Monday, August 05, 2019

A Visit to Lyme Park - Part One

Early in July we visited Lyme Park in Cheshire.  We'd first visited in the 1990s and it felt like time to  return. We  made the journey just a few weeks before the recent flooding caused so much damage. According to the National Trust website the property will remain closed until August 9th at the earliest. We also passed through the village of Whaley Bridge on the way which is at present threatened by the collapse of part of the dam wall which contains the water in the Toddbrook reservoir which was built in 1838 to feed the Peak Forest Canal. The village has been evacuated. It's awful to think of what might happen if the dam bursts and I hope that something can be done soon to make it secure and allow people to return to their homes. 

It was warm and sunny when we arrived but we decided to go into the house first whilst it was still fairly early and have lunch before venturing into the garden.The present house dates from the 16th century with many alterations done in both the 18th and 19th centuries.  It is the largest stately home in Cheshire.

I'd forgotten what most of the rooms looked like so it was interesting to see them all again.  The house was owned and occupied by the Legh family until it was passed to the National Trust in 1946.

 Library

 Dining Room

 I loved the way the table was set for a sumptuous banquet.

 Everything placed with precision.

The guide in the drawing room told us that the stained glass was taken in the 19th century by the then owner of Lyme Park Thomas Legh from the church in the nearby village of Disley.



More of the medieval stained glass in the drawing room window.

The State bedroom, also known as the yellow bedroom, was created for the visit of King James II. The Legh family were later supporters of his grandson Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobite cause.

The small settee above is covered in French embroidered wool and is dated c1690.

One of the many passages in the upstairs rooms.

Above and below a couple of the intricate wood carvings in the Salon which have been attributed to Grinling Gibbons but some experts think they were done by a carver in the style of Gibbons.

The two I photographed show artists materials and musical instruments.

Also in the Salon was an exhibition about the Sarum Missal.  It was printed by William Caxton in Paris in 1487.  It was owned by the Legh family from 1508 when it was purchased by Sir Piers Legh. It stayed with the family when they left in 1946 until it was bought by the National Trust in 2008 and returned to the house. Apparently the book had been on display in the library but this year it the centrepiece of a new exhibition.


The Nursery





The Long Gallery

The Knight's Bedroom - the guide told us that this room was supposed to be haunted.

but I can't remember now whom it was supposed to be haunted by!  If I remember or can find out elsewhere I'll add it here.

Two more sections of stained glass which were in a window at the bottom of a staircase just by the exit.


It was time to make our way to the cafe for lunch before we went outside to look at the garden.

22 comments:

  1. Such beauty and grandeur.... How wonderful that it is preserved. For people to visit and enjoy.

    Have to show my husband, the wood carvings! He has been carving, since childhood. And loves such things. :-)

    Oh I so hope that village will be made secure! Please, if you see any more news on this, please tell us. I can't imagine having to leave one's home, and wait...... -sigh-

    ♥ ♥ ♥

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    1. The carvings are wonderful aren't they? It seems this evening that the reservoir has been emptied far enough down for them to check the dam from both sides and assess its strength and what must be done to repair it. Some people in outlying villages furthest away have been allowed to return home:)

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  2. Amazing to think that one family once owned all that. Looking forward to seeing the garden.

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    1. It is a long time for just one family to live in one place imagine being able to trace your family history back that ar:)

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  3. Amazing how the pieces of glass in the window at the bottom of the stairs have been put together. The images are ethereal. Love the delicately carved Gibbons-style woodwork. The Sarum Missal exhibition must have been interesting and good that the NT bought the book back from the family so that the public can see it.

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    1. I thought the glass in the windows near the stairs was lovely and enjoyed it more than the more colourful glass in the drawing room. The exhibition was fascinating, I didn't know about the Sarum Missal but of course when we visited the first time it wasn't at the house and hadn't been bought by the National Trust and returned to its original home:)

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  4. Isn't it just the most beautiful place in a wonderful setting. I love those little soldiers. So lucky you managed to visit before all the awful rain. 😊

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    1. Yes it is lovely, we had the best weather for visiting I hope there hasn't been too much damage to the gardens. I loved the nursery and the toys in there:)

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  5. The house is just wonderful as are your photos Rosie.

    I feel so sorry for people at Whaley Bridge - a dreadful situation for them :( Flooding at Lyme Park not good either.

    The stained glass in the house is just superb - it looks as though there are many rooms to visit and admire too. I particularly liked the Nursery area and the little panda and the haunted room sounds interesting!!

    I look forward to seeing your photos of the garden :)

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    1. The stained glass is lovely isn't it? I like the paler stained glass although the more colourful glass was very striking it made the room quite dark but also atmospheric. There were lots of rooms to wander into and admire. I loved the nursery and that little panda just called to me, I had to take its photo. I must find out more about the haunted room:)

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  6. What a wonderful house, well worth the visit. You have been in my thoughts recently with all the news about Whaley Bridge. Hopefully it’s not been too bad in your corner . Fingers crossed the occupants will be able to return to their town very soon. B x

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    1. Thank you Barbara, I'd forgotten how lovely Lyme is. No problems here with flooding, it seems to be just further north into Cheshire, when I heard of the flods I felt for the people but I was so worried about cats apparently those who couldn't be found in five minutes are being fed by animal welfare groups:)

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  7. We visited Lyme Park on the 22nd of July. It is the most beautiful place. I was very sorry to hear about the flooding and the people of Whalely Bridge have been on my mind since the issues began. We pass through there regularly on the way to Sheffield.

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    1. It is a lovely place, we visited on 5th July and it was a lovely warm day. From what I could gather from soe reports the flooding at Lyme seems to have affected the gardens. I've just seen the news and it seems that everyone has been allowed back into Whalley Bridge which is very good news:)

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  8. A magnificent building! I think it has many similarities to Hatfield House which I recently visited as in the long gallery,library, stained glass etc. The bed frame of the Knights bedroom looks eerily ominous - I'm not surprised the room is haunted! :)

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    1. It is a lovely building, your photos of your recent visit to Hatfield are wonderful and there are many similarities with the houses being of a similar age. The room was quite spooky but wonky too - everything going off at angles - very weird:)

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  9. The toy soldiers caught my eye along the mantelpiece.
    What a beautiful place to visit. It's been awful to watch the dam damage and the outcome for the frightened families.

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    1. Thank you Julie, the soldiers and other toys were lovely, there was a wooden railway set too. I'm glad the people are now back in their homes and businesses are able to open again. I suppose they will now work out how to mend or replace the dam:)

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  10. I've never been inside the house at Lyme so I enjoyed taking a little tour through your photos.

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    1. It is rather grand inside, I'm glad these places allow photos now:)

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