The ruins of a palatial 19th century house that is surrounded by beautiful landscaped gardens was once one of England's great houses that was the setting fir extravagant parties and royal entertainments. It was largely gutted by fire in 1937. The then owner decided not to rebuild and sold it on but sadly it was never lived in again and was stripped and abandoned. English Heritage took over the 1972 compulsory guardianship order in 1984. Lucky though, the Great Witley Church, that is physically attached to the mention, wasn't damaged in the fire and is a must see addition.
The boy and I often tag along with the Hubby at half term holidays and this time we headed to Worcestershire. As English Heritage members, I looked for things to do that we could use our passes for. I came across Witley Court and Gardens. With the enticing introduction in the handbook of "Inspire the whole family with a day out at Witley Court. Explore the spectacular shell of a colossal Victorian country house mansion amid vast and beautiful grounds, with an imaginative wilderness play area." , It sounded like somewhere not to be missed. So we got dropped off and begin our adventure, praying the forecasted downpours would stay away.
The stop obviously had to be the playground and with it been on this side of the lake, right near the visitor's center. I couldn't really say no especially after I had read: "With lots of exciting activities for different age groups, its sure to fire their imaginations. The center piece is a tress house, reached by a wobbly bridge. A section for younger children includes a nest-like basket swing and wooden animals. there is also an adventure area with a scramble net and rope walks." Needless to say the boy was disappointed.
After about 20 minutes he had had enough and wanted to go exploring the ruins. There was many ways to the ruins but we decided on the woodland walk which was originally developed between 1772 and 1794 and was known as the wilderness. This path lead us a footbridge that crosses Shrawley Brook which then leads to the lake known as Front Pool. Front Pool was formed in the 18th century by damming the stream. Witley Court and Church sit on the far side of the lake. Following the path up, we cross the drive that was created in the early 19th century that cut across the woodland and meets up with the public road.
The house comes into view and is a site to behold even in its ruined state. You can just imagine how it must have looked in its heyday. Originally built in 1610/1620 the Jacobean house had been extensively remodeled over the years with bits added and taken away, depending on the style of the current era.
Just off to left of dining room,was the Ballroom, which is where the fire is believed to have started. This undoubtedly the most magnificent room in the house that extended almost the full lenth of the northeast wing. Here the room opened out onto the east parterre which was a small garden with the focal point of the fountain of flora, the goddess of spring and flowers. Today is stands a ruin when it was badly broken when an attempt was made to remove it. English heritage are hoping to restore it to its former glory.
We retraced our steps back into the ballroom and walked though what was the Drawing Room, Saloon and into the south portico where we were treated to a glimpse of the magnificent Perseus and Andromeda fountain. The fountain sits in the south parterre. When the house was redesigned on the 1850's in the Italianate style, a appropriately grand setting was provided for the garden. A vast flight of steps that curved out to each side were introduced that lead to board central path that leads down to spectacular fountain. Unfortunately it wasn't working on the day we went but still looked an impressive site.
The theme of the fountain is the classical myth of Perseus and Andromeda. From the guide book: "Perseus, having obtained the head of medusa with help of his winged sandals and his helmet of invisibility, flies to the rescue of Andromeda; she has been chained to a rock by the sea god Poseidon, angry at the suggestion that she is more beautiful than the sea nymphs. A sea monster threatens to devour her, but Perseus gets there first and carries her off on the back of the winged horse Pegasus".
Great Witley Church
Although not maintained by English Heritage, and so not included in the price, the Parish church of St Michael and All Angels aka Great Witley Church is a must on a visit to Witley Court. The Church is physically attached to the mansion and can be reached by a path just off the forecourt.
Witley Church has one of the finest and most beautiful ecclesiastical interiors that I have ever seen. The church replaced a ruined 13th century building that stood a little further down the road in 1733 and was consecrated in 1735. It was designed by the first Lord Foley but was transformed by second just 12 years later when the specular painted ceiling panels and painted windows were incorporated.
The transepts to either side of the alter contain Foley family monuments. The one to the right of the altar is a vast sculptor commemorating the first Lord Foley and his family. According the guide book, it cost £2000 which is equivalent to £200,000 in today's money. An elderly parishioner, Mary, who was volteneering on the day we went said as a youngster she use to climb the status and sit on the hand of one of the figure.
Lucky the church was untouched by the fire but did become neglected with the decline of the house. The parishioners began the restoration in 1965 to get it back to its former glory. In 1993 the whole of the interior including the painted ceiling panels were cleaned. Mary had said when they were putting up canvas back up on the ceiling, they obviously had to had scaffolding up but as they were unrolling it they had noticed it was the wrong way round and they were charged an extra £500 to get it turned the correct way. I suggested to Mary that she writes a memoir of her time at the church so her stories can be passed on for generation to come. She did she she might.
Overall an enjoyable trip but I was expecting to last most of the day but we were done in just over 2 hours. The horrible, miserable, dull and very cold day didn't help and so we had to call the hubby to come and get us early than expected. But that meant we had time to visit the gorgeous Worcester Cathedral.
It was £9 for an adult and £5.40 for a child but as a member it was free.
As always, thanks for reading.
Coming up next Worcester Cathedral.....
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