Over the bank holiday weekend we attended a fair at Capesthorne Hall in Cheshire near the village of Siddington. Luckily we were able to get out into the gardens and take a look around on what turned out to be the hottest Mayday Bank Holiday weekend on record.
The house is without doubt beautiful and had we had time we would have loved to take a look inside. A quick look in the entrance hall was enough to convince us we’ll be having a return visit.
What we were able to enjoy was the exterior of the building and the landscaped gardens.
Capesthorne Hall has a long history and a medieval house stood near the current hall until the early 18th century when a neoclassical hall was built. However by the end of the 16th century Capesthorne Hall had been remodelled into the Jacobean style that you see today. In 1861 the house was almost totally destroyed by fire but luckily the family rebuilt it.
This particular country house is grade II* listed, recognising its architectural importance but not quite putting the draconian restrictions on the place that a grade I listing would.
While everyone raves about neoclassical houses like Chatsworth House I do like the Jacobean style. It’s more British than the Italian/Greek inspired aspirational piles like Keddleston Hall near Derby and of course Chatsworth.
The gardens are a delight and right now the woodland immediately behind the house, adjacent to the lakes is full of bluebells. The trees offered a shady respite from the intense sun and were very popular with the bank holiday visitors.
Here are two galleries of images from the weekend, we hope you enjoy them.
If you want to visit Capesthorne Hall you should check out their website here. The staff are very knowledgeable and friendly so if you’re an architecture geek like me they be able to answer all your questions.
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