Monday, September 30, 2019

Autumn at Cotehele


As Autumn is approaching, I am remembering our lovely Golden Celebration to England two years ago.  Grayden and I spent four weeks in Great Britain touring Scotland, the Lake District, Devon and Cornwall.  If you wish to follow along on our journey I have been recording it on this blog for a while now.  All of the visit is under the Great Britain tab above.   It seems to take a while to write about it all, but I am determined to do so.  I am writing in the order of the places we visited.  So next up we are going to Cornwall to visit Cotehele located near Saltash. 


As I recorded in my journal, the trip to Cotehele was a little hairy having taken a single track road and met a car head on.  He graciously backed out and let us pass. Thank goodness we are all safe and sound to enjoy a most special place owned by the NationaI Trust. 


Cotehele is the ancestral home of the Edgcumbe family and dates back to 1353. This lovely slate and granite home is high above the River Tamar and remained in the family for over 600 years.  In 1947 Kenelm, the 6 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe gave the home to the National Trust.  



Come inside with us and we'll see more interesting sights that may surprise you.


Stepping inside the Great Hall we see all sorts of armor and collections decorating the walls.  It's very much like the grand entrance inside a castle and reminded me of the wealth that surrounds it.



The bones that we see are from a fin whale.  They are enormous!  The National Trust folks nicknamed them "Finella."  The Edgcumbes were collectors of all sorts of things.  It is not known where the bones were collected from.


The ceiling of the Great Hall is quite impressive with exposed ancient timber work.



Tapestries adorn many of the rooms.  We are told little has changed in the home since Tudor times.  



Cotehele has a lovely chapel that one can still attend services.  



Take note of the clock gears in the back left.



The turret clock was installed between 1493 and 1591.  The gentleman there said the only other one is in Salisbury Cathedral (more on that later) to the best of his knowledge.  This one being the oldest in the UK. 



After leaving the Chapel we explored the other rooms that are open.



The bedrooms with ornate embroidered bed coverings and tapestry lined walls made the home have more warmth during the cold winters. 



This lovely embroidered bedspread really caught my eye!




This large home has many bedrooms and many beds.


Most of the tapestries make the home have a dark feel.  They are from the 17th century and most feature Roman myths.  



There are many handsome pieces of period furnishings in the home.






As always in the National Trust properties there are fresh flowers from the garden placed all about.  There is a 12 acre garden that surrounds the home as well as acres and acres of woods to explore down to the River Tamar.  As you can see the walls are very thick here at Cotehele!


Looking through the peephole we can view the Great Hall downstairs. 

Let's visit the kitchen.  I always like seeing where meals were prepared.




The large fireplace for cooking must have been quite dangerous back when women wore their long skirts.  


As well as quite warm with all the heat this oven must have produced.


The gardens are lovely on this beautiful Autumn day.


Everything looks so lush and green.  England certainly enjoys a lovely Fall thanks to rain and sunshine.




After touring the gardens you can stop in the National Trust shop and look at all the goodies.  It all helps them keep their wonderful properties open for all of us to enjoy.




As we were leaving Cotehele, I am again struck by the beauty of the "green and pleasant land" that is England.  










21 comments:

  1. Oh how I love visiting these places with you.. I must compliment you on your photography, it's very good! My favorite photo was of the flower bouquet in the little window in the thick stone wall. What a wonderful place. Thanks for sharing it. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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    1. Thank you for the lovely compliment, Teresa. I enjoy photography very much. In England, it's pretty hard to take a bad photo in my opinion.

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  2. What a beautiful estate Cotehele is. I am very impressed by the thick walls. I have always admired that bed style with the draperies. It seems as if it would be very warm and cozy indeed...like having a tent inside a bedroom. Perhaps things were not always as miserable as we sometimes imagine them. The views and gardens are lovely and I would surely not make it out of that shop without a dent in my credit card. 😁

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    1. Vee, the poster beds all dressed are quite dramatic, aren't they? The National Trust shops are fabulous. I had to be very careful and not go overboard in them. Most even have wonderful plants to buy, which were impossible to bring home, but I sure wished I could.

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  3. I wonder what white birds those are on the lawn? They are so precious. The tapestries are really nice. I've always liked tapestries in the home. The stained glass window is very special. The kitchens were so charming back then. Love the white brick throughout. You can tell that it was Autumn at the time, as the lovely Autumn flowers filled the vases. Lovely pictures, Martha Ellen. I think my favorite of all was the Autumn flowers and the white window. That is so charming.

    ~Sheri

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    1. Sheri, I'm pretty sure they were doves on the lawn. The flowers in all the National Trust properties are so special. With gardens outside most of them, an arrangement can be put together very easily. I try to bring in flowers from my own garden frequently. If I don't have any flowering, I pick up some inexpensive ones at the grocery. Thank you for coming along with us to Cotehele, Sheri.

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  4. This is such a beautiful and fascinating home! How interesting that it has stayed much the same since the time of the Tudors!

    The bed dressings are splendid. The gardens are lovely. I am especially fond of the flowers clustered in the brown transfer ware vase.

    I am glad that you are continuing to tell us about your golden anniversary trip. Time passes so quickly, it probably feels like it was not that long ago!

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    1. Thank you, Cheryl for sticking with us on our Golden Anniversary trip. Time does pass so quickly that I need to really finish this recording. It's hard to believe we will be celebrating our 52nd anniversary in a couple of weeks! ♥

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  5. I'm glad you found Cotehele worth the Mr Toad's Wild Ride through the British countryside! After living and driving in America for many years I fully understand, for sometimes our high hedge edged narrow roads can be quite claustrophobic indeed. I particularly like the vase in the window and the peep hole photos today.

    ~~~Waving~~~From Across the Pond~~~Deb in Wales xoxo

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    1. Deb, traveling about Great Britain is like Mr Toad's Wild Ride, but so worth it! I am in awe at the beautiful countryside of your home, my friend. That window and peep hole were lucky shots that pop up and delighted us. xoxo ♥

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  6. What an amazing blog post! I love reading about your travel adventures! xoxoNellie

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    1. Nellie, I love having you come along with us on our adventures! xoxo

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  7. This place is amazing and so are your photos. I never really explored the north too much when I lived there. My parents always took us south when we were young, and then when we actually moved south that's where I stayed until I married my husband. I'm bookmarking all your posts on your travels Martha Ellen. You are a great travel writer :)

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    1. Denise, I appreciate your sweet comments. England really captured our hearts on so many levels. I certainly hope one day we can return.

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  8. Oh my! Such a beautiful place! Thanks for sharing!

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  9. Martha, I've always thought if I had taken my husband to Cornwall on his one trip to England I'm sure he would have loved England as much as I do. Your photos and stories of your trip are such a joy to me!

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    1. It's so nice to hear that our trip has brought you joy, Jean. Maybe you and your husband can go to Cornwall one day. It is beautiful, but I think all of Great Britain that we visited is quite lovely and charming. My heart certainly feels at home there!

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  10. I loved the photo of the zinnias in the curved inset window. Beautiful lighting. The tapestries looked more like paintings! All beautiful -- I love following your trip (even if I'm a little late!)

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    1. The deep set window was so lovely with the flowers there! The tapestries were so lovely, but made the rooms a little dark. Thank you for checking out our trip, Jeanie. It's taking me forever to record it all here.

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  11. A very nice post, and how fascinating to look through the peephole and view the Great Hall downstairs.

    All the best Jan

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