A visit to the Vyne.

John and I are away for the weekend. We try to have a weekend away every other month but we are having a little run of once a month mini breaks. This weekend we are staying in Swanage in Dorset. We have some walking and visits to a nature reserve planned. Unfortunately the weather is fairly wet so it may not be as active a weekend as we hoped. However it will be restful. Today we had somethings to do before we left home, put the grocery delivery away, sort out the bins as it's collection day and pack the items we needed. We left about 10 and headed to The Vyne in Hampshire.

The Vyne started life as a collection of medieval building but was transformed into a Tudor Palace between 1500 and 1520. It has shrunk since then by approximately two thirds to the size it is today. Transforming it into a palace was the work of William Sandys who was Lord Chamberlain to Henry VIII in 1526. In 1653 when Chaloner Chute became the owner he demolished two thirds of it. The house remained in the ownership of the Chute family until 1956 when it was left to the National Trust.

Having parked the car we headed towards the house. On the way we passed the summer house. It is thought to be the first garden building in England with a domed roof and dates from around 1635.

 

Nearby was  very old oak tree which is known as the hundred guinea oak. The tree is over 600 years old and rather frail but well cared for. William John Chute who owned the Vyne was offered £100 and later 100 guineas to sell the tree for its timber. He refused to sell.

As it was around lunch time we stopped at the cafe and enjoyed a Cornish pasty each and a cup of coffee. You need to make sure you have enough energy for a visit round these old houses! I took two photos of the house, the second was to show the size better.

When I'm visiting these house I like to look at any quilts, tapestry or embroidery. In a few of the lower rooms the furniture was all under covers as there was deep cleaning and conservation in progress. Upstairs was a different story.

On two beds there were very similar quilts. They were whole cloth quilts and the fabric was quite delicate and faded but it was nice to see the designs

The colour differences were due to shadows from people in the room. There were also two chair with embroidery on them.

I had been told to ask the guide to show me the photos of 4 hand embroidered waistcoats that were found in the attics when the National Trust took over the house. They used to be on display but are now rather fragile. I took a picture of the smallest waistcoat.

and a picture that showed the detail on one of the other waistcoats. I loved the detail and colour in this waistcoat. Even the little buttons have embroidery on them.

A lot of these houses have tapestries decorating the walls. These tapestries had originally been in a different room but were relocated to the billiard room. This one was complete but went round a corner so it was difficult to take a photo.

This was part of a tapestry further round the room. The colours were so bright.

The ceiling of one of the rooms had this design over it. I'm sure there is a quilt block in there or maybe a quilting pattern.

In the drawing room there was some embroidery that had been started. This looks like a UFO that is older than any of my unfinished projects. 

The house had its own private chapel and it had some pretty floor tiles along the edge.

The route through the house took us to the kitchens and the servant quarters last. This was a store room off the kitchen.

We had a very good visit. We checked out the bookshop where John bought a book and I bought a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. We visited the gift shop but didn't buy anything. Then it was time to continue our journey to our hotel. After we had settled in and had a rest we walked into the town and enjoyed our fish and chip supper sitting looking out to sea. The end of a great day out.

Take care

Lyndsey