We drove up the beautiful driveway to the main carpark. We queued up for tickets and waited behind one lady who was having problems paying to get it while the other queue soldiered on. Before we left New Zealand we bought a New Zealand Historic Places Trust card which has a reciprocal relationship with the National Heritage in the UK. We showed the card and got free access to the mansion and gardens. Pamela asked if she and John could wait in the café but was told she wouldn’t be able to get in without a ticket. Fortunately, the nice lady told us not to tell anyone and let us all through for free!
We walked through the recently restored walled garden and met some people in costume who praised the lovely sedan chair on my back that the wee one was riding in. The characters walking around are based on individuals that actually existed in 1805 and the actors were briefed to only speak from that viewpoint so questions outside of that era would confuse them. That was a bit of fun, especially when John started asking one of them about the local beer.
On the path to the mansion was the Tower of Winds which was used primarily for entertaining only and sometimes as a gambling den! We walked across the paddock to the servants’ quarters which back on to the mansion. Most of the quarters have been converted into shops and cafés however one still exists in its original state. Our ticket didn’t give us access so we had to carry on.
Around the corner was the front entrance to the mansion which had fantastic columns and fancy steps which you could imagine royalty ascending in the past. The 5th Earl of Lichfield (Patrick Lichfield) was the most recent occupant and was renowned for being a famous photographer capturing amazing images of the Royal family and other celebrities like Joanna Lumley, Britt Eckland and Mick Jagger. Unfortunately, Patrick Lichfield died unexpectedly about 18 months ago and his successor only comes to the mansion on rare occasions.
As well as an exhibition of his photography, the inside of the mansion was fantastic from the dining room with its large elaborate blue ceilings with white sculpted figures which resemble Wedgwood china to the library with its secret concealed doors and mirrors. After we had a good walk through the mansion, we walked around the back to the gardens where we walked along tree and hedge lined footpaths to beautifully manicured terraces. Along the way were a variety of sculptures that had been created out of recycled bicycles which was a novel concept.
On the way through the gardens, we happened upon the notorious Shepherd’s Monument dating back to 1748 which is rumoured to have links to the Holy Grail story. It has a marble relief of two lovers listening intently to a shepherd and the inscription below the relief says O.U.O.S.V.A.V.V. above a line with D. M. separated by the length of the top line. A mystery!
We continued walking around the gardens and letting Will run himself out. The weather was warm and the skies were clear which was just perfect. We took heaps of photos and pondered over the sum of money required to buy such a place these days.
Once we arrived back at the car, we discovered we had spent almost four hours at Shugborough and Will had missed his midday sleep. He was very tired and we did our best to keep him awake for the journey back home. He crawled into his bed and fell asleep almost immediately and had a good long sleep. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and Lou had a kip on the conservatory. I helped John fold some fishnets which are the local church newsletters that Pamela and John help deliver around part of Penkridge.
When Lou woke up we walked down to the local supermarket and bought some ingredients for tortillas for dinner which with a pint of Tetley’s was perfect in the evening sun. When everyone else had gone to bed, we packed our bags again.
