One of my quests while in England was to tour an estate house. The hero of Book #3, in my WWI trilogy, is the son of a baronet and lives in one of these centuries-old, country houses. We tried touring a couple of them, but it was either the wrong day or time to get in on an actual tour. Then I learned that a number of these great houses were doing an exhibition on living in a country house during times of war. So we decided to visit the one closest to us – Kiplin Hall.
The war displays were really interesting. Several members of the family served in WWI. During WWII, Royal Air Force officers lived in the house, which was also used for storing and supplying ammunition and bombs to nearby airfields. Several of the rooms used by the RAF have been left exactly as they were back then.
The grounds were also lovely with lots of lawn, a walled garden and a lake out back. And the sweet English ladies who oversee the tours were as delightful as the house itself!
We talked to them about my book and they gave me some great pointers on writing a story set in England. For example, they told me that no one asks if you want a cup of tea over there; they simply say, “I’ll make you a nice cup of tea.” And everyone in England talks about the weather. It was well worth the drive and time to see this gem – and find my hero a proper English country house for a home. 🙂
What do you think of English country houses? Would you rather live in one of them or a brand-new house/apartment?
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This house is beautiful! I think I'd like to have both types of homes, then when I get sick of one I can travel to the other! lol
I love big old homes, but I wouldn't want to have to worry about paying for the upkeep!
Oh I love your photos and that house looks amazing!
On the tea comment, that's SO true. I studied in London in college and yeah, it was just automatic that when we went to a British friend's flat, they automatically put the tea on when we arrived, no question about whether we actually wanted any. 🙂 By the end of my time there, I'd converted to a tea drinker. 🙂
Jessica – That's a perfect plan! Then you can have the best of both worlds. 🙂
Heather – Good point!
Melissa – LOL! So it really is true about offering the tea.
What a lovely house, my Hero lives in such a house too so I'm really happy that you at least had the chance to visit one, good for you:) and I knew about the weather comment, we do that here in Sudan too but the tea one is quite interesting. Well if you ask me I'm soo into such houses and would love to live in one, Hah! a girl can dream:p
Haneen – I wonder if talking about the weather is universal, no matter where you live. Cause I do that one, too. 🙂