It takes about 40 mins to walk to Eltham Palace from my house or about 10mins in the car. I am ashamed to say that today was my first visit. In my defense it is quite expensive to visit and now I have an Art Fund card from my kids I can get in free! So today was the day.
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Eltham Palace was a moated manor house surrounded by a huge amount of land which made it ideal for hunting. Henry VIII spent a lot of his childhood here and was the last monarch to spend any great amount of time there. The great hall (above) was built in the 1470s and is still an impressive building today. But once it had lost favour with the Monarchy it went downhill and was used as a farm for the next 200 years.
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In the 1930s it was bought by the wealthy Courtauld family and they built a house onto the Great hall. A few years later they developed the garden which has since been recognised as an excellent example of 1930s garden design. The house also has historical interest due to the fine art deco interior. Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take photos! But I loved the gardens. See what you think:
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| The moat |
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| The Courtauld's house |
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| Steps leading down to the garden |
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| Bridge over the moat |
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| The hedge shows us where the family swimming pool used to be |
Lovely photos of this magnificent estate. When we were visiting the UK we also found admission prices very expensive...
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful garden! And moat, as well. Even though I didn't get to see inside, I am so happy with your pictures of the grounds. Thank you! :-)
ReplyDeleteThe palace and the house are beautiful. The garden is very beautiful!! Thanks for joining Water World Wednesday
ReplyDeleteOh Wow, what a cool place to explore. I love the gardens and the bridge over the moat. Wonderful tour and photos of the palace and the grounds. Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous post... What a fabulous place to visit. I'd love not only the buildings/architecture --but also the gardens/landscaping... Awesome!!!! Thanks for taking us with you on your little tour.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Betsy
un tres bel endroit avec un superbe parc
ReplyDeletePublicity ;o) Every Friday (and the Weekend), The Challenge "Walk In The Street Photography"
I love Palaces and Castles! It's a pity they didn't let you take photos inside (that drives me NUTS! and I'll admit to trying to sneak a few shots anyways on most occasions... oops!), but those gardens are indeed gorgeous! :o)
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