Osbourn House.

 On the Sunday of our trip to the Isle of Wight we visited Osbourne House. You are able to walk in the grounds outside the house but you have to book on a tour to see the interior. We arrived not long after opening time so had no problem booking onto the tour. We had a little time to fill before the start so we walked round the outside of the house.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert bought the Osbourne estate in 1845 and built a new mansion as a seaside retreat to escape from the court life in London and Windsor. The house was built between 1845 and 1851 with Prince Albert being very involved in the design. It is very impressive but it isn't to my taste. It felt it little 'bitty' if you know what I mean. Maybe the architecture that I like has more symmetry to it.

I liked this statue at one of the doorways. He can come and guard our front door any time. 

The terrace garden was pretty even in the cold and slightly drizzly weather.

Having walked round the outside of the house we joined the queue for the tour. I didn't take many photos in the house as I was more interested in the information the tour guide gave us  about the house. As you are aware I like patterns so I was pleased to find these tiles. I'm always on the lookout for designs I could use in quilting.

How about this for an over the top light.

also a grand carpet in the state room.

The drawing room was L shaped with the sofas in the one end and round the corner a billiard table which had beautiful decoration. According to the tour guide Queen Victoria enjoyed a game of billiards and was good at it.

As always I was on the lookout for embroidery.

The last room we went into was named the Durbar Room. This room was designed by Rudyard Kipling's father Lockwood Kipling, and master carver Bhai Ram Singh. The room has intricate Indian-style plaster work which reflected Queen Victoria's status as Empress of India. The decoration in this room was amazing.

Below is a model of the central portion of the Ramnagar Palace in Benares. The model was given to Queen Victoria's son Edward. Prince of Wales. in 1875 when the prince was on a tour of India

There was a second model that had been given to Prince Edward by the Maharajah of Jaipur, while on his tour of India. It represents a typical early 18th century Indian palace and was made by the School of Industrial Art in Jaipur. It is made of plaster.

I also liked the wallpaper.

After the tour we went for a walk through the gardens. Along the woodland walk to the beach we kept our eyes open for brown squirrels but didn't see any but we enjoyed the blooms

 

There was an old Cypress tree.

We also visited the Swiss chalet that Prince Albert had built for his children. They all had garden patches in front of the chalet where they learned the skills of gardening.

We ended our visit by enjoying a late lunch in the restaurant. We still had some time left before we needed to head to the ferry terminal so we visited Quar Priory but I'll tell you about that another day.

Now I need to get some sleep as I have another day at work tomorrow before John and I head out on another weekend away.

Take care

Lyndsey