Rufford Old Hall 2 of 2, Alfred Ghost, cupcake
The spiders got in the spirit of Halloween and decorated.
A friend made up these kits for other Cup-Cake Quilters at Patched Pumpkin. We meet once a month and make all sorts of things not just quilty stuff. It was so kind of her and very unexpected.
This month it was this chap- I’ve called him Alfred -he has an Elizabethan styled ruffle. He has the pumpkin themed tag from the kit hanging from a foot. The wooden ghost behind him is one I made last year.
Thank you Messy Karen for the candy corn- we put it in the bowl so it didn’t go to Trick-or-Treaters. Everyone loved it- it reminded us of a sort of honey fudge. Thank you so much.
The Halloween Tree had the pumpkin added from the kit. The bags and ghosts were made last year.
I sat still and made the other kit completely- a cup cake for a Cup-Cake Quilter.
Son’s gobstopper! Just how is the average human expected to put this in their mouth?!! It kept him quiet during this sweet fest. 🙂
This is inside the great hall where Shakespeare himself may have performed as an actor in the service of Lord Hesketh. The National Trust hold concerts here with music of this period. The rare movable screen is in the centre of the picture. There are no nails holding it together just wooden pegs a bit like dowels. Internal images are just a sample from the £4.00 guide book “Rufford Old Hall” ISBN 978-1-84359-285-3
The 1622 Kitchen (huge fireplace arch) was turned into an entrance hall in 1820 and a smaller fireplace was inserted.
The Drawing Room with stained glass 4 leaf clover shapes. It has a peep hole down to the great Hall on the right of this photo. The Elizabethan roof timbers originally came from Holmeswood Hall.
The Dining Room as it would’ve been in the Victorian period. The wall light left of the window originally ran on gas.
This bedroom reminded me a little of Kelmscott Manor where William Morris lived. These wool curtains were made in the 1830s. William Morris’ bed is the same dark wood but just look at the needlework on the bed hangings! I loved the rich pink of the carpet in here but sadly this is the best pic the guidebook had of it.
This link has a map so you can see where in England Rufford is. This link tells you more about the Hesketh family.
On our wanderings we were in the South East part of the gardens.
Funghi on a very rotton stump.
Beech (Fagus sylvatica) nuts and their prickly outer coating. We used to snack on these at school raw.
Moss
Holly (ilex)
The beech trees had such wonderful colours.
The blue sky however started to cloud over again.
I loved this silhouette effect.
Now over to the South West part of the gardens.
There were quite a few rhododendrons around so Spring here would be a great sight.
Scarecrow on the veg patch.
Orchard
Beautiful beech in a paddock
Acorns and an oak leaf.
Pieris in it’s Autumn colours I think. Usually it has pink young leaves which turn white then green.
I was taking this photo of the beech then pulled the camera back.
The tree reminded me of a scarecrow. 🙂
The original tree minus the scarecrow.
So that brings us back to the front (NW) of Rufford Old Hall.
We’ll walk across the front now pretty quickly as it’s going to rain.
Where 1820 on the left meets 1622 on the right.
The driveway to this part of the house.
The yard buildings from the front. I think they date from the late 1700s
The Victorian brick building on the right is the tearoom.
The gift shop window. Can’t you just picture this with snow at Christmas?
Lace cap hydrangea
It started to rain but I couldn’t resist the patterns in the canal water. (East of the house.)
Oak leaves and swirls.
Black spot on the sycamore echoed by the circles in the water.
Again the water echoed the leaf shapes.
On the way home we had a cloud with a silver lining. I think every day needs one.
I am so behind with my blogging. I was going to tell you about the Pendle Witch Trials of 1612 in time for Halloween. If you click on the link it will tell you all about it with some pics. It seems to be mainly where 2 families were feuding and telling tales on one another with awful results.
A few years ago we climbed Pendle Hill and came across this tiny shop on a circular drive home in Newchurch at the foot of Pendle Hill. Turn the sound on for the link. It might give you some ideas for next Halloween.
I still have so many photos to share to clear the backlog and so much crafting I ought to have done too. Just don’t mention the laundry pile today- it’s epic!
Before I forget yet again, thank you Eileen and Messy Karen for the Autumn Decor Award.
I award it to:
Beth at Aunties with Advice for her front door decorating.
Suzie at Little Busy Bee for the post in the link-gorgeous!
Lynn at Diary of a Mad Quilter– her pumpkin runner that she designed is wonderful.
I just want to sit down now and watch the 1948 film “Portrait of Jennie” with it’s snow scenes and Debussy music, “Box of Delights”, “The Amazing Mr Blunden”, “Flambards”, “The Dark is Rising” “The Willows in Winter” (sequel to Wind in the Willows”) and other seasonal videos. What do you feel like watching with a cup of hot chocolate and a quilt?
Posted in Uncategorized by House Elf with 16 comments.