Summer finally arrived on the 16th June for our escorted tour of Sizergh Castle, unfortunately, it ended several days later.
(But that’s the Lake District for you).
We arranged to meet Babs at the Café for coffee prior to the start of our guided tour, she always makes every effort to support our group as she was one of the original founders.
I should explain that Babs is our Cancer Support Nurse, who we can contact should we have any concerns. Babs is available by phone, text, or email, and will always respond the same day or leave a message. I personally have found her to be very caring and a great comfort to me, especially in the early days of my diagnosis.
We had our guided tour around the house which was extremely interesting, and then we had tea before walking around the gardens and grounds, ending in the Gift Shop.
Once again we had a lovely afternoon and got to appreciate what this area has to offer.
Sizergh Castle
Sizergh has been associated with the Strickland family since 1239, when the heiress Elizabeth Deincourt married William de Stirkeland. The solar tower of the castle was a potent symbol of the Strickland’s power during the Middle Ages, when they played a leading role in the wars with Scotland and France. Prominent as Catholic royalists throughout the 17th century, the Stricklands went into exile in 1688 with the court of James II at Saint-Germain in France. They returned to Sizergh by the early 18th Century as impoverished Jacobites, but thanks to the careful efforts of Lady Winifred Strickland, they were able to afford a few baroque-style alterations to the house. Sir Gerald Strickland, later Lord Strickland of Sizergh (1861-1940) along with his second wife Margaret Hulton, installed the famous rock garden which was laid out in 1926-8. In 1931 the estate transferred to Lord Strickland's daughter Mary and her husband Henry Hornyold.
They and their son Lt-Cdr Thomas Hornyold-Strickland gave the house to the National Trust in 1950.
Old dining room
Dated 1563, this is the earliest of the Elizabethan panelled rooms and was described in 1569 as 'the chamber where thei dyne'.
As such, it would be used by family and guests for informal meals, with seating for at least 20 people.
Inlaid chamber
The inlaid panelling is some of the finest ever made for an English house. All the main panels and friezes are inlaid on a sumptuously large scale, with geometrical strap work and foliated scrolls which use inlays of poplar and bog oak. This is a must see room!
Dining room
This is on the 1st floor of the tower that was built in the 14th century. The oak panelling is mainly Elizabethan, and the portraits hung there are of the royal house of Stuart from the family’s exile with the Stewart court in France at Saint- Germaine.
Banqueting hall
In medieval times, the second floor of the tower was the solar tower. The western half now known as the banqueting hall is lit by a 14th-century three light window overlooking the courtyard and has a mid-16th-century fireplace and adze-hewn oak boards laid on massive diagonally laid joists.
Queen's room
This 16th-century chamber would have been a place of retreat, the more exclusive in that there was no connecting door between it and the dining room until the mid-18th century.
The room takes its name from Queen Elizabeth's coat of arms, carved in 1569 as the centrepiece of the over mantel.
THE ROCKERY
THE VEGETABLE GARDEN
On the day we were extremely lucky that we could take full advantage of the house and the grounds due to the warm and sunny weather. The rockery with all its different colours was beautiful.
We would like to remind you that we meet on the third Tuesday of each month at 1.30pm in the offices of Cancercare, Lakes Centre, Kendal, (unless we have organized an event).
We now also have a blog address, which has been set up by one of our members:
We can also be contacted on the following Mobile No: 07770851896.
This is the group’s mobile number, which is checked for messages on a daily basis.
