Wine, food and travel with Clare : Shugborough Hall & Baddesley Clinton

Having recently joined National Trust Hubby and I visited two of the Trust's properties fairly local to us. Shrugborough Hall is in neighbouring Staffordshire whilst Baddesley Clinton is in our own county of Warwickshire.

It is return visits to both properties: I clearly remember visiting Shrugborough when in Primary School, I have a vivid memory of a huge kitchen with copper pots and a lady dressed in Victorian costume baking cakes for us to try. Baddesley Clinton is a place we visited when our children were young, probably about 20 years ago!

The road into Shrugborough takes you along a sweeping drive through its beautiful parkland with many added stately trees. It's a large estate with a plant crntre, a farm, bridges and structures in the grounds, as well as the house and Lord Lichfield's appartment.

Park Farm

Park Farm Courtyard

Sleeping in the sun

Livestock freely roaming

After enjoying a coffee at the Park Farm Cafe it was a peaceful stroll through the parkland passing grazing livestock to the House. Previously owned by the Bishop's of Lichfield it became a stately home in the 1600's and was laterly owned by the Anson family; George Anson was an avid navigator collecting artifacts from around the world whilst Thomas Anson is responsible for the art and landscaping of Shugborough.

Shugborough Hall's impressive frontage

Shugborough Hall from the gardens

Inside is full of art, beautiful furniture and a large collection of navigational maps and instruments.

Beautiful interiors

The Library

The kitchen I remember with the copper pots

Lord Lichfield, a distant relative and great friend of the Royal Family especially Princess Margaret, lived in a large apartment at Shugborough. Born Thoms Partick John Anson he was the 5th Earl of Litchfield. His apartment has been left as it was when he died in 2005 and is full of his famous photographs.

It was amazing to see photos of celebrities we knew from our childhood, usually history is long before we were born.

Outside the formal gardens lead to the river, beautifully kept with trees cut to precise shaping and flower borders full of colourful blooms.

Beautiful formal gardens

There was so much to see, too much for one day especially to walk the estate paths so we do plan to return sometime soon.

Baddesley Clinton is nearer to us than Shugborough; it's a moated manor house with plenty of history. As such it has had many add ons and extensions over time resulting in quite a collection of building styles as you can see.

Baddesley Clinton bridge over the moat

Building changes can be seen on the walls

Quite a large dwelling

Baddesley Clinton has outer buildings and an inner courtyard garden. I'm quite taken with moated buildings and passing over the bridge, through the archway, I was delighted to discover it also had a wine cellar.

I'd love a wine cellar like this

The wine cellar wasn't the only underground room; inside the house was a Priest's Hole! Being a Roman Catholic dwelling it became a hiding place for Catholics after the Reformation. in 1591 8 priests hid for four hours in this hole, accessible by going down the latrine and along a very small passage. An account of their ordeal can be found here; The Raid on Baddesley.

The nursery rhyme Goosey Goosey Gander is all about priest hunting:

Goosey Goosey Gander where shall I wander

(the priest hunters looked all over the house, goose stepping one foot in front of the other so as to make no noise walking)

Upstairs, downstairs in my Lady's chamber

(a priest may hide in a Lady's room, possibly in a Priest hole)

There I met an old man who wouldn't say his prayers

(Catholic Priests would not say the new English pray but recite the Latin)

So I took him by the left leg and threw him down the stairs

(the left refers to the Devil, throwing down the stairs refers to getting rid of the Priests, they were executed if caught)

The Priest's Hole

Not somewhere I would want to go

Baddesley Clinton house had many furnished rooms with furniture of great age and origin. I was particularly taken with a large wooden chest, it was full of carvings, even the cupboard door knobs were carved faces.

Stunning carved chest

Tapestry fire screen

Upstairs as well as bedroom was a small Chapel and Sacristy which has access to the Priest's Hole. It is thought it was used in the 1590 but hidden as a bedroom so those visiting did not suspect Priests were there.

Baddesley Clinton's Chapel

There was so much to see, so many rooms and varied history included two couples who lived here together, when two died the remaining two wedded and remained at the house.

A walled garden, a vegetable garden with a superb grape vine and a large lake are just part of the beautiful grounds. There are many walk ways, plenty of benches on which to sit and enjoy the peacefulness and parkland perfect for picnics.