BELTON HOUSE, Lincolnshire. UK

Part of the water feature at the rear of the house opposite the fountain and orangery.

My latest trip out with my sketchbook was at the weekend when I travelled for just under two hours to reach Belton House, one of the finest 17th century country houses in Britain.

Built between 1685 and 1688 for Sir John Brownlow, the 3rd Baron of Great Humby, Belton stands in thousands of acres of parkland. The 3rd Earl Brownlow restored the house in the 1870s. Through marriage the property passed into the hands of the Cust family. John Cust was created Earl Brownlow and Viscount Alford in 1815.
The 7th Baron Brownlow gave Belton to The National Trust in 1984.

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(1)One of the many stone garden decorations situated at the rear of the house in formal setting close to the fountain and orangery (2)

Queen Adelaide stayed here and has a room named after her, King George III was entertained here and Edward VIII often stayed here before his abdication.
The author Edith Wharton was so taken by Belton House that she had a miniature version of it built in Massachusetts.

Belton has been used as a setting for many television series and dramas including 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Tom Jones', 'The Buccaneers' and 'Bleak House'.

The Chapel - Sketched from the balcony area where a cosy arrangement of upholstered chairs are situated.

The Chinese Room - Bed canopy.

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The Chinese Room is the room in which Edward VIII liked to stay when he visited Belton, sleeping in the mid 19th century bed with its glazed chintz hangings.

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This was the first time using my handbag sketch kit in a National Trust property. I have previously used my A4 Venezia sketchbook but could rarely sketch inside the properties because there is no seating for visitors and the book is too large to balance, hence missing out on sketching all those gorgeous, ornate interiors!

I decided something needed to change on my return from Wimpole Hall last week, so I took two brush pens, a pigment liner and an A6 spiral bound W&N sketchbook into Belton House with me and created the two monochrome sketches above.

My kit worked beautifully, the A6 was easy to hold, even with my sketch bag on my shoulder and the brush pens filled with ink added a little tone instantly, just what I was hoping for.

I created the colour sketches in the gardens directly into my A4 Venezia as usual and on my return home I tore out the interior sketches from the W&N, mounted them on black paper and stuck them into my A4 Venezia. They look great and everything is all together, just as I like it!

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More information on this property:
Heritage Trail

Stately Homes

Photographs of Belton by Lincolnian

WIMPOLE ESTATE, Royston, Cambridgeshire. UK

I first visited Wimpole Estate while accompanying my son's class on a school trip several years ago, as we walked through some of the grounds I remember looking over at the hall and promising myself I would return to this magnificent place, on Saturday, I did just that!

Wimpole Estate is huge and it's impossible to expect to see everything on one visit. The property was bequeathed to the National Trust in 1976 by the last owner, Elsie Bambridge. Therefore, like most of the NT properties, the hall opens at around 1pm making it impossible for me to visit during the week and still collect my children from school. The park and gardens open earlier which means I will be able to return to them with ease, so I chose to visit the house on Saturday.



I could easily spend a month at Wimpole and still find little corners of interest, architectural delights, unusual plants. There is also a farm so animals are also a subject here. The stables are no longer used for horses though, they contain shops now and this is where we sat to drink our last coffee of the day before leaving. I managed to make the sketch below while we drank and then coloured it from a photographic reference on my return home.

Sadly, I do not have any sketches from inside the hall to share with you which has made me re-think my National Trust sketching kit. I currently use an A4 Venezia sketchbook for all my NT properties, stately homes and churches. It is a beautiful book and although I am very happy with it's performance it is more than a tad clumsy to carry around these wonderful houses. No seating means standing to sketch and this is impossible with the A4 Venezia which results in me leaving without any sketches from the inside. Occasionally a steward has allowed me use of their chair and on one occasion I managed to stand and sketch on the right hand side of my large book but it is a problem and one I realised I would have to resolve this weekend after wanting desperately to record some of the rooms and realising I would have to leave with none of them.

I don't want to change books, I love the Venezia, so as a resolve I have decided to take an A6 wire-o sketchbook with me on future NT visits. While outside I shall work in my A4 and while inside I shall work in my A6, directly with pen which will help in my aim to cut the pencil guide out. I will then cut out the small sketches and mount them into my large book so everything is still together, which is important to me for a reason that is beyond me!

PECKOVER HOUSE, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. UK

I spent a sunny Tuesday afternoon at Peckover House, a National Trust property situated on North Brink in Wisbech. On this visit, I decided to make the most of the good weather and sketch around the wonderful gardens.

All of my sketches were created in my A4 Venezia sketchbook with an 'Artline' pen and some are coloured using a St. Petersburg set of watercolour pans.

ICKWORTH HOUSE, Suffolk. UK

"I have now got to my centre of rest...Sweet Ickworth"
- John, 1st Earl of Bristol.

Even as you approach Ickworth house it is easy to understand the Earl's comment and obvious passion for the land laid out by Capability Brown. The 1st Earl of Ickworth adapted a modest farmhouse at Ickworth which was known as Ickworth Lodge and remained the family home until 1829.

The 4th Earl-Bishop had very different ideas and, inspired by the monuments of Rome, he began to build what is now known as Ickworth House. The unique central rotunda and curvy wings reveal Frederick's eccentric personality and would provide, not only a family home within the rotunda, but the wings would become a showcase for his treasures collected on his Continental trips of 30 years. The foundations for today's Ickworth were laid in 1795 and the rotunda was virtually finished when the Earl -Bishop passed away in 1803, sadly he would never see his dream complete.

"The house...The house...The house..."
- Frederick, 4th Earl of Bristol, written on his sick bed in Naples in 1796.


It was the Earl-Bishop's Son, 1st Marquess of Bristol who completed the house with the help of architect John Field, adapting his Father's plans to suit his family requirements. The last major alterations were made to the house in 1909-1911 when the 4th Marquess commissioned A.C. Bloomfield to remodel the entrance hall and staircase. The property passed to the National Trust in 1956.



Ickworth had a wonderful feel about it, children played, families laughed and had spread their picnics across the lawn in front of the house. Unrestricting, inviting and decadent. Rich yet homely and bulging with character and interest. I found myself repeating the words 'stunning' and 'beautiful' over and over again, room to room, treasure to treasure.

The Pompeian room was completed in 1879 when the 3rd Marquess employed Penrose & Grace to decorate it. The scheme is based on Roman wall-paintings uncovered in 1777 at the Villa Negroni on the Esquiline Hill in Rome. These had a special connection with the family because the Earl-Bishop had purchased some of the original frescoes while in Italy at the time of their discovery. It's a remarkable room within a remarkable house.

Joan and I stayed at the house, managing to leave just enough time for a coffee in the orangery before closing. The grounds remained open so we ventured towards the church we had seen on the brochure map.

St Mary's church sits just behind Ickworth house, well hidden by one of the large trees that decorate the land. Unfortunately it is now redeemed 'unsafe', the one feature of Ickworth now inaccessible to the public. We took the opportunity to rest a while and sat upon the grass opposite to create what would be our final sketch at Ickworth House.



We made our way back to the car through the tree-lined pathway, squirrels busying around us as Ickworth disappeared behind the foliage. Our drive back was full of conversation and the roads were surprisingly clear for a bank holiday Sunday.

How lucky we are to have seen such wonderful places in the company of such treasured friendship.

MELFORD HALL, Suffolk, UK

Sir William Cordell acquired Melford after the Dissolution of the Monasteries and entertained Queen Elizabeth 1 there in 1578, a stained glass window now marks her visit.
Since 1786 Melford Hall has been the home of the Hyde Parkers, a distinguished naval family who fought hard and died for their country. Naval art decorate the walls and spoils of battles fill the house. In 1942 fire struck Melford but recovery was quick and a repaired Melford was transferred to the National Trust in 1960.



In the guide book I purchased during my visit, Sir Richard Hyde Parker speaks of growing up at Melford, with memories dating back as far as 1942, watching the house burning as a child of five years. He speaks so warmly of Melford and one feels a true 'family' atmosphere within his words. I am sorry to say I did not feel this warmth at Melford on my visit, instead the house, despite it's treasures and memories, felt empty and cold. Doorways were roped off forbidding access to the very few rooms on show making it difficult to see anything among the crowds that had all piled in together as the large Tudor doors were opened at 1.30pm. Such a large house with such a wonderful history, I was disappointed to find that the Beatrix Potter room was so small but to be able to look upon many original watercolour works and notebooks in her hand more than supplemented the size of the room.



Beatrix Potter was a cousin of Ethel, Lady Hyde Parker, the Grandmother of the present Baronet. Lady Ulla Hyde Parker refers to her as 'Cousin Beattie' and remembers her drawing some of the Jeremy Fisher illustrations at Melford. Potter's work is so fine I would find it hard to believe she worked with any other size of brush than a 000, such amazing detail and character, perfection gained from a timeless study of nature.

I felt Melford needed more than it could offer, it watched as visitors filled it and still longed for a family to feed it's walls with love.

PECKOVER HOUSE, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. UK

Peckover House is perfectly positioned in the centre of North Brink and is the finest property in Wisbech.

It was built in 1722 and bought by Jonathan Peckover at the end of the 18th century. The Peckover’s, a Quaker banking family, presented the building to the National Trust in 1948. The outside of the house gives little idea of the elaborate and elegant interior of fine panelled rooms, Georgian fireplaces with carved over-mantels and ornate plaster decorations.

At the back of the house is a beautiful walled garden with interesting and rare trees, delightful summer houses and fruiting orange trees, thought to be 300 years old. Unfortunately, the cold weather made sketching in the garden most impractical during this visit.

The Library is an oval shaped room boasting an area of 52x21 feet and curved walls at each end.


Joan and I sketched our way through the house using the little time we had at Peckover wisely. Using my 9x12" Venezia sketchbook, I decided to build a collection of patterns and textures that caught my eye, much like a small library to remind me of all the beautiful things I just didn't have the time to create large sketches of but that unmistakably shouted "Peckover House" to me.

Peckover is probably the closest National Trust house to me and I frequently shop in the Wisbech area which made the idea of becoming a National Trust member all the more appealing. As a member I can access all NT premises, parks and gardens free of charge and the thought of being able to 'pop' into Peckover next time I am in Town, to view it through the upcoming seasons and all at no cost was enough to tempt me to join!

I'm sure you will see much more of Peckover in my sketchbooks throughout the year!