Egypt4u

Did a trip to Polesden Lacey today. This is one of The National Trusts most popular properties, located on the North Downs near to Dorking. It is a Regency house built in the early 19th century then improved and extended in 1906 by Hon Margaret Greville, a leading socialite, as somewhere suitable for entertaining her A list circle of friends including members of the royal family.

This is not a 'Stately Home' like those of dukes and barons. It is a beautiful country house set in 1400 acres of sweeping Surrey countryside. The NT do allow photography inside the house provided no flash is used. Many window blinds were drawn down to protect the contents from the sun but I did my best to capture just a little of the interior to give a flavour of the Edwardian opulence. The house is crammed with art, lavish furniture and antiques and objects d'art.

Here are a few pictures:

This is the front of the house that faces east.


A closer view showing the clock tower.


Inside at the top of the stairs there is a gallery with the walls clad with old tapestries.


The dining room is set for 12 that would have been a normal weekend house party.


In the lavish drawing room an old gentleman was playing 'Clare de Lune' on the piano.


The central chandelier in the drawing room was made by Baccarat.


One end of the drawing room or 'Saloon' as they list it on the plan.


The library is a very comfortable room and Margaret Grevilles husbands desk is just as he left it. He die just two years after they moved to Polseden Lacey.


Finaly a view over the lovely Surrey countryside from the east lawn.


I know I have said it before but we have such a wonderful heritage and The National Trust and English Heritage are doing so much to retain it for the nation. :

Once again some fabulous pictures Grandad, you have some great skies in the outside pictures. It always amazes me the amount of gold leaf that they apply in these houses, but it oozes opulence, I can understand then keeping the blinds drawn with those tapestries. As you say these properties are great places to visit and give some fantastic photographic opportunities, thanks for posting them.

Wonderful photos, Grandad! Polesden Lacey has now firmly been added to my list of places to visit! Thanks!

Great pics & what a fantastic house inside & out shame its too far for me to visit, I would be in heaven in a place like that

Great photos Grandad. I was trying to look at them last night but E4U would not let me open any of the thumbnails. Just able to get them all open today.

I've always been a sucker for chandeliers and this one is gorgeous!!

Pretty opulent living too. Wonder how many servants they had keeping this place in all its glory? And how many groundskeepers?

Do you know what the weather vane was Grandad? I can't quite make it out.

There is nothing unusual about the weather vane LLL, it is a simple arrow form with the letter 'S' in the tail, the significance of which is unknown to me.

With regards to servants, it is recorded that between her London home and Polesden Lacey, Margaret Greville employed 70 staff. It is said that she was a strict but fair employer and there is a delightful tale of an occasion when she arranged for one of her London maids to stay at Polesden lacey to care for her dogs, knowing full well that the maid had an eye for one of the gardeners.

The ruse worked and the couple eventually married...

Polesden Lacey was one of the first private houses to have its own electricity generating plant installed. There is an old photograph of the two diesel engines and generators but regrettably they were removed when mains electricity became available and before the NT acquired the house. They were splendid examples of late Victorian engineering.

PS: Thanks for your comments folks......I get a real buzz from these lovely old houses. This one is not so old but it 'shouts' Edwardian decadence...

Facinating little snippet Grandad, strange how all this decadence we would all normally despise is of so much interest to us today and of course if we had not had these filthy rich people to start with we would have nothing like this for us to see today, quite a contradiction when you think about it.

I absolutely LOVE touring old homes. Everything in them speaks to me. Definitely your homes there are much more 'opulent' than here but I could spend my days touring. I'm always particularly taken by chandeliers, lead glass windows, carpets and tapestries. Won't even start on ornaments, figurines (anything and everything from porcelain to cement to stone), wrought iron gates and particularly the crests worked into the middle of the gates.

Keep touring and sharing Grandad I enjoy your photos immensely.