As it was tipping down today a walk was ‘off’, so we decided to venture further into lovely Worcestershire and Herefordshire and have a gander at the National Trust at Brockhampton.
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It is gorgeous! It’s a medieval manor house with the most amazing gate house which straddles the moat,
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and scented cottage flowers have been planted, including a rambler rose all over the front of the house.
Elgar’s birthplace at Lower Broadheath was on way back to the motorway. This is small but beautiful, not NT (so we had to pay but now we are Seniors we had a reduction) and very well-presented. It’s in two parts: there’s a visitor building with shop, video presentation and museum, and then down the path to the actual birthplace cottage – Mum, Dad and 6 kids can’t have had much room inside, but it seems to have been a very happy childhood. So often these geniuses seem to have sad and tragic lives!
I am not hugely musical – one of my friends once described my taste as being Housewives’ Choicy … :)) … but Hub is Properly Musical so he really enjoyed it.
I noticed that the Elgar kids had a lot of respect for their mother, describing her as having an ‘unmistakable air of good breeding’.
Hmm. When are my kids going to notice mine, I wonder?
Godschool's Blog 
What a beautiful post. Love the cottage and the house.
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oh wow looks all idyllic – what lovely pictures! Makes me pine to live somewhere like that! and yes…. I cannot imagine Daughter making remarks about MY unmistakable good breeding…. 😉
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:**: how come our kids are SOOOOOOOO unobservant?????
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:))xxx
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Thank you for this lovely blog, gillyk, for I love all music by Elgar. One of our truly English masters, as was Thomas Tallis, whose music carries me up and onwards! How lovely to have visited Elgar’s home, and discovered that other side of his life that so many keep to themselves. I hope all is well with you gillyk. Sorry about the absence, but I have been allergic to ‘something’ in this State of Alabama and have been quite ill since April 1st. I can actually name the night it started, and after 18 nights of that, the hives arrived! Not one doctor for we were new. The ER was wonderfully kind to me, and they took care of my miseries, and wrote prescriptions, and gave me the name of an Allergist to see ASAP, with their permission. Dr. Jakes is a most special lady who has even visited Devon and Gloucestershire to see the stables where her horse’s stock was begun! Things are looking up, and God is looking down! He is telling me to go easy and absorb the smells, air, magnetic forces and weather changes before returning to my old habits. In fact, perhaps His Majesty wishes me to change, and take a different path!?
I joined a lovely Presbyterian Church eight weeks ago. Very pleasant, and this Church is the one that my daughter-in-law and family has attended for over twenty years.
We never know what’s around the corner! So glad you both ‘got out’ of the house, and that the weather was nice. JW XX
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Lovely to hear from you again, Charlotte! I knew the move had had a bad effect on your health, but I’m glad it’s now getting sorted and things are ‘looking up’ – in more senses than one!
Enjoy the Presbyterians. Geoff’s cousin is a Pres minister in N Ireland, so we feel rather close to them.
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They are all very friendly. No snobs. Some come in wearing shorts. Others are same-sex couples!
Children are gathered in for a ten minute story in front of the steps of what acould be an alter. but I see no altar! And Elizabeth, our minister, relates some really great sermons! Last week was about the stoning of St. Stephen who was always my favourite Saint, after my grandmother told me he was very young, no older than sixteen. People did not live very long back then, and one was a man by the time of twelve. I loved St. Stephen because he was the first to stand up for Jesus, even though Jesus was not there.
The service of our Anglican Church on Sundays was always awesome in England, but one could never find that anyway here in America. The Vicars have American accents, and it just isn’t the same! lol.
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Stephen’s a favourite of mine, too – he was one of the first deacons, and I am a deacon too, so he is quite an inspiration … although I would rather not be stoned!!! It would be wonderful to have a love for Jesus like his.
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Thank you for telling me Stephen was one of the first deacons, gillyk. And that you are one also? I had no idea! So much to learn…
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If you’re interested in it, Charlotte, you can find his story in the book of the Acts of the Apostles (next book after John’s Gospel in the New Testament). Stephen hoves into view at the beginning of chapter 6. He was the first Christian martyr and because of his death, the good news of Jesus spread everywhere, because the believers were scattered by the persecution. They just took the good news with them!
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Yes! I did start reading about it.. also there is a wonderful explanation of Stephen and Deacons on Wikipedia! Loads to learn and miles to go!! Super stuff! XXX
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Enjoy, Charlotte, and do take care of yourself!
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Great you had the sunshine – here is been wet and overcats all weekend …………
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It was raining, Silver … the photos are taken from the internet!
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If you’re ever down Tonbridge way do pop in and see Ightham Moat, another classic example of a moated Medieval manor house ( 11th C. )
The NT go way OTT with renovation in these places is my only gripe, which tends to wipe out their original “olde worlde” atmospheres.
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The owners of the manor had changed it a lot over the centuries, adding on extensions and chimneys. Most of that has gone now, although the chimneys and the gallery remain as not being part of the original. It was rather atmospheric – not least because they don’t have proper lighting and were selling raffle tickets so that they could put some in! There were some battery candles however, but it was still hard to see details.
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What a lovely day…I am a fan of Elgar and so would really enjoy visiting his home.x
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I’m sure you would enjoy it, Janet – such a pretty place and a lot of potential for painting.
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Great photos. Thank you for sharing them.
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Not mine, sadly – my camera’s a point and shoot – these are off the internet.
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Looks a lovely place :yes:
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Never seen anything quite like it – the manor house just has one room downstairs and then a sort of minstrels’ gallery and 2 rooms upstairs. There are just the floor boards upstairs with knot holes in them – you can see the room below through the holes … aargh!
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The gate house looks amazing and so old! I love these old buildings. The roof on the main house looks rather worn! Great pics!
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Thanks, not mine, off the internet … the roof sags and goes up and down drunkenly, but we were inside in the rain and there were no leaks!
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Its amazing that the roof didn’t leak. They don’t make them like they used to!
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I love those buildings.It’s good to get away from the usual routine into a new place.You seem very well bred to me!!
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Oh thank you kindly, Ms Braithwaite :))
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Brilliant gilly, I really enjoyed your post and the photos – look how blue the sky looks on them, it’s sun shining here at the moment but has been a typical wet Bank Holiday. Hope your well, take care 🙂
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Yeah, sun’s just struggling out here, Barmac! Hope you are having a relaxing day.
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