From the ordinary to the extraordinary
Regular readers will remember our visits to the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham and The Hardmans' House in Liverpool. What both places have in common is that they serve as time capsules to moments in time. Both the museum, an old jewellery factory, and the house, a 1950s residential home lived in by two photographers, were left preserved with all their belongings after the original owners left. Walking through the doors is like going back in time to immediately after the factory workers and home owners departed; it's like discovering the Marie Celeste. We had a similar experience during our recent visit to Tyntesfield, a spectacular house on the outskirts of Bristol. Built by Victorian entrepreneur William Gibbs, the house has the appearance of a gothic castle with its turrets, and grand, church-like windows. It is surrounded by acres and acres of magnificent grounds and parkland. The last resident of the house was Richard Gibbs (Lord Wraxall) who died in 2001. For the last 20 years of his life, Lord Wraxall lived alone in the massive structure, using only three or hour rooms and sealing up the remaining ones. By doing so, he preserved an amazing collection of furniture and other belongings as he threw pretty much nothing away! After a public appeal, the Natural Trust raised £6.5m to buy the house and set about cataloguing the thousands of items which can now be viewed in all their glory. This year, the house has the 'from the ordinary to the extraordinary' theme as visitors enter through the servants' quarters and exit through the chapel. We spent almost three hours exploring a building that is stacked floor to ceiling with all sorts of weird and wonderful curiosities. From the library with its meticulously categorised books, to the Victorian kitchen jam-packed with pots, pans and china as well as Lord Wraxall's 1980s microwave, Tyntesfield house is a treasure-trove of history. As if the house isn't spectacular enough, the tour concludes with an awe-inspiring chapel that's directly connected to the residential accommodation. There aren't many houses that have one of those! We then took on the grounds. With its rolling lawns, greenhouses with the biggest onions we've ever seen and a huge woodland of trees, you could spend days and not see it all! The place is so big, there's even a shuttle bus that transports visitors around! An added extra at Tyntesfield at the moment is the Paradise sculpture exhibition. Various artists have been commissioned to create a new work considering how our environment is designed and our relationship to it. The resulting art is dotted around the grounds and it's a fun way to explore the place. Paradise is an intriguing and thought provoking exhibition. In Lady Wraxall's garden there are fountains made out of copper, and in the old aviary, a rather scary bird is the new resident! The old tennis court is home to a wooden, step structure which visitors are encouraged to walk on, and in the arboretum is our favourite exhibit, a huge tower of chairs and other furniture. Tyntesfield is one of those places that you can visit many times and still discover something new. We'll definitely go back soon. Paradise runs at Tyntesfield and Leigh Woods until 2 November 2014 Special thanks to Kellie at Plaster PR and the team at Tyntestfield for organising our visit. Words: Dan
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