During December, National Trust open a few of their houses that have been decorated for the holidays, and seeing the properties decorated is always a treat. I had previously been to Grey's Court, an estate located in Oxfordshire not far from Henley-on-Thames and in the Chilterns, once during the lockdown when only the gardens and grounds were open, so I had never seen inside the mansion. The house was open with the rooms decorated for the holidays, so I spent the morning having a wander.
The house dates from the 16th century and was home to the Brunner family. There are walled gardens opposite, and other buildings on the estate date from the 14th century. I arrived before the house was open, so I had a wander around the gardens.
The below building is located opposite the house, and it contained a Christmas tree. This was used as extra accommodation for guests.
Around the garden were miniature sculptures of robins to find.
Once inside the house, I had a look inside the different rooms. The house is not too large, but it feels a comfortable size with good-sized rooms.
The dining room is off from the entrance hall.
On the other side is a more formal room. The tree was decoated with robins.
The most beautiful room was the parlour or main living room. It was beautifully decorated with a Christmas tree, piles of wrapped boxes, pine garlands, and a working toy train circulating on a track around the central Christmas tree. This is a fascinating room.
From here, visitors could go upstairs. One of the rooms at the top was dark but decorated with hanging snowflakes and lights.
Next door was the children's bedroom, which was arranged with piled wrapped boxes and vintage toys.
The main two bedrooms were decorated with Christmas cards.
The main bedroom has amazing views over it and a spacious en suite.
Back through the bathroom led to the servant area rooms and then downstairs to the ground floor where we entered the spacious kitchen, which was decorated with knitted Christmas items - a knitted nativity scene and decorations, such as miniature Christmas puddings, mince pies, and colourful chain garlands.
It's a beautiful property, and I hope to visit it again next year. There are garden tours that take place in the morning, but we had somewhere else to be so could not stay for that.
Other posts about Grey's Court on this blog can be seen by clicking onto the below links:
A Visit to Grey's Court (National Trust, Oxfordshire): Lockdown Edition
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