On Saturday, I visited Standen House and Gardens, which is maintained by National Trust and located in West Sussex. This was my first visit to Standen, and I visited during the coronavirus pandemic, so there were restrictions on my visit. Part of the ground floor of the house was open to visitors except for some rooms that could not allow users to access via "one-way" systems for "social distancing". The upper floors were off-limits for the same reason.
Standen House uses the arts and crafts movement in its interiors. Morris & Co. were instrumental in this movement as the ethos was to provide beautiful items and beautiful decoration for the masses instead of limiting to the very rich. Readers of my blog may remember my visit to the William Morris Museum (Art and Design) in Walthamstow, London that I visited early last year.
The house was owned by James and Margaret Beale and boasts wonderful views of the Sussex countryside. Morris & Co products (wallpaper and furnishings) were used in the house as instructed by the builder, and it remains one of the finest examples of the "Arts and Crafts" movement.
Before visiting the house, I had a wander in the gardens below the house. The gardens are created as a vegetable and fruit patch rather than flowers, except there is a small area at the back with some quiet seating and sculpture.
I also had a scone and tea at the cafe and sat in the courtyard. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the items are not allowed to be put on plates and must be put inside disposable cartons, so it's not very picturesque. A little robin took some interest in the scone and kept hopping about at my feet and demanding crumbs.
Visitors to the house had to wait in queue. The first room was the reception room, and then the pool room.
The wallpaper was one of the main features of the house, using the striking Morris & Co designs.
And after the house visit, I went to the shop. The shop had access to the kitchen and also a small room with information about early electricity.
After the house, I explored the upper gardens on a trail above the house.
The autumn colours have started to change, and this landscape looked especially beautiful.
When at the top of the little garden behind the house, I was able to see beautiful views over the countryside.
On this trail is an artwork by Will Shannon called "bothy", and a bothy is a little hut for labourers. This bothy was designed with the style of Standen in mind. The little hut has colourful stained glass window panes in the window and door. The materials were all sourced within 25 miles of Standen, and the timber came from an original beech tree planted by the Beales which fell in storms in 2016. The tiles on the roof number in 500 and took two days for the artist to create. The bothy is normally open but was shut during my visit, possibly due to coronavirus.
I discovered some excellent views of the house from the garden.
And this magical little seat with a little cove created from Delft blue tiles. On the left of this little seated area is a trail to the rock quarry garden. This little garden is at the bottom of rock cliffs where there is a wooden bridge on the cliff above. When it has rained, there would be a waterfall and water pool here, but this was dry when I visited.
Looking at these photographs and feeling the chill in the air today, it did feel like the start to autumn.
I plan to visit Standen House and Garden again once the house is fully open and it is safe to do so.
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