Heritage Open Days

This Saturday (8^th September) we’re participating in Heritage Open Days, an annual event where the doors are thrown open to the public for free. By kind permission of Lord and Lady Egremont the private guest bedrooms, which are normally only open to the public on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons, will be on show.

Here are a few things to look out for on your visit…

• The State Bed in Mrs Wyndham’s Bedroom, an English rococo masterpiece, was made in the 1750s for the 2^nd Earl of Egremont. Exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1984, it underwent restoration work as the Dowager Lady Egremont used to keep a pet owl which nested in the gold tree at the top!

• Matching full-length portraits of King George III and Queen Charlotte by Studio of Alan Ramsay in Mrs Wyndham’s Bedroom.

• A pocket book (purse) given to the Countess of Egremont by Queen Charlotte in 1785.

• The Chippendale bed in the Belzamine Bedroom dates from the 1770s and is one of four identical beds commissioned by the 3^rd Earl of Egremont. The story goes that he wanted to sleep in a familiar bed whenever he stayed at one of his four houses!

• The William Morris wallpaper and curtains in Mrs Wyndham’s Dressing Room.

• A medal awarded to a member of the family by the Royal Humane Society for saving Winston Churchill from drowning at Harrow School in 1889.

The bedrooms will be open 11am to 4.30pm on Saturday. On your visit, why not also pop into the Historic Kitchens and sample some of our historic cook’s food made to traditional country house recipes?

 The State Bed in Mrs Wyndham's Bedroom