This is a grand day for Mount Stewart as it is opening
its doors once again to a £8 million refurbishment of the inside of the
house. It has belonged in the past by
the Marquesses of Londonderry, but it has been in the hands of the National
Trust since 1977. I was fortunate to be
allowed to photograph some of the rooms before the public opening and today I will
just give you a taste of how wonderful this refurbishment has been undertaken.
It has been completely rewired, repainted and
transformed to look like it did in the 1950s when it belonged to Lady Edith,
the seventh Marchioness. Her family has
lived at Mount Stewart since the 18th Century.
This is the main entrance hall and to see what is was like before the
refurbishments CLICK HERE and this blog will also give you a bit of the history
of the house and family. The statue is Venus.
This matching Ionic column of a classical nude is at the other end of
the Hall as you walk into Mount Stewart and is probably Eurydice. It is signed by Lawrence MacDonald and carved
in Rome in 1856.
In
the Entrance Hall there is this magnificent chandelier and the beautifully restored
gallery above.
This is the Dining Room and this carpet is new and has the Londonderry Coat of Arms on it. Every single item in the house, right down to dining chairs, were cleaned, reclothed and repainted.
This
is the Breakfast Room.
A
wonderfully impressive staircase leading up to
a Stubbs painting.
Visitors
can now expect to see are world-class art collections, refitted stained glass
artwork as well as entry to a selection of rooms that have never been opened to
view before. They will now be able to see the butler's silver store, the billiards room as well
as family and guest bedrooms.
I hope you enjoyed this little taste of this fantastic house. All this week I will be featuring other aspects from the house and beautiful gardens.
Thanks you for visiting and also to those who leave comments.
Looks like they've done a great job with this magnificent place. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteWow. What an amazing restoration. Looking forward to future posts about it too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a stunning place! How very fortunate you were to be able to photograph without crowds. I can't even imagine what it would be like to live in such splendor.
ReplyDeleteExcellent, it looks good for another fifty years or so.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Margaret.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures of this building.
The restoration is very pretty successful.
Chandelier I find really great.
The interiors are magnificent and the outside as well. What a grand building.
ReplyDeleteMersad
Mersad Donko Photography
Hello Margaret, what a gorgeous place.. They did a wonderful job on the restoration..Thanks for sharing your tour.. Lovely photos.. Have a happy day and new week ahead!
ReplyDeleteLove the Stubbs painting :o)
ReplyDeleteincredibly grand. i'd never eat in that dining room, though. :)
ReplyDeleteSuch a stately home. Thanks so for sharing with the blogger world.
ReplyDeleteOh how I would love to tour that home with my camera!!
ReplyDeleteHow grand! The outside is my favorite. So impressive. But they sure did a great job on the inside too.
ReplyDeleteIt looks lovely Margaret, great photos, which I am very happy they let you take so that we could enjoy it too.
ReplyDeleteWow wow, and wow again! You must be very special to be invited before the public! LOVE the black and white hall with the marble columns! The dining room rug and walls are gorgeous! Also the tapestries and the grand staircase that goes both right and left at the top. A wonderful decorating job! I imagine they would charge quite a bit for tours.
ReplyDeleteThose older homes are so elegant.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful stately home!
ReplyDeleteWhat a grand mansion though I can' imagine feeling comfortable living there.
ReplyDeleteWhat a marvelous structure. it's hard to imagine what it would be like to actually live in such a magnificent house. Thank you for showing us around.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely place! Love the stairway colors, just beautiful.
ReplyDelete