It's called Victorian Gothic Revival architecture where high-pitched roofs, pointed arches and a strongly vertical aspect is presented along with intricate and decorative detailing. I had to look all that up - I was there because I wanted to become immersed in the history and the gardens; the formal and woodland gardens and massive walled kitchen garden all containing something like 1200 different plant species.
It began construction in 1868, commissioned by the owner of a lace factory (which the home overlooks down the valley in Tiverton - see image below), and has a rich family history plus it was used in the Second World War as a rest home for USAF officers. It was lived in by the original family (descendants) until 1972 when it was handed over to the National Trust who maintain and operate it to this day.
I spent the day there wandering the vast grounds and investigating all corners of the garden areas, and inside the home as well which is as impressive as the outside, enjoying what was a pretty amazing Devon day as far as the weather was concerned; not everyone's idea of a day well spent but I love places and days like this. I do a lot of things with my life and have a lot of interests but nature, gardens, history and historical places rate well up there.
Anyway, here's just a few images of the place including a couple inside the walled garden which was massive.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
[Original and AI free]
Image(s) in this post are my own
It must have been a quiet day at Knightshayes. Not a single solitary soul to be seen in any of your superb shots...or did you lock the front gate after you to keep the marauding hordes at bay?
I don't really like people in my photos so work around them which means sometimes having to wait for them to move on, or kicking those bastards in the ass so they move on...or framing my shots differently. On this particular day there were very few people there which suited me fine.
The grounds are quite large and we wandered about and hardly saw any one.
I really liked this place and inside was so interesting too. I spent almost an hour talking to a lady (National Trust volunteer) who was so knowledgeable and clearly fascinated by the history of the place. Thankfully people like still exist in a superficial and largely hubristic world on which people don't give a fuck about much other than themselves.
It was a really great day.
Whoa..a day well spent indeed! I'm not sure if one day would be enough, actually. It's such a grand place and it leads me to wonder how many people must it take to keep it in it's pristine condition. I really love the first shot, the way the structure is framed by the greenery. Now I want a walled kitchen garden too. Not that large lol. Actually, I'll just plant a shrub and call it good!
Places like this are incredibly difficult to maintain which is why many of them handed to the National Trust who keep things rolling, restore and maintain. It's such great and worthy work.
Yes, a day wasn't really enough but was all we had; we made the most of it though and we're glad we did. We almost skipped this place and went elsewhere so we're pleased we changed our minds.
Plant that shrub Tamz, and within a mere blink of an eye you shall have a Knightshayes style vista...I know this because I know everything.
And that's why you're the man! I do get the urge to trim the bushes sometimes lol. Y'all made the right decision to tour this place....it's stunning, and that's just the outside!
#trimbush
What beautiful natural surroundings and what a building - so different from our experiences today @galenkp
Yep, an amazing place, and to think it was someone's house boggles the mind.
I think it's a well-spent day, the place is wonderful, I can imagine the interior or maybe I can't even imagine it, but the exterior is fabulous and relaxing, so beautiful!
The interior is what anyone who knows what inside a Victorian house would expect, opulent and detailed. I have images and will do a post one day.
There must be a lot of art and history, I'm going to love it!
now that is a place where you can keep a garden party without the neighbours complaining about the noise , and what a view over that long lawn. Also a great place to wander with your macro photography equipment .
Oh yeah, there won't be any ability to annoy the neighbours...although, knowing me as I do I think I'd probably find a way. It was a really cool place to visit as were the others we went to as well, all different and all with their own appeal.
!BBH
!HOPE
!INDEED
well typical english architecture eheh do you have any pictures of the inside too?
this reminds me a lot of venetian villas, a big villa, a huge garden with plants and water, like this one i visited
i like historic places aswell, i visited all villas around here, i had to stop history trips as obviously a little kid is not really interested on that
I love old architecture and history as well so places like this always attract me, and it was the same on the occasions I've been in Italy and other parts of the world.
I certainly have pictures of the inside and will probably post some down the track.
Oh wow, how fascinating, look how beautiful the surrounding ♥️ I wonder what it looks like from the inside 🤔, thanks for sharing @galenkp your blogs are always top tier plus I love the qoute, have a nice day!
It's pretty amazing from the inside, I'll do a post with some photos one day.
Well, I'm looking forward to that ♥️
A well-spent day. I thought that in UK most days were cloudy😅
Is the deer sculpture natural? I mean, does its made with roots or is it an artificial creation? I liked that photo.
A magnificent place, I can't imagine living there; too much space for me, I'm used to living in a small house. The inside must be amazing!
Every day was sunny over the five weeks I was in the UK, other than a few days of the one week when way down south (Cornwall) at which time there was some sea mist and a little cloud cover.
The deer were man-made out of natural products.
Inside the house itself was typically incredible as one would expect for a Victorian house of this opulence and it's full of a great many artifacts, books and art and, of course, some amazing design and fitout features. I have many photos and may share some eventually.
Wow, it does look like it was a pretty amazing day. We have had some days like that lately too. I could see myself getting lost in this place for sure. We have some "old" estates in the US that I have had the chance to walk around in the past. It's always like stepping into history.
A good day for sure, and history sure is interesting although I know so many people simply don't give a shit about anything other than themselves.
It's very beautiful, the nature is very green the building is very sturdy and still like new.
Beautiful indeed and such a sturdy building deplspite it's age.
Such a beautifully written and detailed post Knightshayes looks like a place full of history and charm.Thanks for taking us along on this lovely journey ✨
Thank you, and you're welcome for the post; I try to make decent and interesting posts.
It's my pleasure ✨
A lovely surroundings there, I hope I will be going there soon.
I hope you fo there soon as well. You'll enjoy it.