Yesterday we took a trip to the last castle built in England. Built between 1911 and 1930 by a multi-millionaire.
Google maps suggested that the quickest route was via Dartmoor.
The livestock had other ideas.
Feeling immediately at home in a castle is not, I would suggest a normal feeling. But that was exactly the feeling as I entered Castle Drogo.
Castle Drogo took 21 years to build being finished in 1931. My Granddad took 10 years to build a three bedroom bungalow between 1920 and 1930.
Hugely different in scale and cost, the similarities made the Castle feel comfy.
The millionaire who built the castle owned the Home and Colonial stores, forerunner of supermarkets. My grandparents shopped at Home and Colonial. The architect and garden designer were aspirational designers of their day. Edward Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyl
Quiet corners of a massive castle were replicated in a small bungalow.
Which in turn, unknowingly until yesterday,my we replicated when we converted the actual Old Mortuary.
My Granddad was an avid gardener and very much a follower of Gertrude Jekyl. I still have one or two old terracotta pots with their rims painted white which she advocated and he copied. He also planted his front garden in her ‘swathes of colour’ style. Replicated yesterday at a castle in Devon but to me it felt like a very familiar acre of Essex garden design.
Below are some links to actual useful information about Castle Drogo should you care to know more.
Castle Drogo
https://devongardenstrust.org.uk/gardens/castle-drogo
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/devon/castle-drogo
The whole place was a complete surprise to us. We went because it got good reviews as being dog friendly, and it was.
There was even a dog portrait.
Which of course took me to an artists entries on Google.
Woefully under researched, of course, as a woman artist would be of those times.
Sometimes a plan picked for one reason becomes fascinating for a world of reasons. I love trying hats.
theoldmortuary.design 