After a very indulgent high tea, in the 1930s tearooms of Vaucluse House, a long and leisurely stroll through the rather grand main house and around its peaceful grounds offers a peek back into a long ago past.
Views of Vaucluse House.
Vaucluse House is one of very few historic homes in Sydney that is still surrounded by its original gardens and grounds. The house began as a single storey stone cottage built in 1805 but William Charles Wentworth, a politician, journalist and explorer, and his wife, Sarah, had a much grander vision for the house and land he acquired in 1827. Although that vision was never fully realised, it is a very stately home.
Today, as one of Sydney's Living Museums, Vaucluse House has been refurbished to reflect the times when it was the Wentworth family's home. Dark, heavy timbers and deep jewelled colours feature in the formal rooms. Any visitor would have been most impressed by such opulence. While the scale of such rooms was indeed grand, my favourite rooms were the scullery and kitchen. I loved the shelves of pots, pans, bottles and jelly moulds. The warm fire burning in the hearth. The bundles of herbs hanging from the ceiling. Far less formal with fewer airs and graces!
A warm fire burning in the kitchen.
Milky white old bottles.
Just one of many jelly moulds.
An old wooden butter churn.
Dried herbs hanging from the ceiling.
Rows of pots and pans hanging on a kitchen dresser.
Vaucluse House is surrounded by magnificent gardens and expansive grounds which are a peaceful and green oasis in what is now the the modern and bustling city of Sydney. We'll take a stroll through its beautiful gardens tomorrow ...
Meg
I find it all comforting Meg. Having pots and pans hanging in the kitchen, dark timber, fireplace all show me lived in home comforts and a real welcome feeling. I would feel at home there. Looking forward to our stroll through the gardens.
ReplyDeleteKylie
Oh, the gardens and grounds are just beautiful, Kylie! As I walked through them, I kept imagining long-ago ladies in their long dresses strolling the grounds with pretty parasols protecting them from the strong Australian sun. And I am still suffering serious kitchen garden envy! Until tomorrow ... Meg:)
Deletegorgeous kitchen!
ReplyDeletelove the idea of having the pots & pans hanging around, gives it that cozy country cottage feel. can imagine the smell of bread baking with that photo :))
can't wait for the garden walk
thanx for sharing
It's a shame my photo is blurry, Selina, but it's too far to go back and try again! The kitchen certainly had a warmth to it, not just from the fire in the hearth either. I imagine it was a very busy place in this home all those years ago. Meg:)
DeleteThankyou for sharing these pictures, just the sort of day out I love.
ReplyDeleteIt was such a special day out with my friends. A real treat! Meg:)
DeleteGreat photos Meg. My favourite room in any large old home is the library. Looking at the photos of the kitchen reminds me that generations of people lived happy, fulfilling lives without the mod cons we have today.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sherri. There were definitely no "mod cons" in this kitchen! As I walked through it, I imagined bread and dampers being made, butter being churned, produce from the garden being brought in, eggs from chickens. It would have been a hive of activity! Meg:)
DeleteGreat post, Meg. That fire looks so warm and comforting. I love historic homes. They have so much charm and character.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I love visiting historic homes too as there's so much to learn about how life was lived in the past. Meg:)
DeleteI adore historic homesteads, and like you I'm keen on the kitchens and the "working" rooms of the house too!
ReplyDeleteYes, those "working rooms" would have been such busy places a lot of the time. Fascinating how things were done long ago! Meg:)
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