Mottisfont, a
National Trust site in Hampshire, England, started out as Mottisfont Priory in 1201. The priory thrived until the Black Plague decimated the area. They never quite recovered the vocations or the earnings from the area. King Henry VIII put the final nail in the coffin during his dissolution of the monasteries. Henry gave the estate to one of his cronies, Sir William Sandys, who turned it into a country home. He kept most of the structure of the church, gutting it and turning it into a home. In the 18th century, the facade was rebuilt with a more modern look, though elements of the abbey are still visible inside and out. In the 20th century, the last owner, Maud Russell, bequeathed the property to the National Trust in 1957, though she live on the property until 1972. It is now a tourist attraction with a large rose garden and plenty of estate to roam around.
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| Mottisfort |
It was chosen as a priory for its nearness to the River Test, providing water and easy ways to farm.
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| Crossing the River Test |
The estate has a separate coach house that was used for horses and carriages. It has since been turned into a cafe with lots of seating inside.
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| Coach House and Cafe |
Several dining options are available at Mottisfont. My youngest wanted to eat lunch at Jude's Ice Cream. We were there too early to make his dream come true--the ice cream is not open till 1 p.m.
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| Not opening until 1300! |
The walled garden has a hedge around it!
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| Hedge gate |
The garden was lovely though not at its peak when we visited in late June.
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| Roses |
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| More of the garden |
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| Pretty blooms |
The garden also has a "kitchen garden" section where more practical fruit, veg, and herbs are grown.
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| Kitchen garden |
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| Lettuce in two colors! |
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| Beautiful blooms |
On the way to the manor house, we saw a boy and his dog.
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| Nice statue |
The house has many public rooms on the main floor. The first we saw was the boys' playroom.
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| Backgammon set |
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| More stuff to play with |
The next room is a cozy library.
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| Library |
The main floor has a guest bedroom right in the middle.
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| That's the bed for visitors! |
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| The bedroom fireplace |
A drawing room is full of information about art works. Maud Russell was a patron of the arts and often had artists visit. Some worked on the house, as we will discover soon.
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| Information on art |
The dining room was set for tea. Interestingly, the back wall looks curved but is not really. The decorators angled the side railings to make the wall looked concave. The reason is to distract from the fact that the ceiling slopes downward.
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| Dining table |
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| Not the best angle to see the concave effect |
The front hall links all the rooms and has a couple of works of art.
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| Looking down the hall |
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| A statue in the hall |
On the front of the house is the Morning Room, where people enjoyed the morning sunshine.
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| Morning room |
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| Paintings in the Morning Room |
Just off the staircase landing between the main floor and the upper floor, there's a bathroom!
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| Modern-ish bathroom |
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| Upstairs was closed off |
Another front parlor is symmetrically at the other end of the hall.
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| Not the morning parlor |
The final room in our visit was the Whistler Room. The room was painted by
Rex Whistler, an English artist with a bit of whimsy in him. Before he could finish, he was sent off to fight in World War II where he died.
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