Baddesley Clinton - Knights Have Dwelt Within Their Walls, Fugitives Fled To Their Secret Chambers, Cavaliers Knocked at Their Oaken Doors

A National Trust visit was long overdue, so yesterday armed with cheese sandwiches and the camera we jumped in the van and headed south across the border to Warwickshire.

A home has stood at Baddesley Clinton since before the Norman Conquest. Set in the heart of the Forest of Arden, although the moat surrounding the manor house dates from the 13th Century the house wasn't built until the middle of the 15th Century. Baddesley Clinton was acquired by Edward Ferrers in 1526 and the property remained in the Ferrers family for over 500 years until being acquired by a distant relative in 1940. In 1980 it was bequeathed to the National Trust and opened to the public two years later.

Over the course of its history Baddesley Clinton has provided refuge for those seeking escape from the outside world, never more so than during The Reformation, when the house offered shelter to persecuted Catholic priests escaping the 1559 Act of Uniformity. Harbouring priests was seen as an act of treason and owner Henry Ferrers faced certain death if it was discovered that he'd rented out the house to the ardently Catholic daughters of Lord Vaux who'd installed priest hides (see photo below) within the house to hide Catholics. 

As the centuries passed, the house developed to suit the needs of the occupants.

Some of the most radical changes happened in the late 19th Century. By then the house was occupied by a group of Bohemians collectively known as The Quartet. The story goes that Rebecca Dulibella Orpen lived in County Cork with her aunt, Georgiana Chatterton and was courted by the wealthy Edward Dering. Her 53 year old aunt was somewhat deaf and when Edward asked for her niece's hand in marriage, Georgiana misheard him, thought that he was proposing to her and accepted. Apparently very chivalrous, Edward didn't correct the mistake and married her despite the 25 year age gap. 

Marmion (what a brilliant name) Ferrers, the last in the line of direct descendants, married Rebecca in 1867 and all four moved into Baddesley Clinton. Both couples remained childless and inseparable, devoting their lives to the restoration and refurbishment of Baddesley Clinton & to painting, writing and religion. Georgiana died in 1876 and Marmion in 1884 leaving Edward to marry his true love, Rebecca, in 1885.

Baddesley Clinton was closed earlier this year for maintenance work. The kitchen, a Victorian addition, was one of the rooms restored.

Although rather dark, Baddesley Clinton felt welcoming and cosy, with lots of the personal possessions of the Ferrers family on display.

We loved the creaky floorboards and the strong smell of beeswax.

Henry Ferrers used the Great Hall for a reception room and entertainments. When the carved heraldic chimney piece was installed on 2nd March 1629, Henry was recorded as saying Work in the great chamber have finished and set up the chimney piece....which I like well but the unicorn is not set up for the crest, and is as I think made too big and the horn too big, and too upright, and the eyes ill set and sidelong.

Typical me, touching up the curtains to see how they'd work as a frock.

The stain below the fireplace is rumoured to be blood from the grisly murder of a priest in 1483.

Runners in this vibrant print cover much of the floor at Baddesley Clinton. Isn't it gorgeous? 

You know me, I can't walk past a rail of clothes without taking a closer look. 

An illustrated article on Baddesley Clinton appeared in the first edition of Country Life in January 1897 where writer John Leyland described the house  as A truly quaint and beautiful domestic survival of the English country life of the olden time. 

He continues Mailed knights have dwelt within their walls, fugitives in troublous times have fled to their secret chambers, cavaliers have knocked at their oaken doors...... 

About seven miles from Warwick… all amid the silent woods, its grey walls and timber gables reflected in a lake-like moat, stands the old Hall of Baddesley Clinton. Its aspect carries you back hundreds of years. You will readily, if so disposed, conjure up an old-world history when you look at it, and if you have any antiquarian interest – and who has not at least a tinge of it? – you can easily forget for the time that you are living in the Nineteenth century.

The gardens were gorgeous. Many of the visitors already knew each other and the names of the gardeners, they must picnic there every week.

Many National Trust properties have second hand bookshops in the grounds but the one at Baddesley Clinton was incredibly well stocked and staffed by a very knowledgeable gentleman. We found an amazing post-war guidebook to Greece for just £1.

After we'd eaten lunch we strolled around the estate accompanied by some very friendly ducks.

Despite being issued with a map on arrival we still managed to get hopelessly lost in the vast grounds much to the disdain of the estate's livestock.

We did manage to find our way to St Michael's, Baddesley's medieval church. Aren't the baby skeletons on the gravestone odd?

Rising Lane, Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire, B93 0DQ

Open daily (except 24 - 25 December)

See you soon.

Thinking of everyone affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy.