Today I'd like to take you to Calke Abbey located in Ticknall, Derbyshire, England. Our day began with a quick breakfast of chocolate croissants. We have a nice little kitchen to enjoy coffee (for Grayden) and tea for me before we venture out in the mornings. Grayden has the map all routed out for us to begin as we sail along the M6. The M roads are like our interstate roads in the USA. We notice a lot of construction as we're traveling along, but think we are okay. Soon we come upon a sign warning of a 90 minute delay. We decide there is nothing to do but wait. At the end of the delay we travel a few more miles and then see that the M6 was closed! We then decide to use the Sat Nav in the car instead of our GPS. Believe me it was a comedy of errors. Asking for help we were met with frustration, but then did find an alternate route. To make a long story short we arrived at Calke Abbey at 12:30pm.
We decided to have lunch before touring the grounds and opted to eat in the tearoom on the property.
There are always flowers on the tables in the National Trust tearooms. I love that!
Grayden enjoyed the beef stew and cheese scone that looked better than my photograph.
I had the leek and potato soup with a yummy roll and the best butter! The butter in Britain is outstandingly delicious!
The entrance to Calke Abbey is through the old stables that have been converted to a reception area and gift shop along with the tearoom. There was a wonderful gentleman that Grayden spoke with about our travel dilemma and he said he would have a route mapped out for us upon finishing our tour. He was the nicest man that went over and beyond to help the ungrateful colonists. He then directed us down the path to take in the house.
Calke Abbey was built on a former priory and completed in 1704 for Sir John Harpur. The family changed their name to Crewe and then later to Harpur Crewe. The family collections that have been handed down through the years are featured in the home.
The National Trust was handed the property in 1985. It suffered great decline and they have slowly been restoring it so visitors can get a glimpse into the life through the generations at Calke Abbey.
The house is hidden and really doesn't reveal itself until you are right on its doorstep!
The entrance has been changed many times over the years to accommodate the the current generation. We are invited in and see this is going to be a quirky home.
The heads of many animals including long horn cattle from the surrounding park area adorn the walls. Not my cup of tea, but surely was for these owners in entrance hall and waiting room.
The Caricature Room was lined with political cartoons of the day.
Every kind of collection you can imagine is featured in this home!
The families were world travelers and brought back many items.
I especially enjoyed seeing the paintings in the home.
The Butler's Pantry was converted in the 1960's when it was used as a kitchen.
Little has changed in the Dining Room and I can see why--it's lovely.
The Saloon is a wonderful two story room that the owners have lined their collections in every available space.
The Drawing Room was quite elaborate and over the top!
I really love this painting as we enter the The Library.
The volumes have been collected over the generations and include topics about religion, land management, politics and natural history.
You would be astounded by the number of taxidermy birds that occupy Calke Abbey!
The rooms we wondered through now were abandoned by the family after World War II to keep costs down.
As you can imagine a large servant base was needed to run this estate.
Lady Crewe's Room was used last by Charles Harpur Crewe from 1949 until he passed away in 1981.
There are many rooms with items that the National Trust is cataloging and then will decide how to use them.
The original kitchen from 1794 is still as it was left in the 1920's. With the lack of servants they closed this space to save money.
Take notice of the sign above the oven. One I've heard my whole life.
As we leave Calke Abbey we see St. Giles Church where Miss Airmyne Harpur and Henry Harpur Crewe and their brother Charles are buried.
As promised the nice gentleman provided us with another route to take back "home." Avoiding the construction and the closed roads really aided the wandering travelers.
Calke Abbey was built on a former priory and completed in 1704 for Sir John Harpur. The family changed their name to Crewe and then later to Harpur Crewe. The family collections that have been handed down through the years are featured in the home.
The National Trust was handed the property in 1985. It suffered great decline and they have slowly been restoring it so visitors can get a glimpse into the life through the generations at Calke Abbey.
The house is hidden and really doesn't reveal itself until you are right on its doorstep!
The entrance has been changed many times over the years to accommodate the the current generation. We are invited in and see this is going to be a quirky home.
The heads of many animals including long horn cattle from the surrounding park area adorn the walls. Not my cup of tea, but surely was for these owners in entrance hall and waiting room.
The Caricature Room was lined with political cartoons of the day.
Every kind of collection you can imagine is featured in this home!
The families were world travelers and brought back many items.
I especially enjoyed seeing the paintings in the home.
The Butler's Pantry was converted in the 1960's when it was used as a kitchen.
Little has changed in the Dining Room and I can see why--it's lovely.
The Saloon is a wonderful two story room that the owners have lined their collections in every available space.
The Drawing Room was quite elaborate and over the top!
I really love this painting as we enter the The Library.
The volumes have been collected over the generations and include topics about religion, land management, politics and natural history.
You would be astounded by the number of taxidermy birds that occupy Calke Abbey!
The rooms we wondered through now were abandoned by the family after World War II to keep costs down.
As you can imagine a large servant base was needed to run this estate.
Lady Crewe's Room was used last by Charles Harpur Crewe from 1949 until he passed away in 1981.
There are many rooms with items that the National Trust is cataloging and then will decide how to use them.
The original kitchen from 1794 is still as it was left in the 1920's. With the lack of servants they closed this space to save money.
Take notice of the sign above the oven. One I've heard my whole life.
As we leave Calke Abbey we see St. Giles Church where Miss Airmyne Harpur and Henry Harpur Crewe and their brother Charles are buried.
As promised the nice gentleman provided us with another route to take back "home." Avoiding the construction and the closed roads really aided the wandering travelers.
We went to Natural History museum in London, but it is so huge, so vast we could see very little there in few hours ..
ReplyDeleteWhat a huge collection, though I personally don't like killing wild animals for their head to decorate home..
ReplyDeleteKrishna, I've never been to London. We really enjoy the English countryside and that includes Calke Abbey. I'm not one that likes trophy animals decorating homes either. I assume the animals provided meals. Have a lovely week ahead. ♥
DeleteWow! What an enormous house/manor! I can see why the family had to close up much of it through the years., as it must have been so expensive to upkeep. The rooms that were still in use were beautiful. I'd love to peruse those library books! I'm glad the national Trust is preserving the collections. I'm also glad you git good directions back to your residence from the kind gentleman. Your lunch looked delicious--the soups in GB are always so flavorful.
ReplyDeleteCalke Abbey was enormous, Pat! Three floors full of items that the family collected over a two hundred year period. The National Trust is so good at preserving places that are under their care. My hat is off to them! ♥
DeleteWell, I'd say that this home was atypical of the others you have shown us! "Quirky" seems a good description! Even so, there are some lovely things and interesting history to see. The bookshelves in the library are enticing, and the dining room, as you pointed out, is lovely. I can imagine eating a luxurious meal at that table!
ReplyDeleteWhat a kind man you met who helped you shorten your journey back "home"!
Cheryl, I think what stood out to me at Calke was the great collection of so many items. I had a hard time finding a place for my eyes to rest. Even so the home has beautiful bones as you can see in the dining room and Saloon.
DeleteThe folks in England are some of the nicest people I've ever encountered. We were so glad to get the help that day! ♥
I feel as though I was there too - thanks for the wonderful tour! This is my first visit to your blog - I have just become your newest follower ♥
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for visiting and following today, Carrie. I've been writing about our 50th anniversary trip to Britain that we took last fall. Along the way I also write about our home. ♥
DeleteI am not a fan of the trophy animals either. Sadly they are very much part of our history so need to be preserved and seen in these wonderful stately homes. It as a joy to see some of the old kitchen and a delight to see the library, such a great room.
ReplyDeleteI know it's quite popular to have trophy animals displayed in homes. Even here in the USA it's popular. It's just me the sensitive one that really doesn't care for it. But I know we are all different.
DeleteWe enjoyed visiting Calke Abbey very much and I would recommend it to be seen. ♥
Fascinating tour! Many things to love about this home in spite of “the shudders.” How nice to have someone take up your cause and find you a new way home!
ReplyDeleteVee, we really were thankful to have an angel help us that day as it was quite "interesting." Years ago we had a flight attendant tell us that "if you travel enough, you will have hiccups along the way." In spite of our start we enjoyed this quirky home. ♥
DeleteYou're really having a grand tour, aren't you? How long will you be there? I really appreciate you sharing it with those of us who probably will never get to visit there. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
ReplyDeleteTeresa, I am writing about our trip to Britain last fall. We went there to celebrate our 50th anniversary and stayed for a month. I'm posting about our days there as time permits. When I travel, I don't write blog posts. I keep a journal and then post from that when we return home. We saw so many wonderful places it will take months, if not years to post them all! ♥
DeleteSorry I'm behind, keyboard issues again! What a strange place Calke is! More like a cabinet of curiosities than a home. I am not a fan of stuffed animals either. I do like the little doll house, though, and everything else {especially the bowl of soup, which I shared with you! Did we have pudding?}
ReplyDelete~~~Waving~~~From Across the Pond~~~
Sorry about your keyboard, Deb. There seems to be a lot of blogger issues here. I'm not receiving comments and some have told me they can't comment. I had my daughter look at everything and she said the settings are fine, so we'll see.
DeleteGlad you joined us for lunch. Wasn't the soup great? No, we skipped pudding. Maybe for afternoon tea! xoxo ♥
I am so thankful for your travel photos. What a joy to experience these places in person. Have a lovely weekend.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. It's so much fun revisiting with all of my friends here. I hope you enjoy your weekend. ♥
DeleteWhat an interesting place, and adventure, of sorts, to get there. Isn't it wonderful when we see kindness in strangers? I enjoyed your post! I wonder if you will be up early in the morning to watch the royal wedding?
ReplyDeleteDotsie, there are so many kind people in our world and that day this man was so helpful to us.
DeleteI am going to be tuning in tomorrow. Our daughter and son-in-law are visiting, but I do hope to see it. Grayden is recording it for us just in case we miss anything. ♥
Very interesting. I liked the library, especially all of the horse pictures. The animal heads, hmm, not for me, but sure did like seeing and reading about the ones who lived here. Your pictures are so crisp and clear and a joy to see and to read about another part of the world.
ReplyDeleteBetsy thank you for sharing our trip with us. We saw so much in Britain and it's exciting to go there again here. ♥
DeleteWhen we left Grasmere on the bus for Windermere the line of on-coming traffic was backed up for miles because of construction. I'm so glad you had someone to help get you around the obstructions for your return trip. On three of our walks through the country-side we got lost because of poor signage at intersections. We finally realized we could download a map and use my phone to show us where we were even though we hadn't bought the overseas cellular plan. I'm so glad we did not attempt to drive ourselves! You are so brave!
ReplyDeleteCathy, there was quite a bit of construction on our trip last fall-much more than our trip in 2015! Major upgrades must be going on everywhere in Britain. I think what really got to us this day was the fact we had already had a 90 minute delay and the M road ended. No warning at all about that! Still, it was a lovely day at Calke Abbey. ♥
DeleteSuch cool looking buildings. I really like the rock and stone look, not like Nashville is building these days. Thanks for sharing your trip. You have seen some amazing places and things.
ReplyDeleteThe architecture in England is so old and so lovely, Pam. Yes the stone walls and building materials is different and long lasting. We can hardly believe all the beauty we were able to see in Britain. ♥
DeleteAnother interesting place to visit in England. Pfft, I have already seen so many but England has an incredible lot of heritage.....
ReplyDeleteRegards, Janneke
There is so much to see in England! You are so lucky to be able to visit often, Janneke. Thanks for visiting here, my friend. ♥
DeleteWell that was a most unusual place! I cant imagine keeping a place lie that maintained and rooms heated! So glad you were able to get a local to help you go back and avoid all that traffic mess. I guess we all suffer with road construction don’t we!
ReplyDeleteCalke Abbey would be so expensive to maintain. The family couldn't continue taking care of this property so they gave it to the National Trust. This has happened to many large properties in Britain.
DeleteThe traffic (traveling south in Britain), I'm afraid, rivals the traffic we experience around DC. That really speaks volumes. I hope you have a great week, Liz. ♥