The Ham Nomads

8 Oct 2014. <GB-ENG> High Green, Worcs —

Decided to leave Stratford for a while (after Warren spent an hour or so at Macca's for internet time). We went westward, to Croome Park. This is an interesting site. The main part of the estate, Lancelot 'Capability' Brown's first commission, has been in the National Trust's hands since 1996, so has had about 17 years of rehabilitation by the Trust. The house itself, Croome Court, has only been in their hands for 4 years, and is in the very early stages of remediation. It's interesting to see a property in this state, as it's possible to gauge the amount of work required to set it right.

The property also has resonances with Bletchley Park, in that is was the site of an airfield, RAF Defford, with a secret mission during the Second World War — it was here that air-to-air radar was developed and tested. Most of the 1940s structures have since disappeared, but the Visitor Centre has been set up in what was the infirmary of the base. It was lunchtime when we arrived, so we went straight in to the cafeteria, which is very 1940s in decor — somewhat reminiscent of the cafeteria we went to in one of the huts at Bletchley!

As we walked onto the property, the first building we saw was the Church of St Mary Magdalene, whose exterior was designed by 'Capability' Brown, and whose interior is entirely Robert Adam.

This was constructed to replace a Medieval church, too close to the house, that the 6th Earl of Coventry had demolished.

We then went on to the old ice-house. This is incredibly deep inside, and is concealed beneath a thatched cottage. It has recently been restored by the Trust, and looks now as it did when still in use up to 1915.

Then we walked around past Brown's London Gate (the entrance gate to the property, if you are not coming through the Visitor Centre) to the Rotunda, also designed by 'Capability' Brown. This had been in a terrible state until the Trust stepped in. The dome (which has survived in spite of everything) was supported by timbers that had been infested by death-watch beetle and were on the verge of collapse. The Trust threw £500,000 at its preservation, which is now complete, and they are gratified that one of the Trust's employees was able to be married in the Rotunda last summer! The view from the Rotunda across 'Capability' Brown's landscape is stunning, although there is considerable work going on in parts of it.

From here we walked down past a large walled garden (unfortunately, in private hands, so we didn't have access) and into the house. As we said before, this is in the early stages of restoration, so what we see is, to a large part, a work in progress. For about 5 years in the 1980s, the house was in the possession of the Hare Krishna.

Hare! Hare!

One of the rooms shows their influence, as the intricate classical plasterwork (depicting fruits, flowers and scrollwork) has been polychromed in the Indian style — but it's been done well, and if you forget the monochrome Wedgewood style of plasterwork, it's really not bad! (Particularly if you remember that the gleaming white marble statues you see from the Greek and Roman periods would have originally been polychromed in Technicolor!)

There is a huge set of scaffolding at the western end of the building and across its northern face, somewhat indicative of the size of the task ahead of the Trust over the next few years to set this house to rights. But much of this scaffolding is in fact to provide a viewing platform for visitors, so they can feel a part of the ongoing work! The Long Gallery, which occupies the entire western front, is truly magnificent. This is a Robert Adam room, and its plaster ceiling simply has to be wondered at!

An Adams fireplace

The Long Gallery

The Northern Façade

Many of the upstairs rooms were off-limits, their floors being unsound due to the actions of the death-watch beetle. If we were able, a revisit in about five or so years would be well worth while!

Our welcome to our layby!

The weather was closing in, so we beat a hasty retreat towards the Visitor Centre. Because of this, we missed a lot of 'Capability' Browns landscaping — but we stopped off in a layby only a few miles distant, so (weather permitting) we know what we are doing first thing tomorrow!

Distance driven — today, 39 miles ( 63 km ); to date, 8,429 miles ( 13,566 km )