On the Tuesday instead of driving the usual route home through Bromyard and Worcester to the M5 we drove via Tenbury Wells and Droitwich so that we could stop off at Burford House Gardens near Tenbury.
There were Mallard ducklings on the pond at the front of Burford House.
There is a new rather gorgeous dragon sculpture.
One of the reasons I like these gardens so much is because my paternal grandmother lived in Burford as a child and young girl and as I have mentioned before her parents and brother are buried in Burford churchyard. I do wish I knew where she lived but as I am not a member of a family history site it is difficult to find out but I did wonder on our last visit whether or not she had ever attended village fetes in these gardens.
So I've researched the house and its history. The estate of Burford had belonged to the Cornwall family since the Middle Ages but it was sold in 1720 to William Bowles who owned the Vauxhall Glassworks in Lambeth London (the largest Glassworks in the country at the time) and who was MP for Bridport and later Bewdley. He commissioned the building of the present house in 1728 and extended the garden and built a summer house.
From 1860 it was the house of George Rushout, 3rd Baron Northwick, a descendant of the Bowles family. In 1954 the estate was brought by John Treasure who completely changed the gardens and opened them up to the public in 1958. So even if my grandmother ever visited the gardens they would probably have looked different to how they do today.
The River Teme - no sign of a Kingfisher on this visit.
Sadly no cake as B and D are both on another diet :( but we did have a quick look round the garden centre next to the house and gardens.
I bought a teasel plant and D courgette and aubergine plants.
We finally arrived home at teatime - hopefully we will return soon and for longer!
All photos taken by me with the Pansonic Lumix FZ330 bridge camera (I don't particularly rate my photos but if any one wishes to use one of mine or my son's I would be grateful for an email first thanks )
12 comments:
Apart from the house the gaden looks to be a relly nice place to visit, like you that Dragon does it for me
Billy Blue Eyes - Thank you - the front of the house is nicer than the rear! yes I have fallen in love with that super dragon!!!!
Everything looks wonderful and a great place to visit. Like the dragon. The house has an interesting history and it isn't too hard to imagine that locals would have perhaps attended events in the grounds. I subscribe to Ancestry so if I can help you with anything let me know. I think I'd have been tempted by both plants and cake in the garden centre:)
Good morning from Tucson.
"It's been a minute." as the teenagers say.
Hope all is well and it's great seeing that you're still exploring beautiful gardens and the nature that goes with it.
Big hugs.
Chris
Rosie - Thanks so much - glad you like that gorgeous dragon. I can't see my grandmother being part of their social circle tbh but I am sure manor houses had fetes for villagers. Thanks so much Rosie for offer re: Ancestry - I may take you up on that just to see if you can find address for them from census perhaps. All the info is at caravan so when I am next there if I may I will email you but no rush at all only when you have a spare minute. But please don't take ages on it. I missed the cake had to make do with a Tesco sandwich and yes I could spend a fortune on plants at nurseries but OH rarely buys says they are too dear!
Rohrerbot - oh gosh Chris it is so wonderful to hear from you as your blog seems to have disappeared and I have been worried about you. Thanks so much for the comment and yes I am still out and about exploring when I can. yes fine here thanks.
I really do hope you are ok and thanks again for getting in touch.
Big hugs back and take care.
Caroline
What a lovely outing, RR, and a teasel plant is such a good idea. I have a feeling some of my ancestors used them for carding wool. They are great for ladybirds. It's lovely to see Timothy out enjoying the sunshine now it's a bit warmer ... and I'm pleased he found another bear with whom to share the picture! Thank you for your kind comments ... :-)
Caroline Gill - Thanks so much. I've wanted teasels for years - seem to be good for pollinators too hopefully and Goldfinches like the seeds. Yes I think they were used for carding wool. Weather has been a bit better recently thank goodness.
We intended to stop off here for cake on our return from Witley Court. Both of somehow missed the turning...
So an afternoon cake opportunity left pending for another day.
Cherrypie - That is a shame. We found it hard to find on the first visit - I think its signed posted Burford House Garden Centre and I think there are two roads you can take which lead to same place.
I was going to say how about census records to find address - depending of course when she was alive, as I guess the latest census available is 1921. I used to subscribe to Ancestry so I would take up your friend's offer above to find out the details!
The garden looks lovely and colourful even though it was quite early spring then. I am slowly catching up!
Mxx
Millymollymandy - Thanks so much and yes I have. It was so kind of her and I already know a lot more! Its hard to catch up on blogger even if you have only missed a week when on holiday!
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