April 16, 2018     Berrington Hall, Above stairs and below stairs tour, Downton Abbey style!


Berrington was essentially created by one man, Thomas Harley, who bought the estate in 1775 and built the current house.  The house has spectacular views west towards Wales and the Black Mountains.

What was unique about Berrington Hall, was the "below stairs" tour of the life of the servants.  Being a fan of Downton Abbey, this was a must-see place of interest.  Highclere Castle, the location at which the program was filmed, is currently closed and 2+ hours away from here.  The boys/men were good sports and came along, willingly.  So, off we go!

I love old trees!  The sign says, "One of five London Planes, planted at Berrington in 1775 by five sisters of the Harley family of Brampton Bryan."

The front of Berrington Hall

The view from the front of the house.  The Black Mountains of Wales are off in the distance.

The library.  See the description below.

The library was one of the principal rooms owing to the fact Thomas Harley's great-uncle, Robert, 1st Earl of Oxford, had assembled the finest private library in Britain.  The books are not original because the 7th Lord Rodney sold them and turned this room into a billiard-room.  Sad :(

In the 18th century, dinner would begin at noon and could last up to five hours!

An area at the base of the stairs.

The stairs leading up to the next floor.  We weren't able to go up due to some renovation work.

Lady Cawley's room. (Not Craw-ley, as a Downton Abby fan is prone to say.)

The back hall, see below.

The business room.  It is likely to be the room where tenants and those on business with the family were received.  It si thought to have always been a male preserve.

The view from the business room.

This is the ladies' domain.  It is styled in a more feminine way.

The ladies' room.

The Drawing room.  

The drawing room.  A large, wonderful room.  

The drawing room.

The piano in the drawing room.

Drawing room.

The drawing room.  Clearly, my favorite room!

When our medicines came from plants not big pharmaceuticals.

Typical dress for the times.

The entry hall with a period dress.

The gong, that was part of the Georgian home.  I have seen it used in episodes of Downton Abbey to keep the family on schedule.

We have passed through a door in the main hall and are going below stairs.

The bottom of the stairs.

The housekeepers room.  (Mrs. Hughes, Downton fans)

There was a table in the middle of the room and the cabinet along the wall served as the medicine cabinet.

The housekeepers desk.

The table in the center of the room.

The medicine cabinet.

The linen closet.

This is a "pocket" that would be tied around the waist for keeping essentials.

Storage area for valuables such as candles.  The housekeeper would have had to keep a close eye on the inventory.  

Some remedies in the medicine cabinet.

The guide said the Georgian period was obsessed with the bowels!

Yikes!

Any bald men out there want to try this one?

This was a large storage area for dishes called "China Hall".

The sink to the right was made of wood to reduce the chipping of the china when being washed.

The Central Cellar.  This room was large.  That's Grace thinking about what to fix for supper.

The other side of the Central Cellar.

Some typical foods found in the cellar.

The servant's hall.  More description a few pictures down.

Our guide said during the actual period, the table would have had 12 place settings per side.  One for men and one for women.  The butler sat at the head of the table and the housekeeper at the foot.

Typical dress for the women servants.

Typical dress for the men servants.

There wasn't much set up for the kitchen.  Partly because the house operates a tea room in that area where tour guests can have some refreshments.

This is the back courtyard.  The building would house the servants that worked outside the house, such as gardeners, stable men, etc.  Barrington Hall would have employed around 80 people for the house and grounds.

The laundry was in a separate building similar to the picture above.  The women must have had huge "guns" because those irons weighed a ton!

No wonder dresses weren't washed often and they had so many undergarments that were easier to wash!  Still, we were told people had odors about them most of the time.

This apparatus pushed into the wall which was full of steam for cleaning or ironing, I'm not sure which.

Some laundry equipment.

The back of Berrington Hall.

The view from the house.

Sheep make excellent lawn mowers and surround the house property keeping the grounds looking park-like.

A play structure for the tourists.

The walled gardens designed for beauty and function.

Wish I had one of these buildings at home!

Inside the potting shed.

More walled gardens.  These are for food production.

Cool weather crops already producing.

A modern piece of art added to the gardens in modern times.  It resembles a pineapple, the symbol of hospitality, which were grown at Berrington Hall.

The arch through which we pass to go back to the parking lot. 

The park, which is the entire property is approximately 250 acres.  What was so striking to me, is that the land surrounding the house was just as important in developing as the house to those who commissioned these grand homes.  Likewise, the conservation of said land is active today by many volunteers.  The English were early environmentalists in my opinion.