Brockhampton Estate

I honestly don't mind that some people think the National Trust is boring. They'll change their minds eventually, at some stage of their lives. I've realised that the NT is probably like going into rehab - you have to be ready for it but when the time is right for you, it's the path to a happier life. (Probably. I've never been to rehab.)

Take Brockhampton in Worcestershire. I'd like to think that the 20-year old me would have appreciated the sight of a beautiful 14th century manor house with a gatehouse and moat. I can confirm that the 44-year old me was completely awestruck by it: 

I didn't have to search for this shot, either - it was just there, the scene that greets you as you walk along the path. It was so pretty - worth every single penny that I pay for my NT membership.

Brockhampton had actually done a good job of staying off my sconedar over the past five years. I didn't know anything about it and nobody had ever told me it was fantastic. I think the reason for this is that Brockhampton doesn't have any really scandalous ancestors or celebrity connections.

Here's some history:

• The manor house you see on the right above was built by John Domulton in the late 14th century
• The lop-sided gatehouse (to the left above) was added in Tudor times by the Habington family, who had married the Domultons
• It then passed to the Barneby family by marriage, who became the Lutleys
• The gatehouse wasn't a defensive feature - it was built to show off the family wealth
• The same for the moat - it's not known exactly when it was built but it was used to keep fish and impress people rather than defend the property
• By 1871, the family had moved to a large Georgian mansion on the estate (now rented out privately) and Lower Brockhampton started to fall into disrepair
• An architect called John Buckler saved the old manor house through renovations
• John Talbot Lutley left the estate to the National Trust
• The chapel next door to the manor was probably built in the 12th century:

The inside of the manor house was also impressive. The Great Hall was restored by John Buckler so we see it as it was in medieval times: 

The crucks in the Great Hall are moulded, with battlements carved at the angle, and the struts supporting the roof apex form quatrefoil openings. (Yes, I've been reading the guidebook. No, I don't have any idea what it means.)

The Brockhampton scone
If you are a regular reader, you will know that I am probably the world's worst scone critic, because I just want everything to be brilliant all the time. And so my heart sank a bit when I went into the tearoom and all I could see was a pile of what looked like flat rock buns. They turned out to be the scones. I was worried.

However, they were actually very tasty indeed. Very fresh and really light. My earlier scone (yes, I had two scones today - the sacrifices I make for this project, honestly) at Edward Elgar's Birthplace had been a little bit doughy, so Brockhampton was a light, fluffy treat. 

I'll finish with a picture of the rear view of the manor house - such a beautiful place - if you haven't been then I recommend it:

Brockhampton: surprisingly, wonderfully beautiful: 5 out of 5
Scone: fresh and lovely, just a bit on the flat side: 4 out of 5 
Ability of NT guidebooks to make you feel like a thicko: 5 out of 5

The Firs - Edward Elgar Birthplace

What's the one thing that you would expect to find at Edward Elgar's birthplace in Worcestershire? I had actually packed some earphones before I set off for The Firs - I figured that if Nimrod was blaring in the car park, with more Nimrod in reception, and yet more Nimrod in the tea room then I could just block it out (if you're thinking 'what's Nimrod?', you'll recognise it - you can listen to it here).

But there was no music. There were a few little snippets in the introductory video but that was it. And I'm not necessarily complaining - the Elgars didn't have Land of Hope and Glory on repeat when he was growing up, so why disturb the quiet.

  
If you're a regular reader, you won't be surprised to hear that I could have written everything I knew about Elgar on a postage stamp before today. In fact, you can fit 'Land of Hope and Glory and Nimrod' on half a postage stamp if you write small.

Luckily for me, there was a lot of education on offer at The Firs - an introductory video, two displays areas, and a human in the birthplace cottage itself explaining his life and times. I discovered that:

• Elgar was born in 1857 on - wait for it - June 2nd. Happy Birthday Ed!
• His dad was a piano tuner and had a shop selling musical instruments
• Elgar had a true gift for music - his parents encouraged this through piano and violin lessons, but he was basically self-taught
• His dad got him a job in a solicitor's office but he gave that up and began teaching music
• He eventually married one of his pupils, a woman above him in age and social standing - Caroline saw him as a genius and encouraged him
• The Enigma Variations (including Nimrod) were his real breakthrough - until then he'd struggled, but at the age of 42 he started to get recognition
• He is probably best known for his Pomp and Circumstance marches, especially March No.1 (the one we/I know as Land of Hope and Glory) which was first played in 1901
• It was literally an immediate hit - the first audience to hear it gave it two standing ovations - and Edward VII asked Elgar to put some words to it for his coronation
• AC Benson wrote the words to Land of Hope and Glory and the rest is history - it has since become our back-up national anthem
• He was knighted in 1904 and died in 1934

The original music to Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 -
Elgar said "I've got a tune that will knock 'em - knock 'em flat"

There wasn't a guide book at The Firs, which is a massive shame because I later found two brilliant factoids that would surely have made the edit:

• Fascinating factoid #1 of the day: Elgar was an early supporter of recorded music and he conducted the London Symphony Orchestra for the first recording made at Abbey Road Studios when they opened in 1931. 
• Fascinating factoid #2 of the day: Pomp & Circumstance March No. 1 (ie Land of Hope and Glory) is played at high school and university graduations in the US. You can read more about that here.

Elgar's study - I presume he didn't have a statue of himself
in there when he was actually using it.

The Firs scone
But on to the scone. Elgar's views on scones aren't known, but the tea room at The Firs is lovely - it was a beautiful day and I sat outside listening to the birds singing (this probably answers my question as to why they don't play music everywhere). 

My scone was hefty and absolutely FULL of fruit, which made me think of the comedian Laura Lexx. I have co-opted Laura into my band of Sconepals and she sent me a picture today of an 'excavated' scone as she put it - she hates fruit so she picks out all the currants, leaving a scone that looks like a Swiss cheese. She'd have had her work cut out at The Firs, that's all I can say.

Anyway, the scone was very fresh and tasty - it wasn't massively sweet and it was a bit doughy but I really enjoyed it.

So there you have it - scone mission number 167 completed. And the day didn't end there - after I left The Firs, I journeyed on to nearby Brockhampton, so watch this space for more about that.

The Firs: 4.5 out of 5
Scone: 4.5 out of 5
Likelihood of wanting to come out and listen to Elgar's music, having not been blasted with it for two hours: 5 out of 5

Greyfriars House and Garden

I think I was in my late 20s when I developed an unexpected passion for Countryfile. It's not the rare breeds of sheep that I love, nor the farmers finding a lucrative sideline in making crisps out of turnips. It's the people they interview - the people that have devoted their ENTIRE LIVES to protecting a certain species of moss, or a specific type of bat that I've never even heard of.

And I know what you're thinking. You're thinking: "But Scone Blogger! You yourself have selflessly devoted your ENTIRE LIFE to a noble cause - the noble cause of scones!" To which I reply: "This is undoubtedly true, and at times it is very challenging, but sitting in tea rooms eating jam is not the same as standing in a freezing barn with a torch, looking for a colony of greater horseshoes that might not be there". 

ANYWAY. I mention this because Greyfriars House and Garden in Worcester would 100% be a car park today if a group of extremely determined individuals had not devoted their lives to opposing the council and saving it from destruction.

Greyfriars - the happier history:

• Greyfriars House was originally built in the 1480s for a Thomas Grene
• He was High Bailiff of Worcester and wanted to show off his wealth
• After Grene died, it was passed through various owners and tenants
• It was acquired by Francis Street who sold it to the council for £100 and rented it back for £5 a year
• The Streets were staunch Royalists, as was most of Worcester - the Streets ended up leaving Greyfriars during Cromwell's rule
• The house was subsequently divided up with various residents and tenants moving in - it was used as a pub, and was home to a greengrocer, a milliner, a book dealer, an umbrella maker, a tinsmith, and even a fish fryer

But then came tough times:

• By 1912 Greyfriars was in a poor state and by the 1930s it was derelict
• The Worcestershire Archaelogical Society tried to rescue the building but no deal could be reached with the owner
• In 1936 the council ordered its demolition
• However, the archaelogical society was not deterred and fought on
• In 1939, all demolition work was stopped because of the outbreak of war
• In 1943, a man called William John Thompson bought the property and carried out emergency repairs but he couldn't continue to fund it long-term

The Moores to the rescue:

• Matley and Elsie Moore were siblings who offered to restore Greyfriars at their own expense as long as they could live it in
• They collected the contents of the house that we see today
• They were interesting characters - Alan the guide told us that they often held tea parties and if you didn't show up or send a thank you letter afterwards, you didn't get invited back
• They were very frugal, so the house was bitterly cold in winter
• Matley didn't like televisions or radios or anything that made a noise - Elsie had to keep her radio in her bedroom
• They had a controlling mother - after she died in 1953, Elsie used her money to buy three shops opposite Greyfriars to save them from demolition
• The Moores left the contents to the NT in their wills, with the stipulation that no ropes or barriers would be used and visitors could roam freely

The Parlour, where Matley and Elsie Moore used to sit.
No TV = no Countryfile, which is very sad

Other things I learned today that I didn't know:

• In the 1400s, all men were required by law to practice archery every Sunday
• Worcester is a really, really lovely little city - why didn't I know this?

But onto the bad news. I'm afraid I let you all down on this scone mission. Greyfriars did have a little tea room and they probably had scones, but I didn't stop for any. They were short-staffed and not really supposed to be open on a Monday and, well, I just couldn't face being the only one dinging a little bell for service and demanding that someone come running to bring me tea. I know. Pathetic.

The garden at Greyfriars - you can sit and drink your tea on the patio
when it's not pouring down, as it was when I went

So I basically need you all to go to Greyfriars and do my job for me - let me know how you get on?

Greyfriars House: 5 out of 5
Scones: 0 out of 5 because I didn't ask for any. I'm so sorry, everyone. 
Chances of me being sacked as Scone Blogger: 5 out of 5

STOP PRESS! Greyfriars House Revisited!

OK, maybe "STOP PRESS!" doesn't quite work when 6 years have passed but anyway: today, March 23rd 2023, I went back to Greyfriars. My aim was to right the wrongs of my first visit, when I failed to ding a little bell and find out if they had any scones. 

This time I was very much in luck: the lovely woman in the cafe told me that the scones were fresh out of the oven, which cheered me up immensely. I think I've said the words "it's hard to ruin a fresh scone" to every journalist in the universe over the past three weeks, since I finished the National Trust Scone Quest at the Giant's Causeway.

I'm pleased to tell you that the Greyfriars scone proved me right: it was a fantastic scone. Slightly warm, fluffy, a good amount of fruit, and baked to perfection. A triumph.

I ate my scone in the Greyfriars garden, which I highly recommend. It's a lovely little tranquil spot.

I then went for a wander around Worcester cathedral. It contains the tombs of King John and Prince Arthur among others, so that was very interesting.

King John's tomb in Worcester cathedral

Scones: 5 out of 5!

Croome

If an estate agent said to you "this is a property with great potential", you'd instantly smell a rat and think "OK, it's a dump". But when I tell you that Croome near Worcester has great potential, I really mean it.

This photo of Croome is brought to you courtesy of a lovely woman
called Alison. I took my photos from the back of a little golf
buggy-thing and...well, let's just say you can tell.

Here are your ten must-know things about Croome:

1. The NT acquired the park in 1996 and the house in 2007
This basically means that there's very little in the house - all of the effort so far has been on new plumbing, electrics, and structural stuff. I have to admit that we didn't see all of it - the Sidekick's mobility is a bit limited at the moment - but after I'd seen four or five empty rooms I started to lose track of where I was. The park has been restored to its past glory, however, and there's a lot to see (see 8. below).

2. It contains probably the most bizarre fitting ever seen in an NT house
The Master Bedroom was decorated by a property developer in the 1990s. The guidebook says that the NT "has decided to leave it as it was during this period for now", going on to correctly compare it to "something out of Footballers' Wives". 

The stripey wallpaper certainly grabs the attention, but not as much as the ruddy great modern bath that the property developer stuck in the middle of the bathroom, for reasons that were presumably clear to him or her at the time. It was too heavy for the floor though, which bowed underneath it and had to be strengthened while the plumbing was taken out. So don't bother bringing a towel.

3. Croome was Capability Brown's first commission
There's a huge irony in me saying that Croome has 'potential'. Lancelot Brown, who designed Croome, got his famous nickname of Capability because that's what he used to tell his rich clients when he visited their estates - 'your gaff has capabilities', or words to that effect.

Anyway, Capability was commissioned by the 6th Earl of Coventry as an architect to redesign the house that he had inherited in 1751. CB designed the outside of the building and was the clerk of works for the interior. But it was in the grounds that he developed his signature style as a landscape gardener, doing away with all the formality of previous eras and focusing on trees and serpentine lakes. 

4. It was also Robert Adam's first commission for room design
The 6th Earl was clearly a bit of a talent spotter, because he also employed the little-known Robert Adam, or Bob the Roman as he was later referred to because of his love of classical architecture. Bob started off designing the interior of the new church but impressed the 6th Earl so much that he moved onto the Long Gallery and other rooms.

5. The contents were sold off in 1948
The descendants of the 6th Earl stayed true to his vision and kept Croome pretty much as he had built it. However, the 10th Earl was killed during the retreat to Dunkirk in 1940 and the place and its contents were put up for sale. Croome became a school and the UK headquarters for the Hare Krishna movement, before the property developers tried to turn it into a golf course.

6. The Tapestry Room is in New York
There's a very bare and sad-looking room in the house with some posters explaining that it was once the Tapestry Room, but that all the contents were sold to cover the 9th Earl's gambling debts. It was only when I got home and read the guide book properly that I realised the WHOLE ROOM is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York - the ceiling, the tapestries, the floor, even the skirting boards. The picture makes you realise how fabulous Croome would have looked.

7. A fifth of the contents are back
This is a terrible photo, but the team at Croome is bringing back various pieces that once belonged to the estate. Below is a really stunning cabinet built to show off the porcelain that was once the Earl's pride and joy - I really don't find porcelain very interesting at all, but I loved the way it was set out. Much better than sticking it all on a table (and less prone to gathering dust presumably).

8. There's a lot to see in the grounds
There are numerous 'eye-catchers' or follies in the park at Croome - there's a grotto, Pirton Castle (which looks like a real castle but was actually built as a ruin), Dunstall Castle, a Panorama Tower, Dry Arch Bridge, Temple Greenhouse...loads of little buildings worth investigating. Due to mobility issues and - OK, yes, I admit it - the cold, we didn't see any of them. But it's another good reason to go back.

9. The volunteer room guides are great
There are some properties where the volunteers are just brilliant - Nostell Priory, Packwood, Melford Hall, Seaton Delaval. Croome is one of them. They were friendly and informative, which made a really big difference when there was less to see. 

They also seemed genuinely excited by what's going on at the property, and they're going to need it - there's a huge task ahead and they'll need plenty of energy.

10. They have mighty Croome scones
This was scone mission #150 and our first outing since October, so I was dreading a scone fail scenario. But I needn't have worried - a pile of mighty scones was the first thing I saw in the tea-room. They were very tasty, although (and I hate to say this) possibly a tad under-done? I'm not saying it in Paul Hollywood "it's-under-baked"-while-wiping-hands-triumphantly-of-potentially-lethal-baked-item-almost-ingested-style, but hesitantly because I'm not 100% sure. You'd think I'd be able to tell by now. 

Anyway. I can't wait to see Croome again in a couple of years' time, when they've had a chance to complete more of their renovations and restorations, and I can do a full tour of the 'eye-catchers'.

Croome: 3 out of 5 now but with capabilities
Scone: 4.5 out of 5
Bath worthy of John Terry: 5 out of 5

Hanbury Hall

I always claim that I am above celebrity gossip. There's no Heat magazine for me, no Daily Mail website sidebar of shame keeping me informed on who faces marital ruin because of her cellulite. 

However, I will cheerfully admit that I love reading about National Trust properties like Hanbury Hall near Droitwich. Hanbury was passed down through generations of the Vernon family, who all look very sombre and had extremely officious jobs and made incredibly important improvements to the house and grounds that tell us a huge amount about 18th century horticulture, until Emma Vernon ELOPED WITH A CURATE, forcing HER HUSBAND to rename himself John Jones and live on a farm! That whooshing sound is Hanbury Hall flying up the scone blogger's destination list. I know.

In fact, the story is even better than that:

• Hanbury Hall was built at the beginning of the 18th century - externally, it hasn't really changed since 
• It was commissioned by Thomas Vernon, a talented lawyer, who had inherited the estate from his father
• Bowater Vernon, the son of Thomas's cousin, inherited everything from Thomas and set about spending all of the money as quickly as he could
• Emma Vernon was Bowater's granddaughter
• She married Henry Cecil, heir to the 9th Earl of Exeter, and they moved into Hanbury Hall 
• Emma fell in love with the locate curate, William Sneyd
• After a secret affair, she confessed all to Henry who gave her an ultimatum - if she renounced the curate they would say no more about it
• However, when Henry took her to say her final goodbyes to her departing curate, she waited until Henry's back was turned and then escaped out of a window so she could run off to Portugal with Sneyd!
• Henry was devastated and moved to a small-holding in Shropshire, calling himself John Jones
• He fell in love with Sarah, a 16 year-old farmer's daughter, and married her - bigamously!
• He later divorced Emma and remarried Sarah properly
• Henry and Sarah moved to Burghley House when Henry's father died  
• Sneyd and Emma also married but Sneyd died two years later
• Emma returned to the Hanbury area, marrying a local lawyer - when Henry died, she moved back into Hanbury Hall.

There was no portrait of Emma in the house. If you're a fellow scandal fan, you should read about Ickworth - the woman who befriended the Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightley) and then stole her husband (Ralph Fiennes) was born at Ickworth and they have a picture of her looking all very innocent in a big hat. But nothing of Emma at Hanbury. Maybe her husband cut them all up or scribbled devil horns on them. 

Hanbury Hall itself is lovely. The highlight of the interior is the Great Staircase, which was painted by Sir James Thornhill for Thomas Vernon. It was good practice for Sir James, who went on to paint the cupola of St Paul's Cathedral.

The gardens are also lovely. There's a bowling green (the first time I've seen one of those) and a mushroom house (ditto).

The Hanbury scone
Anyway. I wasn't feeling terribly positive about the scone situation at Hanbury today, mainly because my last scone mission had been a disaster. I was taught a very harsh lesson: there IS something worse than no scone and that's a stale scone. 

But I needn't have worried because the scone at Hanbury Hall was very good. I don't think it was fresh but it wasn't far off.

I will end by continuing my series of Amazing Factoids That Get The Briefest of Mentions in National Trust Guidebooks. Today's nugget comes not from Hanbury Hall itself but from the local church. According to the guidebook, the bells of St Mary the Virgin can often be heard on Radio 4 as the bells of St Stephen's in Ambridge! I've never listened to a single episode of The Archers but I know a good factoid when I see one! Celebrity bells! Amazing! 

Hanbury Hall: 5 out of 5
Scones: 4.5 out of 5
Mushroom House: 5 out of 5