideous flasks for drinking gut-rot Mediterranean wines. Beautiful place with a garden designed by Lancelot (Capability) Brown - a man who could not have ever seen the result of his works, as they took a hundred years or so to mature. A man of foresight. Lots of follies in the grounds surrounding the lake.

Came back through a place called Marston Bigot. Wonder what kind of people live there? 

Before the images, why do some parents think it's OK for their kids to run around frightening the wildlife? The very reason the ducks come up to families is due to a trust that they won't be harmed, and then irresponsible parents revel in allowing their cherished offspring to chase them, destroying that trust and the ensuing spectacle. 





This item above is known as "The Pope's Cabinet". Attributed to the ownership of Sixtus V, who reigned 1585~1590. The Badminton Cabinet, which was made for the Duke of Beaufort in 1726, sold for £19m in 2004. Just what the Pope's Cabinet is worth is anyone's guess. It's filled with 150 secret drawers.









6 comments:

potty said...

As my parents used to live in Wincanton, I've walked around the garden (with dog - on the lead) so many times but never visited the House. Rushing here and there we miss so many of British treasures.

A Heron's View said...

Similar to Potty for I too have visited Stourhead gardens on many occasions which was a good place when seeking peace and quiet. Further, I was led to understand that LCB originally designed a sunken garden which unfortunately flooded by a nearby stream and then was left to remain as a lake.

potty said...

If memory serves, the peacocks were rather noisy!

Chairman Bill said...

And there's me thinking it was designed by Capability Brown....

Chairman Bill said...

Didn't see any peacocks.

potty said...

On the Ticket Office roof doing Lenny Henry impersonations.