I am very lucky to live in the middle of England where there are so many fantastic places to visit quite close. One of those places, which I have had the pleasure of visiting countless times, is Sudbury Hall. Sudbury is not big in size, as far as country houses go, but it is a wonderful house. The house is owned by the National Trust and is open from early February until November.
Sudbury Hall is the creation of George Vernon (1635-1702), built from 1660 onwards when Vernon acquired the family estate. Sudbury remained the home of the Vernon family until 1967, when it was given to the Treasury as part-payment of duties after the death of the 9th Lord Vernon. After the house was transferred to the National Trust several rooms were redecorated.
This time when I visited Sudbury I was most anxious to see the Long Gallery, as it featured in the 1995 Pride and Prejudice series, which I love!
This clip from the series sees Elizabeth visiting the fictional house 'Pemberley', the home of Darcy. The interior scenes were filmed at Sudbury Hall, although the exterior is that of Lyme Park in Cheshire.
My highlight of the visit though was spotting two very interesting portraits-upon closer inspection I discovered that one was of Barbara Villiers and the other of Nell Gwyn, both of whom were one time mistresses of Charles II-my favourite British Monarch!
Tell me about an interesting place you've recently visited!
