Yesterday, PG posted an item about Bess of Hardwick and included a photo of Hardwick Hall.
Mike commented to recommend Chatsworth in Derbyshire.
One of PG’s favorites is Longleat in Somerset. The house is difficult to see from the photo below, but the view is called Heaven’s Gate on a hill overlooking Longleat. Longleat House itself is by the river on the right side of the photo.
Here’s a closer look at Longleat House.
And one more.
Feel free to use the comments to suggest other nominations for the loveliest country house in Britain.
Oh come on!!!! I gotta be the schlemeil that loves Highclaire? Nobody else has mentioned it yet, so I gotta be the ignoramus that loves all the pics of that place? LOL
Sorry… but I loved Downton Abbey, and get Lady Carnovon’s blog posts. The British Estates must have been beautiful when they were in their prime.
These estates are spectacular.
(Still love Highclaire the most tho’… media patsy that I am)
Love Highclere Castle – would love to visit one day.
Wow, those are gorgeous photos! Thanks, PG; you’ve made my day. 🙂
Having worked construction and then later as an electrician – and still later as the networking guy, I look at those old places without even central heating/air and groan. (They always want the changes to be hidden/blend in – and then scream at the cost and expected time to do it. 😉 )
And it’s probably grade 1 listed so will be 5 times the time and 10 times the cost, with local council inspectors looking over your shoulder. Probably best not to take the job.
We turned down quite a few of them – and laughed when they claimed another company had claimed they could do it cheaper! (Told them to take it – but suggested only if the contract covered them for a blotched job!)
Why can’t we hide the wireless access points in the walls? Stucco over wire mesh blocks radio dummy – which was also why they could only get cell phone bars by standing by windows facing the cell towers.
There were some good jobs in the mix, as well as some grins when we pulled off little things that others had said couldn’t be done with the gear of the time. 😉
I think each of the great houses of Britain continuously constitutes a significant jobs program for locals.
Heh, keeps them busy and out of the way. 😉
It’s where my National Trust subscription goes to.
My original suggestion was constrained by my “if you are in Derbyshire” as is the case for Hardwick Hall. If you give me the whole country making a single choice gets a lot harder.
I actually have a soft spot for the non classical charms of Belvoir Castle, partly because I used to see it on its hill top peeking above the trees when I drove north (and also for the somewhat discreditable pleasure of listening to people mispronounce the name). In most cases though the grounds are as important as the building itself: even Hardwick Hall becomes less “grim and Gothic” (Jamie’s words) when the sun is shining and the gardens and water are included in the picture.
Since you insisted it looks better in sunlight, I went looking for Google images of Hardwick. The hall does look better when its sunny, and I found some nice aerial pictures of the hall and its grounds. The image chosen in the OP definitely did not do Hardwick any favors.
“grim and Gothic” (Jamie’s words)
Actually, in that post, I was quoting Deb Salisbury, she who makes mantuas and seeks magic 🙂
Because I’m me, my favorite part of those aerial photographs is learning of the existence of Hardwick Old Hall and looking for pictures of that.
Also, now I know that Hardwick Hall is the location they used for the Malfoy Manor in the Harry Potter movies, so yay for random trivia!
Love the look of Belvoir Castle. If we are sticking only to Derbyshire, I quite like Haddon Hall 🙂
Some of my favourites include Floors Castle; Castle Howard; Holkham Hall; Hever Castle; Goodwood House; and Harewood House
Thanks, Shelley.
Oh yes, Chatsworth is much more my speed with its classical touches. I can see why it’s sometimes used as Pemberley House in “Pride and Prejudice” adaptations.