Visiting Swallowfield Park

Today the rain has cleared and we are back with the beautiful Autumn days again so Mum and I went to have coffee with an old friend.

She lives at Swallowfield Park.

Built in 1689, and designed by architect William Talman, a student of Sir Christopher Wren, Swallowfield Park is the classic example of an English stately home.

We had a lovely time being shown around.  This is the front hall.

The horse statues are bronze replicas of the Chevaux de Marly by Guillaume Coustou the Elder in Paris.

We were shown a very well stocked and comfortable library.

There was even an “invisible” door.  Very Harry Potter!

The sitting room was perfect, complete with a good grand piano and ancestors.

These fire “dogs” are actually dragons and allegedly originally from Brighton Pavilion.  This may be myth rather than actual fact.

They are very special (and highly coveted by me, and my mother!)

The original front doorway was moved many years ago.

The view outside was complete with a pretty water feature.

Then along to the Servants’ Quarters.

Outside to a stunning brickwork stableblock.

The octagonal dovecote is from the mid-18th century.

The gardens are carefully landscaped and were laid out around the house within the estate.

We walked along to the walled gardens complete with fruit trees.

Swallowfield Park is a beautiful house set in the quintessential English countryside.

A perfect Sunday morning.

7 thoughts on “Visiting Swallowfield Park

  1. Rebecca Final

    Straight out of Pride and Prejudice. We simply don’t have those stunning homes in the US. Just amazingly beautiful.

    Reply
  2. Terri

    Simply elegant! English stately homes, manors, abbeys, country houses, and the like are certainly unique, but (I beg to differ) we in the U.S. do have some beautiful estates and surrounding parks — albeit most from the 18th and 19th centuries. In any case, thanks for the virtual tour. Must say, I’ve never seen such a large dovecote!

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Margaret Robinson Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *