Visiting Witley Court ....

Witley Court was our first stop , on our way down

to Bath / Oxford region .

We try and visit places that interest us ,

and hopefully you too - photographic wise .

Here - i just chose a few , as we ended up

with over 350 photos of our few days away !

As it looked around 1860 ...

There is a small video clip , of the fountain ,

at the end of this post !!

A hundred years ago, Witley Court was one of England's great country houses, hosting many extravagant parties. Today it is a spectacular ruin, the result of a disastrous fire in 1937. Restoration work to the West Wing has made several new rooms accessible to the public.The vast and rambling remains of the palatial 19th-century mansion are surrounded by magnificent landscaped gardens - the 'Monster Work' of William Nesfield - which still contain huge stone fountains. The largest, representing Perseus and Andromeda, which has been restored, was described as making the 'noise of an express train' when fired.

Following the disastrous fire in 1937 the Witley Estate, including its gardens, fell into long decline. English Heritage has restored the south garden.

Attached to Witley Court is Great Witley Church, which has an amazing Italianate Baroque interior .




The side lake ...

Entrance ... a shame that the fence was in the way !!

Because of the fire , and selling off of items -

it is mostly in a ruin state now . However , they have photo

boards of what it did look like . It is such a shame that

it is not in a better state to see how it actually

looked , or at least one room . So you can fully appreciate

the beauty of the place , and got a " feel " for it .

i was looking at these , and trying hard to imagine

how beautiful it would have been here ...

If only you could go back in time to it . ....

The ball room - as it was ......

And how it is now .......

The conservatory - at the back .....

Long view - with the fountain just in view ....

Entrance hall .....






Stone gazebo ... set back and

placed either side of the fountain .....

Looking up inside with sunlight shining through it ....

The great Witley church ....



One of the stained glass windows ...

Kneeling angels font ......

Scanned postcard of inside ....

scanned postcard of the ceiling oil painting

called " The accension "

And here is a video clip of the fountain - which we
arrived in time when they turn it on at intervals
during the day !! Partically restored - with not all of the jets
working yet - but it was a sight to see and hear ,
and i cannot imagine how truly magnificent it was
back when it was working fully .

More to follow .....