A friend that I met out here, Mark, heard how much I wanted to visit Stonehenge and Stourhead House. I mean, Stonehenge is pretty self explanatory (www.stonehenge.co.uk), but Stourhead he didn't quite get. Here's the thing, not only am I a history PhD student (and total geek), but I
love historic architecture. Visiting historic homes allows me to live out my dreams of grandeur for just a moment and I imagine myself in some far off time and place, where I'm a wealthy baroness or something crazy. And let's be honest, it lets me live out all those historic pieces I love, like
Pride & Prejudice,
Anna Karenina, etc. So Stourhead House holds not only historic significance for me, but the Apollo Temple on the grounds was used to film a scene from
Miss Marple as well as the 2005 version of
Pride & Prejudice (the one where Mr. Darcy-unsuccessfully- proposes to Elizabeth). Stourhead was built in the Palladian villa style designed by Colen Campbell for the Hoare family. The Hoare family bought the land from the Stourtons in the 1700s and through successive generations, they continued to expand and develop the land. For a full history you should check out the National Trust website-they currently operate the property. (Source: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead/history/)
After we finished visiting these two places (the house is currently undergoing routine conservation work, so was only partially open-but at least I got to enjoy the vast grounds and all the hidden grottos!), Mark suggested we swing by Salisbury Cathedral since we were only about 10 miles away. I can't even believe that this impressive structure was constructed in the 13th century. Not only is it incredibly beautiful, but we got there just in time for Evensong service. To learn more about Salisbury Cathedral, visit
www.salisburycathedral.org.uk/. Enjoy the pictures from Sunday's adventure:
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