Baddesley Clinton

It could have proved to be a bit of an anticlimax to visit Baddesley Clinton after a morning at Coughton Court, however although Baddesley gardens aren't as extensive as the Coughton ones, there's plenty to see and enjoy. We thought we'd have a look at the house just before it closed so we could see the windows from inside and were charmed by this small garden in front of the house, so perfectly presented:

 Apparently 'Baddesley Clinton is a remarkable survivor of a medieval moated manor house and was home to the Ferrers family for 500 years. At one time an artists' retreat, at another a haven for the persecuted, the house nevertheless passed from father to son for 12 generations before finally being sold in 1940.
 Once you’ve passed through the gatehouse you’ll enter the courtyard, with its yews, lawns and brick paths. It was created in 1889 by Edward Heneage Dering and has changed little since. The main charge of the Ferrers arms (seven mascles, or lozenges) is laid out on the lawn and is planted in its gold and red heraldic colours.'
I didn't realise the significance at the time of the 7 beds and gold and red colours.

 the 16th century heraldic glass is beautiful, introduced by Henry Ferrers in celebration of his ancestry.

 This is how Baddesley looks from outside, it's a moated manor house, a lovely idea isn't it? A moat.

 Here's a view of the bridge across the moat

 and the side of the house:

 I was fascinated by this window in the stables and bought the book on the house to read about it, however the book just says 'window and brickwork of the 18th century stables, showing the original size of the window.'

 And this is what the window looks like from inside the building:

 I can't find out anything about the stable windows, except they were smaller than the original ones!
I'll also include a couple of lovely plants in the corner of a greenhouse

 I would like to have spent longer than the 30 minutes we had to look at the house because there were great portraits painted by Rebecca Ferrers and other views of the interior and exterior of the house which gave a real insight into the life she lived with her husband Marmion and two other guests, the Derings who were invited to stay to help with the upkeep of the house. Rebecca lived in the house until her death in 1923 at the age of 93.
The volunteers in the house were very knowledgeable about the house, its contents and the people who'd lived there.