As members of the National Trust we can visit any of their properties without paying, so we will look out for more to make the most of our annual subscription. Whilst up in the North East we went to check out Wallington Hall. The hall was in the Trevelyan family for about 250 years and there was a hall there long before that.
It is not the biggest stately home we have seen, but it sits in 100 acres. Apparently some beavers have been released in part of the estate, but we did not see them. You drive in over an ornate stone bridge to get to the car park, then it is short walk to the house via a grand arch that was probably part of the stables.
To the right is the cafe. There is a gift shop as well as another for gardening equipment that also sells plants. There is also a second hand book shop that we did not see. That is a common feature at these places.
We went to the gardens first. This is a bit of a walk through the woods. There are a couple of large lakes on the way there.
We heard that they had a project to plant a million snowdrops in the woods. It was not the time for those, but they did have these sculptures.
On the way we passed this grand structure that is along a formal path. You could not go in.
The walled garden is huge. It would originally have contained lots of fruit and vegetables to feed the household, but is mostly given over to decorative plants now. The pond feeds a stream that runs through it. There was also a greenhouse, but that was closed to the public.
Inside the house is grand, but not too overblown. The central courtyard was roofed over at some point. The murals below portray significant figures of that part of the country, such Hadrian who built the Roman wall and Grace Darling who saved the crew of a wrecked ship. Owls feature a lot in the decoration and may be a family emblem.
One room contains several large dolls' houses that belonged to the family along with other toys.
Of course there is a large kitchen. There was a display about the girls from Newcastle who were evacuated there during the war as it was heavily bombed. They worked in the kitchen and garden.
There is also a well stocked library and there were lots of other books around the house. I like that there were some toys there too.
One of the owners wrote a popular book about the American Revolution and you can see him here with Theodore Rooseveldt who was apparently a close friend.
Rich people liked to collect things and there is a whole room dedicated to a collection of assorted items. There are stuffed birds, shells, fossils as well as relics such as weapons and a set of wax seals belonging to notable people. Such collections would be the starting point for various museums.
Wallington is worth a visit if you are in the area. I expect the snowdrops are spectacular when flowering.
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