Baddesley Clinton

Another recent trip found us not too far from home in Warwickshire at a National Trust property called Baddesley Clinton. It is a remarkable house that has remained largely unaltered for the last 500 years and has a facinating history much of which centers around its activities as a Catholic haven during the Reformation. There are three priest's holes in the house, two of which can be seen by visitors. Access to one is from the kitchen and the conditions must have been pretty horrendous as they shared space with the sewers. The house was occupied by the Ferrers family since 1517.



Over the bridge and through the gatehouse you enter a delightful courtyard garden. The central lawn contains the Ferrers coat of arms with 7 diamond shaped beds filled with flowers in the families heraldic colours of red and yellow.



Actually, the house and setting look as though they have stood unchanged since the 15th century but many different periods of building can, in fact, be identified right into the 19th century. The flat, mellow stone block fa�ade changes dramatically to the gabled black and white half-timbered look once through the gatehouse passage and into the formal courtyard.



The house is fully moated, and the ducks appreciate it.



The walled garden contained some of the best dahlias I have seen for some time.





More pictures can be seen at Smugmug: Baddesley Clinton and further information from National Trust | Baddesley Clinton