Burton Agnes Gardens

The gardens at Burton Agnes Hall are extensive and well cared for. The area immediately around the house has lawns, topiary and a formal pond. Tucked away at the south side is an Elizabethan walled garden, containing a vegetable, fruit and herb garden and many areas of colourful flowers and shrubs. There are giant board games and a maze, which I tried navigating and found myself slightly panicky that I couldn't find the way out! The building you can see in the background of the top photo is the elaborate Elizabethan gatehouse.

Burton Agnes has an artist-in-residence scheme, which allows visiting artists the opportunity to stay and work there, and to display their work. These ladies were busy painting in the summerhouse.

The weather was intermittently showery followed by very bright sunshine, so I wasn't very pleased with any of my photos. Summer sun can be just too contrasty, but you just have to make the best of the conditions.

A keen gardener may be able to identify the plant with the huge spikes of blue flowers?
(photo below) I've made a tentative guess at Echium but I may be completely wrong. Some of the spikes were twice my height!

The Norman Manor House

You get your money's worth at Burton Agnes because the entrance fee gives access to not one but two houses, the second being the original Norman manor house built by Roger de Stuteville in 1173. It was encased in brick in the 17th century, when it served as a laundry to the newly built hall next door. Thrillingly however, you can enter the original Norman vaulted undercroft, and climb a 12th century spiral staircase to the Great Hall above, which was restored and reroofed in the 15th century. There are small delights to be seen, like the peg holes in one of the pillars, believed to be for playing the game of 'nine men's morris'. There's also some old graffiti scratched on the wall.

Inside Burton Agnes Hall

I really enjoyed looking round the interior of Burton Agnes Hall. It is very well cared for and has a 'lived-in and loved' feel to it, despite the opulence of the decor. There are also some beautiful art works, including some excellent French Impressionist paintings and some contemporary tapestries and sculptures. The rooms are well-proportioned and the house has changed relatively little (compared to many stately homes) since it was built in the Tudor Renaissance style. I particularly liked the light, elegant, panelled Drawing Room shown below.

The Great Hall has some amazing carvings on the fireplace and the oak and stone screen.

The Queen's State Bedchamber, with a beautiful Elizabethan plasterwork ceiling, had indeed a very feminine feel to it. It was reputedly haunted by a daughter of the family - read the full 'ghost story' HERE. 

The King's Bedchamber had lots of portraits of ladies on the walls!

There were some nice details too, including a wonderful chess set, with pieces showing robed Kings, Queens, Bishops and the like. They were wonderfully generous in allowing photography inside (I wish some other places would be so helpful!) but indoor light levels are fairly low and my photo came out a little blurred as a result.

I fell in love with this painting too: The Ravenscroft Boys, by Philip Reinagle (1749-1833), court painter to George III. (A niece of one of the boys depicted married into the family linked to Burton Agnes Hall, which is, I suppose, why they have the painting). I loved the playfulness the artist has captured among the brothers. 

Above the entrance to Burton Agnes Hall, the date is picked out - 1601, along with the initials of Henry Griffith.

Burton Agnes Hall

Burton Agnes Hall was another place I chose to stop and explore on my way to the East Coast. Built between 1598 and 1610 by Sir Henry Griffith, this Elizabethan manor house has belonged to the same family line for over 400 years. It was designed by the Master Mason to Elizabeth I, Robert Smythson, who also built Longleat and Hardwick Hall. The present generation of the family, the Cunliffe-Listers, still live there, at least some of the time. I like country houses that are still lived in. They have a different feel, warm and welcoming, often full of family treasures. Simon Cunliffe-Lister is a keen saxophonist and hosts an annual jazz festival in the grounds. The family have also continued to collect contemporary art to add to the house's collections.

Wall paintings

It's the inside of St Michael and All Angels church, Garton on the Wolds, that is really mind-blowing. During the extensive Victorian restoration, commissioned by Sir Tatton Sykes of nearby Sledmere House, the entire interior was covered in wall paintings in 1865. They were designed by G. E. Street and executed by the firm of Clayton and Bell, who made stained glass. In the Pre-Raphaelite style, they depict scenes from the Bible. In the nave, many Old Testament stories are illustrated, including the Creation, Adam and Eve. There have been suggestions that this was intended to rebuke Charles Darwin's theories of evolution, published in 1859 and seen by some as heretic.

Scenes from the Creation story (above) and Adam and Eve (below). 

Below, the building of Noah's Ark.

Around the arched entrance to the chancel is a Jesse Tree, tracing the lineage of Jesus from King David.

By 1972, when the church was surveyed by the famous architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner (1902-1983), for his guide books, the paintings were seriously damaged and decayed by dirt and damp. In his memory, the Pevsner Memorial Trust undertook a complete restoration and preservation in the late 1980s. Now, they really are a breath-taking sight!

Whereas the nave holds Old Testament stories, the chancel has New Testament references, with depictions of the Nativity and parables like the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan.

I couldn't see the Passion story told on the walls but the carved reredos behind the altar depicts the crucifixion, as did one of the stained glass windows.

Below is the panel showing the Annunciation. 

Once my eyes had accustomed to the gloom (and I found a light switch and let the lights warm up), I spent the best part of an hour marvelling at the paintings. I can't think of another church where I have seen anything similar, though there was of course the amazing medieval wall art in the Cotswold church in Oddington that I saw last summer (HERE).

Garton on the Wolds church

I was on my way to the East Coast last month (more of that later) and, on a friend's recommendation, I stopped off to visit the ancient church at Garton on the Wolds. The Church of St Michael and All Angels, to give it its full title, was originally built in medieval times about 1132, for the prior of Kirkham Abbey (which I visited in 2017, see HERE). By the early 19th century it was very dilapidated and was extensively rebuilt and restored in the second half of the 19th century. However, its real treasures are inside. Come back tomorrow!

Mooching around the large graveyard, I came across a pretty little angel on one of the headstones.