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Houses and Gardens of
Northamptonshire
Tour, Thursday 16 September -
Sunday 19
September 2010
Highlights
- 78 Derngate
—
Charles Rennie Macintosh
was commissioned to remodel the home of
businessman Wenman Joseph BassettLowke, and it
was to be his last major commission and his only
work in England.
- Northampton Museum
—
The Museum boasts an
interesting collection of boots and shoes.
- Rockingham Castle
—
The Castle began life as a
royal residence before being granted by the
Crown of England to Edward Watson in 1544. It
offers a fine collection of furniture and many
works of art.
- Boughton House
—
Home of the Dukes of
Buccleuch since the early fifteen hundreds, the
house offers a series of interesting staterooms
and has a wonderful collection of furniture,
tapestries, 16th century carpets and notable
works of art including paintings by El Greco,
Murillo, Van Dyck, Rubens, and Gainsborough.
- Cottesbrooke Hall and Gardens — A
magnificent house dating from 1702, which offers
a renowned picture collection particularly of
sporting subjects, fine English and continental
furniture and porcelain.
- Burghley House
—
Home of the Cecil family for over
400 years it is a veritable treasure house
containing one of the largest private
collections of Italian art, unique examples of
Chinese and Japanese porcelain and superb
examples of 18th century furniture. Stamford —
Reputed to be the finest stone built town in
England, its many spires and towers stand above
the River Welland which meanders through the
town. We will enjoy a walking tour with a local
guide.
- Grand Union Canal
—
enjoy a short scenic trip
on a traditional narrowboat.
- Claydon House (National
Trust)
—
The ancestral home of the Verney
family, the austere exterior belies an
extravagant interior featuring rococo
architecture and carving and fine Chinoiserie
decoration.
Rockingham
Castle
Charles Dickens described Rockingham Castle in Bleak House
and Dickens was a friend of the Watson family who have lived in
the castle since 1544. It was originally built by William the
Conqueror but most of the house is Tudor.
The drum towers are 13th century and the Long Gallery is 17th
century and the house contains a collection of 18th-20th century
paintings.
Burghley House
Burghley is one of the largest and grandest houses of the Tudor
age and was built by William Cecil, Lord High Treasurer to Queen
Elizabeth I, between 1855 and 1857.
Boughton House
Boughton House is the home of the Duke of Buccleuch and
holds an outstanding art collection.
The original house was bought by Sir Edward Montagu, Lord Chief
justice to Henry VIII in 1528. It was later rebuilt by Ralph
Montagu and shows strong French influence in the architecture
and it has one of the finest baroque state rooms in Britain.
Cottesbrooke House
Cottesbrooke House dates from 1702 and contains many
excellent 18th century English paintings as well as English and
French furniture and English, continental and Chinese porcelain.
The House also contains a significant collection of sporting
pictures by George Stubbs, Sir Alfred Munnings, Ben Marshall and
others, known as the Woolavington Collection.
Price — Ł495 per person sharing a twin/double
room
Single room supplement Ł45
Price to include:
luxury coach travel throughout, three nights bed and
breakfast accommodation at the Marriott Northampton Hotel, two
dinners in the hotel restaurant, Candlelit supper at
Rockingham Castle, private guided visits of Boughton
House and Cottesbrooke Hall, lunch at Boughton, all entrance
fees to visits mentioned (National Trust entrances not
included), guided visit of Burghley House, trip on the Grand
Union Canal and gratuities.
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Previous Tours
Tour of Scotland - September 2009
Think of Glasgow
these days and anyone interested in the Arts thinks of
Charles Rennie Mackintosh who was born in 1868. Well, we did
him justice – unlike his Scottish contemporaries; he and his
wife Margaret Macdonald were better known on the continent.
A particular favourite for our group was a building he
designed in 1900 for an international competition and the
special condition was that cost need not be a consideration.
It was called House for an Art Lover. It was never built but
a wealthy late 20th century engineer thought he’d try and
build it using the designs still held by the German Company
who set the competition. The house was finished in 1996 but
only after much inventiveness by the engineer and his team.
Mackintosh and his wife weren’t content with designing a
building, they also designed the furnishings – in this case,
wardrobes, chairs, curtains, book shelves and wall hangings.
The latter were designed by his wife using a gesso technique
which had to be reinvented in the 1990s.
The Scottish Parliament building was also well worth the
visit; opinions were united about the attractive interior
but the exterior was a different matter. Designed by a
Spanish architect, several of us felt it was not in keeping
with the Palace of Holyroodhouse next door or indeed with
Arthur’s Seat.
A good number of Galleries were visited, along with Glasgow
School of Art, the Royal Yacht Britannia and Dumfries House
– the stately home saved for the Nation largely thanks to
Prince Charles’ loan.
A successful five
day tour.
Pam Scott |
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Tuscany and Florence
Twenty four members enjoyed
a tour to Tuscany where they stayed in the spa
town of Montecatini near Florence. They visited
Arezzo, Fiesole, Vinci and Lucca on the coast,
as well as the wonderful Pitti Palace and the
Uffizi in Florence. Highlights included the
Boboli Gardens and the pretty town of Arezzo.
Indeed, one Member was heard to say that she was
astonished at how many euros she returned with;
‘We were obviously expected to enjoy the art,
not go shopping!’.
Thanks go to Doreen Macaulay, our former Vice
Chairman and former Visits Secretary for
liaising with the Travel company.
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St Petersburg
On 3 September eighteen members and friends of
WHDFAS set out for a five day trip to
St.Petersburg arranged by Saville Tours. We
were based at the Hotel St Petersburg in rooms
which gave everyone a magnificent view of the
Neva river, the palatial buildings on the
opposite bank and the cruiser Aurora which
allegedly fired the shot that started the
October Revolution. Our tour included both the
buildings within the city - the Hermitage, the
Peter and Paul Fortress, the Russian Museum and
St Isaac's Cathedral - and the nearby palaces of
Peterhof, the Catherine Palace at Tsarsloe Selo
and the great Palace of Pavlovsk. The size and
opulence of the buildings and the range and
quality of the works in the Hermitage impressed
us, particularly in view of the devastation
inflicted on the city and the surrounding area
during the 900 day siege of 1941-1943.
The enjoyment of our visit was greatly enhanced
by our excellent tour guide - Alla Boromykova -
whose comments on social and political history
from Rasputin to Putin provided essential
background to what we saw.
Catherine Carter
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Fountain at
Peterhof (Russian: Петерго́ф, Petergof,
originally named Peterhof, the Dutch for
"Peter's Court") |
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