Upton House

On Friday we tallied forth through the lanes in search of Upton House. This a biggish pile quite close to us. It has been there as a building from the 1600's. It was fiddled with over the years with pieces added and taken away by a variety of owners, but on the whole it was not a particularly interesting house until 1927 when Walter Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted, bought the place.

Again this was a man with a collection of art that needed a display case and the house was it. His wife was an avid gardener and she did a superb job on the gardens. It has been the gardens that have been the main attraction for visitors over the years since the National Trust took it over.

Having been to the de Rothschild house first, this one suffered from the comparison. The house is really quite shabby when held beside the first. The collection of art and ceramics is also the humbler of the two. Mr. Samuel's father built the Shell Transport and Trading Co., now Royal Dutch Shell. There was lots of money there, but somehow the Rothschilds are in a different league.

During the 30's lavish house parties were held there and we tried to imagine the stylish cars with wealthy ladies and gentlemen arriving through the gates and pulling up to the house. Lady Bearsted had an eye for the latest trends in home decorating and did her best to copy the rooms she saw as she visited houses on the continent. Her bathroom for instance was a combination of aluminum leaf and dark red, quite hideous I thought.

The gardens comprise a large lawn that extends from the back of the house. As you stand at the house it appears to be just a lawn until you walk the length of the lawn and it drops dramatically with a retaining wall called a HA HA . The flower and kitchen garden descend a steep pitch to the mirror pool surrounded by trees and then sheep paddocks beyond. There is a beautiful red brick Bog Cottage along the side that Sheelagh and I coveted muchly. Enjoy the pictures.