Hanbury Hall had not originally been on our list of things to see, but I'm glad we went out of our way. This is a William-and-Mary era house. The dining room especially was lovely -- big windows overlooking the fields, one of those long tables that could seat 20 comfortably, family portraits on the walls, and interesting silver and china on the sideboards. One of the volunteer room stewards was especially helpful, answering all our questions and telling us snippets of history about the former residents, including the young lady who ran off with the vicar.
Many of the
houses we visited have tea-rooms, usually in interesting areas such as
the old stables or kitchens. The one at Hanbury was especially nice
-- it overlooked the formal gardens and was nicely decorated. We
were the only people there to enjoy it on the day we visited.