Basildon Park

Today we visited Basildon Park, a Georgian mansion near the Thames river in West Berkshire.  The property has a checkered history: it has had many owners, has been requisitioned for military use twice, has served as a barracks and as a prisoner of war camp.  By the 1950s it was completely derelict; the Wikipedia article on Basildon Park quotes a contemporary source as saying "to say it was derelict, is hardly good enough, no window was left intact and most were repaired with cardboard or plywood."  All the furnishings were gone and much of the interior of the house itself was in ruins.

The house was completely restored and refurnished by Lord and Lady Iliffe, who must have been exceptionally wealthy, not to mention single-minded and persistent in order to complete the work required.  Only two of the original furnishings are in the house: a portrait of an early owner, and the original china service for the dining room.  These and everything else in the house was found by the Iliffes and purchased for the house in the 1950s.  The furniture is not original to the house but it's all antique furniture appropriate to the period of the house.  One room in the main house was converted to a modern (1950s) kitchen, so that food need not be brought from an outbuilding as in centuries past.

The house sits on 400 acres of beautiful park land.  We visited on a cold, gray day when the landscape was definitely not looking its best.  Still, it was obvious that it will be gorgeous once spring finally arrives.  There are lots of paths marked through the park land, but it was too cold to try any of them.

We warmed up in the tea room while waiting for our guided tour to begin.

The view from the tea room out to the front lawn.

This notice of an auction sale of the entire estate dates from 1829.  The then owner had apparently gone bust.  This happened to the estate more than once.

A portrait of Lady Iliffe who, with her husband, was the driving force behind the restoration and re-creation of the Georgian house and its contents.

Some of the contents of Lady Iliffe's sitting room and the library.  I like the portable spiral stairs used to access the upper shelves of the library.

Chinese dragons flanked the library fireplace.

The grand staircase is in the middle of the house, lit by clerestory windows.  There are lots of plaster decorations on the walls and ceiling.

The dining room, with more plaster decoration.  The table is set with the house's original china, which Lord Iliffe had to purchase at an antiques auction in Sweden.

An invitation to visit the Iliffe's "At Home".  Very 1950s.

Some paintings on deep red walls.

Part of the tea service in a sitting room.

A chair by the fire, with its needlework screen to keep the heat of the fire from a lady's face.

Some of the elaborate ceilings.

A service for hot chocolate.  Chocolate was quite a luxury when the house was new.

A canopied four-poster bed.  An attempt had been made to preserve the drapes around the bed by covering them with varnish.  This was a failure, as the treated drapes are now in much worse condition than the other, untreated parts of the canopy (not to mention very stiff!).

A bed pillar, painted to look like bamboo; it's actually mahogany.  A Chinese figure as a lamp base.

 

A modern 1950s appliance in an 18th century bedroom.  Much like a clock radio, the device automatically brews a pot of tea at the desired time.

A set of Belleek china.  We were told that this pattern is still sold, but the current version is much heavier, without all the fine detail.  In any case, this isn't an 18th century item as the Belleek company began operations in 1884.

This tiny sewing machine doesn't look all that practical, but it's beautifully made.

Lastly, an item from the 1950s kitchen, complete with Easter bunny and eggs.  (It's Holy Week, after all.)

Lord and Lady Iliffe gave the house and estate to the National Trust in 1978, along with a large endowment for upkeep.  It's a fascinating place to visit.