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Barrington Court, Somerset

My visits to gardens and historic houses have been severely curtailed this year, for obvious reasons. However places are beginning to open up again, partially, at least. The National Trust is opening many of its gardens, although sadly the tea shops (a highlight of many a visit) are operating a limited take-away service only.

We picked Barrington Court for a day out as it is just over an hour’s drive from home, it had a nice garden, and we hadn’t visited it before. I didn’t realise how many similarities it had to my imaginary Birchanger Hall.

Barrington Court
The E-shaped side of Barrington Court

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Houses and gardens | jaynedavisromance | |   Gardens The_Mrs_MacKinnons

Book Review – The Country House Kitchen Garden 1600-1950

One of my summer hobbies is visiting National Trust properties and other country houses in England and Wales (and Scotland, when I get that far north), mainly for the wonderful gardens that many of them have. In some of these gardens, the NT have maintained part of what was once the kitchen garden, so we can get some idea of what such places may have looked like when they were the main source of fruit and vegetables for the house.

I picked up this book in the shop of a National Trust property somewhere in England. If you want to see  what kitchen gardens looked like, this is not the book for you as there are only a few black and white illustrations. The book is a collection of essays, and covers everything from methods of growing different crops, how gardens were laid out at different times, the staff employed, how year-round supplies of food were ensured, and even something on cooking and using herbs for medicine.

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Daily life Houses and gardens | jaynedavisromance | | 2 Comments |   Gardens non-fiction book review

Ice houses, succession houses and ha has

Do you know what ice houses, succession houses and ha has are? They are all structures often found in the grounds of stately homes in Georgian times – and later. All three are mentioned in The Mrs MacKinnons, and there were a few ‘what does that mean?’ comments from people who read the manuscript in development.

Ice houses

Ice houses were used to store ice from frozen lakes or streams in the winter, keeping it cool enough for it to be used the following summer. Some were below ground; the ones that were not were often covered with a thick layer of earth for extra insulation. All you would see from the outside would be a wooden door.

UPDATE: An ice house has been discovered beneath a Georgian house in London. Here’s a link to the Guardian article on it.

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Houses and gardens | jaynedavisromance | | Leave a comment |   Gardens The_Mrs_MacKinnons