Groombridge Place

[poliphilo]

An earlier house on the site was one of many places the poet Charles d'Orleans was lodged during a long imprisonment in England after his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. Charles wrote one of my favourite lyrics of any time or any language- "Le temps a laisse son manteau."

The present house dates from the 1660s and tradition says- as it says of many buildings of the period- that Christopher Wren had a hand in the design. Arthur Conan Doyle was a frequent visitor in the days of his fame- when he was living just down the road in Crowborough- and used it- disguised as Birlstone Manor- as the venue for the shotgun killing in The Valley of Fear.

The house is a private residence- and so not open to the public- but the gardens can be visited- at a price- and are very pretty.



Twice a day- every day bar Fridays- Eddie and Veronica Hare of the Groombridge Raptor Centre fly their birds in the grounds. Here's Veronica with Maleficent the African Fish Eagle.

Comments

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

What a beautiful house! Especially that view from the moat...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

A bit of a hidden gem, really. We'd driven past many times without paying it much attention.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

Oh, nice!

I visited many years ago.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

We'd happily go back- though it is expensive.

[sorenr.livejournal.com]

Groombridge Place is really one of the prettiest houses in England; I fell in love with it when it was used in the 2005 "Pride and Prejudice" film. (Especially how the entrance to the portico leads directly into a piece of wall between two windows... Imperfections are endearing in a building, I find - which is just as well, considering the state of my house!)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

We didn't know what to expect. We had an hour or two to spare , drove past, and then thought. "why not?" and retraced our steps.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

That is indeed very pretty. And I love water around te very foundation of a building though I tend to consider the humidity factor inside when I see it.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The moat features prominently in the Sherlock Holmes story.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Awesome Place- i have been to it once.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

This was our first visit. It's expensive- but worth it. The cafe is outstanding.