Ok no need to rub it in that the UK is wet and miserable
At least we have greenery!
Here is a nice place 15 mins drive away.
Its a stately home now museaum set within
1500 acres of grounds, woodland walks, various flower
gardens, a golf course, a rare breeds working farm
and an open air amphitheatre.
Just have to wait for it to stop raining to enjoy it!
Here is the blurb for any historians. Note the reference to the
Knights Templar and Mary Queen of Scots. No doubt there
is a decent conspiracy in there somewhere.
It is also suppose to be haunted by one of the previous occupants
with some people supposedly saying they feel a chilly feeling
on the main staircase in the house. I've been loads of
times and never seen, heard or felt anything.
A superb 15th century country house, famous as the birthplace
of Lord Darnley, the ill-fated husband of Mary, Queen of Scots.
The manor of Newsam was owned by the Knights Templar in
the 12th century. The estate passed to the Darcy family, and
Thomas, Lord Darcy built the first manor house here in
about 1500.
One wing of Darcy's original manor survives as the central block
of the curent house. Darcy was implicated in the Pilgrimage
of Grace in 1537 and was executed for treason, at which point
his lands were siezed by the crown. Henry VIII gave it to the
Countess of Lennox, and her son, Henry, Lord Darnley was
born and raised here.
After Darnley's murder, Elizabeth I siezed the estate, and the
house languished in a state of neglect until 1622 when it was
purchased by Sir Arthur Ingram. Ingram tore down much of the
earlier manor house and built two large new wings to form the
basis of the house we see today. The next major addition was
the Picture Gallery, completed around 1745 by the 7th Viscount.
In 1758 Charles, 9th Lord Irwin, married a rich heiress named
Frances Shepheard, and together they used her money to transform
the interior and fill it with a collection of fine art including
Old Master works. They hired James Wyatt to build a grand staircase,
and Capability Brown to create the landscape garden that surrounds
the house.
