Today we decided to go on a close by adventure so we visited Kirby Hall near Corby (about a 40 minute drive away). It is a very impressive stately home which claims to be one of the greatest Elizabethan and 17th century homes. Most of the mansion is roofless but the Great Hall and state rooms were well intact and decorated to the times. It started to be built by Sir Humphrey Stafford, but later it was purchased by Sir Christopher Hatton, one of Queen Elizabeth's "fine fellows."
Here is Addison in a familiar pose in one of the fireplaces in the former guest suites of the house. As you can see the mantle is still in tact but is very high up. The floor for the second level was just two feet above the top of the mantle.
There were lots of fun holes for Addie to duck in and out of. What really impressed me about this place was the old, old part. The stairwell hand rails were carved into the stone of the wall and you can make out the old stair ways from that. The moss and ferns growing in the hallways gave it a mystical feel.
The inner court yard was amazing. The audio tour said that one important thing to note about the house is that it was very symmetrical looking from the outside and as you looked in the inner court yard but the goings on inside the walls were very different. On the left side of the house was the workers quarters and work places with the kitchen in the far left corner. In the right side were the very fancy parts of the house set up for distinguished guests. There were very ornate stone carvings on the inside and over the door ways. After the house was abandoned in some years time a local farmer and his family were said to have lived in the left section of the house and let their sheep graze in the inner court yard.
A look back through time in this window would have shown you a grand hallway that the lady of the house would have used to entertain guests. Below it was the guest suites where Addison was standing in the fireplace.
As part of the restoration for this site the archeologists decided to leave this room "rough" to show the many layers of timbers, lathe, plaster and stone. Through the years as the house was "remodeled" each layer gets covered up. The doorway actually used to be off to the left in this picture but was moved to make it centered in the room.
The gardens were unlike any other that we had seen. Originally built in the 17th century Christopher Hatton the Fourth wanted to take control of nature and he used wooden slats to enclose patches of grass in a pattern with walk ways through out the pattern. Then he placed urns of plants through out to "contain" them as well. To the commoner's eye I'm sure it doesn't look like much but it is said to be a masterpiece of work.
Addison popped off her shoes for a while and ran about in the wide open grassy areas and I got her to pose for a little picture. In the background you can see the beautiful bay windows of the house which were very "posh" to have in a house during that time. They apparently were very expensive to put in, but allowed amazing views of the area and let in tremendous light.
Of course, what kind of adventure would we have if Addison couldn't play hide and seek around the "castle." She and Kevin always have a blast doing this and I caught them hiding in the kitchen's oven. Above Kevin is one of the first fan's installed during those days in a fireplace like this and he is standing on the place where a very large cauldron would have been sitting. Addie is standing in what could have been a bread oven.
Today we decided to go on a close by adventure so we visited Kirby Hall near Corby (about a 40 minute drive away). It is a very impressive stately home which claims to be one of the greatest Elizabethan and 17th century homes. Most of the mansion is roofless but the Great Hall and state rooms were well intact and decorated to the times. It started to be built by Sir Humphrey Stafford, but later it was purchased by Sir Christopher Hatton, one of Queen Elizabeth's "fine fellows."
Here is Addison in a familiar pose in one of the fireplaces in the former guest suites of the house. As you can see the mantle is still in tact but is very high up. The floor for the second level was just two feet above the top of the mantle.
There were lots of fun holes for Addie to duck in and out of. What really impressed me about this place was the old, old part. The stairwell hand rails were carved into the stone of the wall and you can make out the old stair ways from that. The moss and ferns growing in the hallways gave it a mystical feel.
The inner court yard was amazing. The audio tour said that one important thing to note about the house is that it was very symmetrical looking from the outside and as you looked in the inner court yard but the goings on inside the walls were very different. On the left side of the house was the workers quarters and work places with the kitchen in the far left corner. In the right side were the very fancy parts of the house set up for distinguished guests. There were very ornate stone carvings on the inside and over the door ways. After the house was abandoned in some years time a local farmer and his family were said to have lived in the left section of the house and let their sheep graze in the inner court yard.
A look back through time in this window would have shown you a grand hallway that the lady of the house would have used to entertain guests. Below it was the guest suites where Addison was standing in the fireplace.
As part of the restoration for this site the archeologists decided to leave this room "rough" to show the many layers of timbers, lathe, plaster and stone. Through the years as the house was "remodeled" each layer gets covered up. The doorway actually used to be off to the left in this picture but was moved to make it centered in the room.
The gardens were unlike any other that we had seen. Originally built in the 17th century Christopher Hatton the Fourth wanted to take control of nature and he used wooden slats to enclose patches of grass in a pattern with walk ways through out the pattern. Then he placed urns of plants through out to "contain" them as well. To the commoner's eye I'm sure it doesn't look like much but it is said to be a masterpiece of work.
Addison popped off her shoes for a while and ran about in the wide open grassy areas and I got her to pose for a little picture. In the background you can see the beautiful bay windows of the house which were very "posh" to have in a house during that time. They apparently were very expensive to put in, but allowed amazing views of the area and let in tremendous light.
Of course, what kind of adventure would we have if Addison couldn't play hide and seek around the "castle." She and Kevin always have a blast doing this and I caught them hiding in the kitchen's oven. Above Kevin is one of the first fan's installed during those days in a fireplace like this and he is standing on the place where a very large cauldron would have been sitting. Addie is standing in what could have been a bread oven.
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