A visit to the Blickling Estate

Last month whilst on our weekend in Norfolk we visited Blickling Estate, which is owned by the National Trust. The weather was beautiful, a clear blue sky with lots of sun, perfect for our visit. Blickling Hall is a stately home and part of the estate. Our plan was to visit the house and check out the gardens. To discover the wider estate we would visit on a future trip. In the 15th century Blickling was owned by Sir John Fastolf of Caister. Later the house passed to the Boleyn family and it is believed that Anne Boleyn was born there in about 1501 (The exact date is not known.) When we arrived the house wasn't open and so we walked around the grounds to view the house from different angles.

This is the front of the house. The present house was built on the ruins of the Boleyn property.

This photo is from the back of the house. As you can see it is square and has lovely large windows. From the opposite corner of the rear you can see a large flock of Egyptian geese slowly nibbling their way across the lawn. In places you had to be careful where you stepped. Later in the afternoon, croquet was set up on this lawn and a family group were enjoying a game.

To one side of the house there was a lake and a lone Canada goose. Normally there is a walk around the lake but some parts of the path were closed.

We also came across a sculpture created to commemorate the Queen's platinum jubilee.

We spent some time walking in the formal gardens near the house. Some of the beds were recently planted whilst others were resplendent with colour. 

The large upside down flower pot bushes must have taken some work to keep them in shape.

By now the house was open so we enjoyed a tour. I didn't take a lot of photos indoors because there were quite a lot of other visitors going through and I didn't want to get in people's way. The ceiling in one of the rooms was amazing.

The house had quite a lot of tapestries, some were Flemish and others were made in Mortlake on the outskirts of London. This one is Flemish. Most of them were in good condition with bright colours even after all this time.

This screen stood in the corner of the dining room, it was beautiful and had lots of detail.

The dining room felt perfect for a formal dinner party, a  great venue for Christmas dinner.

Blickling has it's own sewing group which undertakes projects such as making cushions and lining curtains. They also make costumes for events that take place at Blickling.

The next two pictures are of the Mortlake tapestries. The Mortlake tapestry works were established alongside the river Thames at Mortlake which is now part of West London. It was established by Sir Francis Crane in 1619 and flourished but due to heavy taxation on luxury goods it closed in 1704.

The colours on these tapestries was so bright and vivid.

In the long gallery there was this beautiful tapestry stool.

There was a craft fair taking place in the stables. I enjoyed browsing and bought a couple of items in preparation for Christmas. We also spent some time in the RAF museum.

During the World War 2 the house was requisitioned and served as the Officers' Mess of nearby RAF Oulton. The last owner of Blickling was Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian, and following his death in 1940 the estate passed into the care of the National Trust as part of his bequest. RAF servicemen and women were billeted within the grounds in Nissen Huts, whilst officers were housed in the house itself. The National Trust created the RAF Oulton Museum on site in tribute to those who served in the RAF in the Second World War. At the end of the war the house was de-requisitioned.

We spent a lovely day but we needed to get back to London. The journey went well until we were on the M25 just before the Elizabeth bridge over the Thames. We were then stuck in  traffic for two hours due to a vehicle fire on the bridge and a crash in one of the tunnels. Eventually we were able to finish our journey. It was lovely to be home.

It's time to think about our next weekend away. We both fancy a return visit to Dartmoor for some walking. I need to book an hotel and plan our itinerary.

Now I'm going to pick up my hand stitching for a little gentle relaxation before bed time.

Take care

Lyndsey