Back To The Old House

Our destination on Friday was Packwood House, a forty minute drive from home. Already one of our favourite National Trust properties, when I was researching Jon's family tree during lockdown, we were excited to discover that his 9 x great-grandmother, Alicia Fetherston(1592 - 1645) was born there, her family being the original owners of Packwood.

Alicia's father, William, built Packwood in 1570. The Fetherstons were yeoman farmers with each subsequent generation expanding the estate until it eventually commanded an area of almost 690 acres. In 1714 upon the death of Thomas Fetherston, the house passed to his sister who was married to a man from Aldridge (the small town in the borough of Walsall where Jon's dad's family came from) and continued down the female line, the last of whom died in comparative poverty (hence the reason Jon's family didn't inherit it!)  

In 1904, Alfred Ash, a Birmingham businessman and confirmed city dweller had, somewhat impulsively, bought the 134 acre Packwood Estate in rural Warwickshire at auction for £4,500 and when asked why, he replied, I bought it because the boy wanted it.

Graham Baron Ash (1889 - 1980)

The boy was his beloved 16-year-old only son, Graham Baron Ash. Baron, as he preferred to be called, was said to be both reserved & courageous with a party-loving generosity. His work with the family firm, which he never much cared for, came to a halt at the outbreak of the First World War when he volunteered for the medical corps. Before joining up he travelled to, amongst other places, Burma, India and Egypt, where he recorded his encounters with the people he met. In his diary he writes of bribing a priest in China to order to acquire an ancient roof tile. This, it is said, was when a lifetime of haggling over antiques begun.

Determined never to go back into the family business, after leaving the army Baron dedicated the rest of his life to restoring Packwood, stripping back the lavish Victorian interior, considered at that time to be hopelessly outdated, and restoring the house to reflect its original Tudor heritage.

Years ahead of his time, Baron set about acquiring architectural salvage from demolished historical buildings and hunting down antique textiles, furniture and artifacts from around the world to furnish his dream country house. There were some modern comforts included, this was, after all, a young man's party pad and so en-suite bathrooms and a sprung dance floor were added to make 16th Century Packwood House the ultimate in Jazz Age party venues.

The windows, updated by the Victorian residents, were replaced by salvaged, period-perfect Tudor originals, some bought from as far afield as Belgium. Unfortunately the render, applied in Georgian times, when the original Tudor brickwork was considered to be old fashioned, could not be removed without damaging the exterior.

A note left in the 1930's visitors book described as A house to dream of, a garden to dream in.

Friday was glorious, with skies so blue that if it wasn't cold enough to require multiple layers and woollen gloves you'd be forgiven for thinking it was mid-Summer. 

After a stroll through the woods, wading through mud which reached our ankles (and questioning the wisdom of wearing a maxi dress), we arrived at Packwood's front door at 11.15am just in time for our pre-booked admission slot.

Packwood is a textile lovers dream, layer upon layer of prints, patterns and textures which combine to create one of the cosiest and inviting interiors, although I did overhear a visitor saying how ugly she thought the tapestries were (I bet she was one of those people who paint their walls in that godawful "fashionable grey").

Back outside we wandered around the garden which, even in the depths of Winter, was still teaming with life, including masses and masses of beautiful snowdrops.

In 1941 Baron gave Packwood to the National Trust who were initially not keen on acquiring it, considering it "a fake" because of the Tudorisation of the property but his offer of an additional £30,000 to assist with the upkeep helped change their minds. He also stipulated that fresh flowers from the garden must be supplied to the house every day (which is still evident). 

What a shame Lord Jon's ancestors ran out of money, Packwood could have been ours!