A Day Trip to Dudmaston

 

Another day, another day trip! On Monday Ann & Jos, Claire (who blogs here) and husband Gareth met up with us at the magnificent Dudmaston Hall in sunny(ish) Shropshire. 

Dudmaston’s story spans almost a millennium, lived in by the same family through inheritance and marriage for over 875 years and never sold. It started with a Norman knight and today Dudmaston is home to the Hamilton-Russell family. 

Photo courtesy of Claire

Despite those rather ominous looking skies it was pleasantly warm and we enjoyed a wander around the grounds before the house opened to the public.

Photo courtesy of Claire

Photo courtesy of Ann

 Dudmaston Hall houses one of the most important collections of modern art in Britain. Previous residents, Sir George and Lady Labouchere started collecting in the 1950s while Sir George was working for the British Embassy in Brussels. The National Trust are currently offering a tour called The Cocktail of Art where one of the volunteers walks visitors around the collection, pointing out their favourite pieces and giving some background information on the artists. The name of the tour comes from a quote by Sir George who likened the pleasure he got from seeing great art to having a cocktail. 

Alison, our guide, was great fun and we bonded over dresses - hers came from a boutique in Santorini and mine, by posh Athenian label Greek Archaic Kori, was an insanely cheap find on Vinted.

 

Alison's chosen artworks were those by Matisse, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and one of my personal favourites, Sonia Delaunay whose painted car I'd drooled over when we visited Malaga HERE. The Max Ernst painting is a rare mix of surrealism & abstract art and is listed as one of the National Trust's 100 top paintings. 

Photos courtesy of Ann

What a turn up for the books, it was warm and dry enough to eat lunch al fresco! I can thoroughly recommend the curried cauliflower pasty.

Suitably fed and watered we headed back inside. We loved this beautiful peacock wallpaper.

The yellow wallpaper was designed by Nina Campbell, one half of Collier Campbell who have been creating hand printed designs since the 1960s.

 

We tried not to laugh too much at the unfortunate looking lady to the right of the screen and were a bit scared of those evil looking twins, The Shining comes to mind!

The huge table in the entrance dates back to the 17th Century and was originally located in the servants quarters. Unusually the family seemed to value their employees, with paintings of them hanging alongside the ancestral portraits. I particularly liked this fellow enjoying what looked like the world's largest Aperol Spritz.

Dudmaston has a gorgeous exhibition of antique fans along with leaflets explaining Le Langage de L'Eventail (the language of the fan)

Photo of me courtesy of Ann

I'm Desirous of Acquaintance, Claire's saying Yes! and apparently Ann Wishes to get rid of you.

Dotted around the garden are sculptures by the artist, Anthony Twentyman. Born up the road in Wolverhampton in 1906, during WW2, Twentyman joined the RAF, was posted to Singapore and later captured and imprisoned by the Japanese for three and a half years. There's a strong Japanese influence in much of his work including Space Frame which Jon's posing by. You might remember seeing it restored in the first BBC series of Treasures of The National Trust.

Here's The Watcher, also by Twentyman.

Snakes alive! Look what we spotted in the garden!

The stuff of nightmares!

Photo courtesy of Claire

During some recent restoration work this Regency-era ladies bathing pool was unearthed.

Mega gunnera!

I can't help but think of the film Saltburn when I look at these photos although I can assure you that there was no drunken debauchery yesterday (we're saving that for next week.)

Photo courtesy of Jos

 Gareth reminded us that in September we'll have known him and Claire ten years. We met when we traded next to each other at a VW weekender in Bridgnorth. I think that deserves a celebration in the not too distant future.

Photo courtesy of Jos

Miss you already, Ann & Jos, see you in 2025!

Dudmaston Hall, Quatt, near Bridgnorth, Shropshire, WV15 6QN

10.30 - 4.30 daily (Closed Fridays & Saturdays.)

Thanks for reading! We've got a hectic few days ahead but I'll do my best to post before we leave for Glasto.