Burghley is south of Stamford. A walk away from the town centre.
A name with so much history, so many collections: paintings, pottery, bedrooms of furniture and gardens of sculpture and water features. All collected and displayed most appealingly. Capability Brown has a legacy of trees and we admire the new ones placed exactly as he knew best. These new ones will be there for the next two hundred years.
There is humour for children in a children’s guide, which I particularly enjoyed, and yes, a special celebration of flowers. There are flowers in carvings on pottery in tapestry work and hanging curtains and a selection of these in a collection as part of a celebration of flowers at Burghley. We will start there after we answer the question: Who built Burghley and how is it run now?
As a child, he attended a school in Stamford and showed how well he could work so he later enrolled at St John’s College Cambridge and then studied law at Gray’s Inn. He then went into politics…
His name is William Cecil, 1520 – 1598. He built Burghley and owned much of the land and the town of Stamford.
What about now?
It is still a much-loved home owned by the Burghley House Preservation Trust, committed to conserving and preserving and helping the public enjoy this amazing place. The Cecil family namely Miranda, her husband Orlanda and four children still live in a part of the house.
Two exhibition cabinets from ‘Flowers in Art at Burghley.’ A place to linger.
It is easy for me to feel overwhelmed with so much detail but as people travelled they were inspired and collected and it is here for us to appreciate.
English circa 1680.
Now outside of this area it is raining but we will view the grounds from the house.
A garden ready for winter.
The house had long rooms originally but these were divided into 18 rooms. Collections of paintings need walls to hang on and people live differently in different times. These walls provide the space.
A tear running down her cheek was a sadness felt.
A change of mind by the artist who painted it out and then the correction faded.
Heaven is a room painting and hell is a staircase painting.
Bedrooms
It was a time when people who slept in beds like these were cared for in elaborate ways with bells to ring and inconvenience avoided. There were many servants and an enormous kitchen.
Let us look at the kitchen and a notice on the wall below turtle skulls. Yes, they appreciated turtle soup.
Then back outside. The rain has stopped a little.
A small part of the formal garden area:
A sight to remember.
So many leaves will soon fall.
We did see a little of the fascinating Surprise Garden and Sculpture Garden. These three areas in the Surprise Garden I particularly liked:
There is a reflecting lake and ancient trees with views and modern sculptures carefully placed. A place to stimulate and relax in.
Thank you to all who are keeping it for us and future generations. We had a short time in a place filled with 500 years of history.
Sandy 🙂
Two thoughts about history:
‘ History never looks like history when you are living it.’
John W. Gardener
And a thought from Paul about Biblical written history:
‘ For whatever was written in days before now was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.’
Romans 15 :4