Our National Trust Adventures....part 1

Hello Lovelies,
on Saturday we decided to make our first National Trust visit as members. There are quite a few properties we can choose from that are less than an hour away in the car.
The wonderful picture in the handbook sold me on Sudbury Hall ...........

It was an easy trip , but the sun we had been enjoying at home had vanished by the time we arrived. I must say I was little disappointed with the exterior. It was grand and interesting, but I didn't think it was  beautiful........

We walked into a dark hall and were met by friendly volunteers. It was great to simply show our membership cards rather than handing over hard cash :0)

The first room we entered was impressive, with a huge fireplace and high ceiling, but it was dark as well. I didn't see anything to photograph ( that's not like me! ) .......this wasn't what I expected.

But thankfully I didn't need to have worried. The next area we arrived in was the hall, with it's wonderful 17th century cantilevered staircase. It's amazing to think it's about 400 years old and still looking wonderful.....

Here's a second photo, just because I loved it so. I think the luminescent yellow walls really bring it all to life....

This is the Saloon, a very ornate room full of beautiful family portraits ...........

And amazingly intricate plasterwork on the ceiling...........

The library was slightly more relaxed, but it still had those super high ceilings............

This is lady Vernon's sitting room. It was warm and cosy. You could really imagine a family living in this room, I liked it a lot..........

And I loved the details the Trust had taken the trouble to display............

It had a pretty view of the gardens and lake from the window...........

The "Small Dining Room" was another place you could really see the family using every day.....

Next the arrows we were following pointed downstairs, oh great.... I really like to see "behind the scenes" :0)

There was a lovely volunteer in this room who told us this was not the site of the original kitchen, but a smaller one created in the early part of the twentieth century when the staff became reduced.

The small cupboard you can see near the sink is an early fridge. Ice was placed in the top and food stored below.............

I loved all the baking and cooking  equipment on display . I was particularly interested in the Be-Ro recipe books . Be-Ro was a make of flour and you had to send away for these books in the post.........

And this is mine, it's from 1982 and older than the one far right :0)

Another nostalgic fact I learnt about Sudbury Hall is that it was used as one of the locations for the 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice.........

how I loved that series

Next it was back upstairs and on the first floor  we entered the Long Gallery. This photo doesn't show it's full length. It was very impressive and flooded with natural light despite the blinds over some windows, that prevent sunlight damaging the paintings.............

Here's an image of the same room when it was used in Pride and Prejudice. It was the interior of Pemberley........

source

Here's another image from the show.... a painting of Mr Darcy that the BBC commissioned for this room..........

source

There is an interesting story about what happened to this painting HERE

Anyway, back to the present. This was a beautiful bedroom, with an impressive four poster bed.......

And impressive scaffold tower. This young lady was cleaning the fireplace , it was interesting to see how some of the maintenance is done.........

 a soft brush is used to sweep the dust into a hoover  worn around the waist.

This cosy bedroom showed how later generations  had adapted the building to suit their needs. I loved the window seat.........

Outside again I was happy to see Sudbury hall looks nicer from this side.......

And I loved the golden ball on the roof.........

What a treat the inside of the hall turned out to be, but this is not the end of our visit to Sudbury.
 I'll save the next bit for another post.
Jacquie x