This weekend John and I had booked a weekend away. We had planned a visit to Basildon Park on the way to our hotel and the day was perfect for a walk in the grounds. We arrived at lunch time and decided to eat first. The Cornish pasties were delicious. After that we headed into the house.
Basildon Park estate was bought by Francis Sykes in 1771. He demolished the old house and employed John Carr, an architect to build the house as it is now. The house is made of Bath stone which looked beautiful in the summer sun. The Sykes family owned the house until 1838. From 1838 to 1928 the house was owned by the Morrison family. During the war the house was used by the military and it fell into disrepair having been badly damaged during the war.
In 1952 Lord and Lady Iliffe bought Basildon Park and they set about restoring the house but also adding modern updates such as central heating. They bought antiques they had found at auctions. In 1978 they gifted the property to the National Trust.
One of the rooms, known as the shell room was full of shells and also extensive decorated with them.
I have no idea who had the patience to stick all the shells into the intricate patterns. The Portuguese hand made carpet in one of the room was beautiful.
After the tour of the house we took a walk through the park and visited the shop and garden centre. We enjoyed our visit and then continued our journey to Somerset.
I always take some sewing with me when we go away. I took my little carpet I'm stitching for the dolls house. The holes in the canvas are very small and this has slowed down the speed of completion. By evening, when I have free time, my eyes are very tired. I have nearly finished it and then I can complete the edging. This is what I'm working on today.
I'm linking this post with Kathy from Kathy's Quilts for her Slow Sunday Stitching. I'll stitch for a little longer then I need to head to bed as I have work in the morning.
Take Care.
Lyndsey
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