More on Gainsborough Old Hall and All Saints' Church

As promised, here is more from the visit to Gainsborough Old Hall.  I do like this lion sculpture in the Great Hall.

 The Great Hall itself has some beautiful timbers.

The kitchen has enormous fireplaces - there is another one like this on the opposite wall.

This is the view up one of the chimneys - Chris wanted me to take this photo.

 A view of the garden through the diamond shaped glazing.

 Another view of the herb garden.

Chris noticed these hanging acorns on the bed before I did.  They are detachable and I marvel at that attention to detail.

 Even the floors are beautiful, with the brick herringbone pattern.

 Around the Old Hall are paths and grass areas, with trees.

 Another view of the brickwork.

I do like the higgledy-piggledy nature of the building, where you can see areas which were added over the years, like the chimney stack.

Having spent a good while at the Old Hall, we ventured to All Saints' Church in Gainsborough. It has an ancient tower but an 18th Century main body.  On opening the double door, this is what we saw.  It is a large, light and open space, which was quite unexpected.  It reminded me of a theatre, but a church service does share elements of a theatrical performance.   This part of the church was built from 1734 - 1744.  There is more information about the church here.

 This (according to the little brochure I found) is a Morris and Co window.

There was a Georgian font, which was something I hadn't seen before.  It was rather elegant.   I was really impressed with the church as sometimes churches can be dark and oppressive.  This one was decorative, light and beautiful.

Exhibitions at Gainsborough Old Hall

 Last week we went to Gainsborough Old Hall to see a couple of exhibitions before they finished.  I have visited the Old Hall before and you can see my posts about the visits here, here, here and here.  The first was a textile and art exhibition based around Medieval animals, both real and fantasy.  I liked the woodcut bear above and it was printed onto a old piano roll which I though was really clever.

 This read dragon looked very much at home in such an ancient building.

As did this willow unicorn.

The costume exhibition was focused on costumes created for films and I picked out the costumes that appealed most to me.  The photos are not as clear as I would have liked, but this was due to the low lighting.  This first one was for Kenneth Branagh in Henry V.

 This was made for Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth - we all noticed what a small waist she had.

 I was surprised at the level of detail. I thought that short cuts might be taken as the costumes would mainly be seen from a distance, but this was not the case.

These three costumes were worn by Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes and Dame Judi Dench from Shakespeare in Love.

 Dame Judi's sleeve had a beautiful basket weave type pattern.

 Emily Blunt wore this embroidered gown in Young Victoria.

 Robert Downey Jr's flamboyant costume came from Restoration.  I liked the slashing on the sleeves and the ribbons.  (I have obviously watched far too much Doctor Who in my lifetime as I kept thinking this mannequin had moved!)

 This costume was worn by Helena Bonham Carter in Suffragette.  I only saw this film earlier this year and it made quite an impression.  Until then, I hadn't really considered the difficulties faced by the male supporters of female suffrage, or the families of the suffragists or suffragettes.

 Finally,  Kristen Scott Thomas' costume from Darkest Hour.  Again, we noticed how tiny she is, although this was more apparent from the back of the suit.  There are more photos from our visit to Gainsborough which will be in my next post.

The cat sat on the mat

 

One of our two purchases at the craft fair held at Gainsborough Old Hall was this rag rug, made from strips of fleece (the other purchase was a Father Christmas decoration for the tree).  Chris and I both liked the colours and pattern and, as we needed a new rug for in front of the fire, this seemed ideal.  It also suits our eclectic mix of furniture and styles.  It is quite supportive to our arthritic knees when we are sorting the fire out and it also got the seal of approval from Scruffy, who decided it was an acceptable replacement for the old rug. (Please note that yet again, Scruffy managed to have his eyes shut in both photos).

The cat sat on the mat?  More like the cat sprawled on the mat!

Gainsborough Old Hall

 There was a Christmas Craft Fair being held at Gainsborough Old Hall this weekend, so we decided to have a look. It is only the second time I have visited this wonderful building, so I was looking forward to seeing it again. My previous posts about my visit can be found here, here and here.
The craft fair admission was much less than the normal house admission, but of course, you didn't get an audio tour and some of the building was closed.  We are going back during the open season next year to have a proper look.  It was very busy, which was good for the stall holders, but it was quite cold in some of the rooms.  After we had looked round, we went for a walk around the building.

 We saw some beautifully worked stone, edging the grass.  I wonder where these pieces came from?

 It is a very photogenic place.

The mini avenue of trees gave a lovely vista.

Through the years, the owners added bits to the original building and I liked the higgledy-piggledy mix here.

 Stone, wood, brick - a variety of different building materials had been used over the years.

 Another lovely view through the trees.

 I seem to remember being surprised that the Hall is in the middle of the town, surrounded by Victorian terraces.  I imagined that a Hall like this would be in its own extensive grounds, which perhaps it once was.

 A row of five chimneys which advertised how wealthy the owners were.  I expect the stall holders would have liked all the fires to be lit today!

I didn't take photos inside, except these two because I was drawn to the bright jewel colours in these windows.

They may become the inspiration for some felt...or polymer clay work...

Gainsborough Old Hall interiors (part 2)

 So here are the final few photos from Gainsborough Old Hall. Above is the original medieval louvre from the kitchen roof.  Much more elegant than the Victorian replacement, I think.

 A closer look at the medieval craftsmanship.

 In the Tower Bedroom, there was a Tudor dress, based on the ones Catherine Howard may have worn at the time.  It was beautiful, with the shining fabric and trimmings.  The figure was quite small though, only about 5 ft 1 or 2 inches at the most.  Catherine Howard would have only been about 19 when she visited (and Henry VIII was in his 50s!)

 The Tudor Bedroom was relatively cosy, with the most lovely embroidery on the bed curtains.

 I couldn't resist a close-up.

Finally, the rather elegant twisted balusters on the staircase. 
It was a fascinating visit and I heartily recommend a trip there.  The cafe was lovely too - proper ceramic teapots and milk jugs (£2.00 for a pot for two), which is always a good thing in my book.

Gainsborough Old Hall interiors (part 1)

 Here are some of the photos I took at Gainsborough Old Hall.  These show the Great Hall, decorated to give an idea of how it may have looked in medieval times.  King Henry VIII and Catherine Howard must have eaten in here, John Wesley preached here and the Hall was used as a theatre too, so actors will have performed here.

 The servery, leading into the kitchen, which  is one of the best preserved kitchens of its time in the UK.  It has three cooking areas - one for meat roasting on spits, one for cooking pottage and other pot-based food and the bread and pastry ovens at the back.

 In the background, you can see the huge fireplace for the pot cooking.

 A view back out of the kitchen, showing the servery with a brick archway visible above the servery window.

 The wonderful kitchen roof beams, with the Victorian louvre to let out the smoke and steam.

The solar - an expensively furnished room with wall hangings and hand made wooden furniture.  The wall hanging pattern is taken from one in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and all the furniture designs were taken from paintings or from furniture that is still in existence in other museums.

 The rather comfortable looking bed with curtains to keep out the cold.



This is the 'ghost corridor', where the 'Grey Lady' is supposed to appear. She walks down the corridor and turns right, through what was once a solid wall. However, during restoration, the wall was taken down to reveal a blocked in door, precisely where she turned...



 ...and here it is.

Here is a close up of the old paint which is still visible on the timbers of the wall and door.  The final few photos will be in my next post.