Vibrant interiors at Belton House

Despite the grey clouds below we stopped off at Belton House when we were staying close by last August - not quite the day we hoped for, but visiting somewhere with space indoors was a popular choice. It’s not a house I was familiar with, and we hadn’t visited before but it was clear that it was a popular place.

The exterior of Belton House

It’s a pretty impressive house, and the family - generations of Brownlows - commissioned the finest designers and craftsmen to deliver what is now a National Trust property. The house and gardens showcase cutting edge design and innovation including 17th century sash windows and a glorious cast iron-framed orangery which I’ll share in a future post.

Our visit started in the large and grand hall, with a vibrant carpet up the stairs and the classic chequerboard patterned floor. The suitcases discarded on the stairs gave an indication of the character of the place, and under the stairs - and not quite like the under the stairs storage that we’re more familiar with - was one of the first stunning pieces of furniture, an ornate laquered chest.

red patterned stair carpet, wooden stairs and wooden half panelling with cream and gold edged panelling above
chequerboard floor in the hall, with stairs diagonally in the background with a gold wave pattern a bust on a marble plinth in the corner of where the stairs turned with a black and gold ornate chest under the stairs

I was also rather taken with this very ornate writing desk, and I know it’s the many compartments and sections that are part of the appeal. But also it’s the scale and how it fits with its surroundings. Clearly it’s larger than standard furniture, but oh so stunning.

An ornate mahogany writing desk with a green striped upholstered chair in a half panelled room - wood and majority green flower patterned wallpaper

But it wasn’t the only jewel in the room, this restored lapis lazuli cabinet which was brought back from a Grand Tour over 300 years ago. Isn’t it stunning?

A vivid blue ornate chest on a gilt table against a wall with panelling and green ornate flowered wallpaper

It wasn’t the only cabinet, or fireplace, or collection of vases that caught my eye and intrigued me.

On the left of the image a dark wood piece of furniture inlaid with vivid red detail, on the right handside an ornate marble fireplace with brass grate and brushed metal surround
A marble fireplace with lamps either side and blue/white vases on the mantelpiece. Wood panelling on the lower section with vibrant red patterned wallpaper in the panels above.
A chequerboard floor with a gilt table, the 'legs' are greyhounds. The table top is green possibly onyx, on the top 3 large blue/white urns, a partial portrait hangs behind the table. On either side there are brown marble plinths with blue vases

And it seems that greyhounds were a bit of a thing for the family too - the table above, the doorplate below and outside on the weather vane.

A brass door plate with keyhole and handle depicting a greyhound and swirls on a wooden door.
A tapestry hanging on the wall in the background. In the foreground an ornate lamp with a cream shade

Like many National Trust properties the rooms are vibrantly decorated, these rooms though remain vibrant I’m sure through recent restoration - the reds, golds and greens are very rich and point to a lavish and indulgent lifestyle.

red wallpapered panelled sections with portraits in the drawing room, with wallpapers and curtains i nthe same pattern and an ornate (and large) carpet
a mahogany dining table (seating 12) with a vibrant green and gold decor in the background - a gold light fitting hangs and a portrait with a gold phoenix above the marble fireplace
in the green & gold dining room looking at the otherside of the table, with a rug and route through to the next room

Definitely ornate, and quite over the top - but I guess if you had money, and this family did, it was the done thing to show that for your standing in society. In some ways that’s not so different from today, whether we agree with it or not. The house, and its gardens, are definitely worth a visit - there’s so much to do, and so much to see.

The Garden Year: February 2022

Hello there and welcome back to my garden linky, which opens at the start of each month and stays open for the whole month - meaning you can link up at any time. You’re welcome to link any posts that have a garden theme - this could be your garden, the plants you’re growing or the gardens you visit, or anything in between - just so long as it’s related to gardening.

Plants in their prime this month

  • Hellebores

  • Snowdrops

  • Daphnes

  • Pansies

  • Camellias

What to do in the garden this month

  • Start to sow some vegetables under cover

  • Prune winter-flowering shrubs that have finished flowering

  • Prune wisteria

  • Divide snowdrops

dusky pink hellebores
“TheGardenYear

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Getting the hang of winding skeins

My Christmas present from MOH was a wooden wool winder and swift which took longer than predicted to arrive, which stressed him out more than it should have, and more than I wanted it to too. We knew it was hit and miss as to whether it would arrive in time for Christmas (it didn’t - but it was on its way), but MOH was keen for me to have a present to open, and his backup present cut it fine too.

When it arrived it was beautiful, and needed assembling. With no instructions to follow I got most of the way there, and between us we got there. The wool winder is the darker wood and the swift - for holding skeins - is in the lighter wood.

Spoiler: I haven’t masted the swift just yet.

The pieces of my wooden wool winder, before assembly
a wooden yarn swift photographed on the floor, part on a rug

Once again this year I’d bought the Yarn Advent calendar by Vicki Brown Designs, and I was hanging on to this for it to be my first ‘wound’ wool. And here’s day 1 wound.

my first skein of 'wound' wool - with the wooden winder in the background

With life getting in the way until this weekend, the yarn and the winder had been left to one side. But after a slower weekend and with MOH out on a long cycle, I picked it up again - and cracked winding the skeins. The tension on this wound peach wool is much more tightly wound than I’d previously managed. This was achieved simply by increasing the tension (or holding!) the wool as it went through the guide.

A close up of some peach wool on the wool winder, blurred background
holding a newly wound ball of multicoloured wool, blurred table in the background

And then there was no stopping me - sort of. The swift is going to take a little bit more time and as you know I’m inpatient. But I’m making progress with over half of the Yarn Advent wound - I’ve even rewound some of them so they’re more tightly tensioned. Once they’re wound I know I’ll be keen to get started on my next project - I should finish my last project first though, but the new project call is strong - and making up projects is not my favourite task.

Overhead of my yarn advent box, with over half of the skeins wound into balls

Each skein is tied in three places with a small length of the same yarn, and I can’t quite bring myself to throw this away. I’ve been knotting these together and winding these onto a wooden cotton reel along with smallish remnants from other projects. I’ve no real plan for how I’ll use these but at some point - and I think that won’t be far off - I think I’ll be adding these to my hook.

scraps of wool (used to tie skeins) wrapped around a wooden sylko cotton reel

I’m pretty sure I know how I want to use the Yarn Advent skeins, and before I share more on that I’ll show you the outcome of the previous years’ project.

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