A Little Curiosity
Eltham Palace in south-east London has a circular Art Deco entrance hall built in the 1930s, but what unusual feature was included for the Courtaulds' pet ring-tailed lemur, Mah-Jongg? Answer at the end.
THE ONE TO SEE
Eltham Palace, Eltham
Photo source: Stuart Burns, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Most people know Eltham as a medieval royal palace, which it was, right up until Eltham fell out of favour under Henry VIII, who increasingly used Hampton Court and Greenwich instead. What they don't expect is to walk through the front door and find themselves in one of the finest Art Deco interiors in England. The Courtaulds rebuilt it in the 1930s, keeping the medieval great hall but adding a circular entrance hall, purpose-designed furnishings, and quarters for their pet ring-tailed lemur, Mah-Jongg, with a few unusual touches of their own (see this week's curiosity for one of them). English Heritage runs it now, and the combination of fifteenth-century stonework and 1930s glamour is unlike anything else in the country.
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Four Worth the Drive
Trengwainton Garden, Cornwall
Photo source: Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Storm Goretti hit Trengwainton hard, and the garden is still telling that story. The National Trust's response has been to commission a series of life-sized willow sculptures, woven from locally sourced material, which now stand in the storm-damaged area of the garden. It's an unusual approach and it works: the sculptures sit in the landscape without feeling like an imposition. Trengwainton was always worth visiting for its walled kitchen garden and the views towards Mount's Bay, and this gives you another reason to go now rather than later.
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Muchelney Abbey, Somerset
Illustration: Muchelney Abbey, Somerset, Land & Legacy
English Heritage has just set up a volunteer scything team at Muchelney Abbey to manage the grass the way it was managed here for centuries, by hand, slowly, in a way that lets wildflowers and insects survive the season. The abbey itself is a good reason to visit independently: the abbot's lodging survives as a complete early Tudor mansion in miniature, with the original fireplace and windows still in place. The scything project is the kind of thing that sounds like a footnote but actually changes how the place feels when you're walking around it.
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Lochleven Castle, Perth and Kinross
Photo source: B4bees from Kinross, Scotland, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Lochleven sits on an island in the loch, which means you get there by boat, which immediately makes it more interesting than most castle visits. Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned here in 1567 and forced to abdicate. She escaped nearly a year later, which says more about her determination than about the security arrangements. Worth planning around the ferry crossing.
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Hatfield Forest, Essex
Photo source: Acabashi, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Hatfield Forest is one of the last surviving medieval hunting forests in England, a royal hunting forest dating back to the twelfth century where traditional coppicing, pollarding and grazing continue today. The National Trust has just completed the restoration of seven ponds across Hatfield Forest, Woodside Green and Wall Wood, improving freshwater habitat for amphibians, insects, and birds that had been losing ground as the ponds silted up. It's a good place to walk in late September when the light starts to change and the forest floor is doing interesting things. The ponds are now part of the circuit and worth seeking out.
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Hidden Gem
Beddgelert, Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park
Photo source: Herbert Ortner, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Beddgelert sits at the confluence of two rivers deep in Eryri, and it has been pulling visitors in since the early nineteenth century when the legend of Gelert, the faithful hound, became attached to the village around the turn of that century, traditionally credited to innkeeper David Pritchard, who became landlord in 1793. The grave is still there, in a field by the river, and people still visit it in good faith. The village itself is small, stone-built, and unmistakably pretty without being prettified. It's also the starting point for some of the best walking in the national park. Go on a weekday if you can.
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As Seen on Screen
Harewood House, Leeds
Photo source: Michael D Beckwith, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Cecil Beaton exhibition at Harewood runs until 18 October, and if you haven't been yet, this is the nudge. Beaton photographed the Royal Family for decades, as well as Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, and most of the significant faces of the mid-twentieth century, and this show brings together more than 60 works from the National Portrait Gallery's collection of Beaton photographs. The exhibition is the main event, but the house and grounds are worth the full afternoon.
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Coming Up…
Banney Royd Hall, Huddersfield
Edgar Wood designed Banney Royd Hall between 1900 and 1902, though you'd never know it was there if nobody told you. On 7 October the owners are running a guided tour that takes you through the Grade I listed interior, guided by the owners themselves. That access is rare. Tea, coffee and light refreshments are included. Book ahead.
Glamis Castle: Ghouls and Gore
Glamis is already one of the more atmospheric castles in Scotland without anyone trying to make it scary, so the Halloween event running 23–31 October has good raw material to work with. The castle does not pull its punches on the atmosphere front, and the setting alone earns its reputation. If you're in central Scotland in the last week of October and you want an evening out that isn't a pub quiz, this is a solid option. Book tickets in advance.
Harewood House 40th Anniversary Weekend
Harewood House Trust turns 40, and the anniversary weekend on 16–18 October includes special events and exhibitions marking what the Trust has done with the estate since taking it on. The house has a Robert Adam interior and a Capability Brown landscape, and the anniversary programme gives you more to engage with than a standard open day. Check the Harewood website for the full programme and ticket prices.
Worth Knowing
English Heritage Membership
Photo source: English Heritage
English Heritage membership runs from £84 a year for an individual adult, or £149 for a family membership covering two adults, and gives unlimited entry to more than 400 sites across the country, including Eltham Palace and Muchelney Abbey. Under-18s go free with an adult member. If you are already doing three or four English Heritage sites a year, it pays for itself.
A Little Curiosity: The Answer
Mah-Jongg had centrally heated living quarters, reached by a bamboo ladder. The Courtaulds were devoted to their lemur and designed the accommodation accordingly. It is, by some margin, the most interesting thing about any building project from the 1930s.
That's it for this week. If Eltham Palace is on your list, go for the Art Deco entrance hall, but don't rush past the medieval great hall on your way to it: the two halves of the building sit side by side and neither one is the warm-up act for the other.
About Us
Rob & Ali
We are Rob and Ali, two heritage enthusiasts who got tired of spending more time researching days out than actually enjoying them. Land & Legacy is our answer: a curated guide to the heritage experiences worth your time.
We are building something bigger behind the scenes, but for now this newsletter is our way of sharing what we find.
Hit reply if you have got a place we should know about.
Until next time,
Remembering the places that matter.