June 10, 2013 Tyntesfield “Country House” near Bristol

One night we were sitting in a local restaurant lamenting the fact that we had found Highclere Castle (Downton Abbey) but could not get inside because they were in the process of filming for the new season. An English couple at the adjacent table began talking to us and made a suggestion that we visit the nearby Tyntesfield House. They said that the rooms and the furnishings in that house would give us an idea of what we might have seen at Downton Abbey. That although Tyntesfield was somewhat smaller, the style and furnishings would be the same. So, off we went to Tyntesfield.

Tyntesfield House and Chapel

Today, Tyntesfield is a National Trust property which means that it is part of the preservation of historic sites that is supported by the national lottery. Tyntesfield's last owner could not pay the inheritance taxes (land rich, but cash poor) or  pay the cost of maintaining the house and grounds so it was turned over to the National Trust. The home sits on 2,500 acres if land. It has 120 rooms and 48 (count them, 48) bedrooms!!! The most interesting thing about the grounds is that during World War II a US Army Evacuation Hospital was set up and operated to treat critically wounded soldiers and rehabilitate them enough for the trip back to the US. This is exactly the type facility to which my father was evacuated after suffering severe wounds from artillery fire just after the Battle of the Bulge. I wish now that I had asked him the location of that evacuation hospital. Interestingly, on another part of the grounds was a German Prisoner of War camp.

Above and below, exterior photos of the Tyntesfield House. Note that it has an entire private chapel. There were hundreds of family members and house and estate workers who would worship at the chapel. The chapel is on the far right in the photo immediately below.

 

The back side of the house. The next 5 photos were taken in the large rose garden.

Photos from the interior of the home. The first room is the library and the sitting area for reading.

Note the elaborately wood carved door. This is just an example of the many carved wooded doors in the home.

The next 4 photos are the dining room, dishes and a serving bar.

  In the servants area are the “call bells” telling the staff the location of the room where they are needed. Each bell has the name of the room below it.

Below are photos of the billiard room. The table is enormous. Apparently a game was played that is neither pocket billiards or pool as we know it today. The table is at least 6x12.

Note the carvings of sporting figures on the billiard table.

Below, since the billiard room was on the exterior of the house and difficult to heat, there is a radiator heating system beneath the table to keep it dry and level.

Below, rules of the game, cue holder and mechanical scoring system.

 

The drawing room where everyone gathered after they got dressed for dinner. The room is 40 feet high. The drawing room at Downton Abbey has a 50 foot vaulted ceiling.

The central stairway for the 4 levels of the home is 93 feet high. Below are some of the bedrooms and baths. Not all the rooms are open. Many have deteriorated over the years since the National Trust did not have the funds to maintain them all. But now there is extensive ongoing preservation work in the house.

Below are views from the windows of one of the larger bedrooms.

Below, interior and exterior views of the chapel.

The Orangery (greenhouse or conservatory) and garden where much of the food was grown to feed the owners, servants and estate workers.

Note the cow carved by one of the carpenters in the playground used by the children of the staff.

Stables and carriage area below. The barn is now the reception area for the estate and the stalls for the livestock are now the sitting areas for the café.

The visit was amazing. Hard to believe that people actually lived of grand estates like this for hundreds of years. This estate was in the hands of the same family for more than 300 years. The cost of maintaining the house and grounds and paying the staff of interior servants, cooks, gardeners, horse and stable workers, and the cattle, sheep and pigs that were raised has to be astronomical.