I visited Shugborough as a last minute decision and was therefore unsure what to expect when I arrived.  The reason it was last minute is a lesson to all to phone ahead and check information before leaving.  I had been planning on visiting Mosley Old Hall but found that my 2000 copy of Hudsons had the incorrect information for opening times and when I arrived there after visiting Boscobel House it was closed. So as it was not too far away we headed for the Shugborough Estate.

The picture above is of the front of the house and is a postcard image.  The colonnaded porch has ten columns and was designed by Samuel Wyatt.  This property like Sudbury Hall became the property of the National Trust in the 1960s when it was offered in part payment of death duties.  The Hall is still lived in today by Patrick Lichfield, the 5th Earl of Lichfield, who is a well known photographer who even I had heard of before visiting Shugborough.

You enter the property through The Hall and the guidebook clearly shows with maps and arrows what direction to take through the property.  Like the guidebook of Windsor Castle this one is also clearly marked so that you can see exactly what you are viewing in the rooms by way of pictures and sculptures.

You then enter the Bust Parlour which formerly contained Thomas Anson's collection of antique sculpture before its sale in 1842.

You then move on to a small ante-room which links the early part of the house with Thomas Wright's pavilion which was added during the 18th century.  

You then move on to the Dining Room. This room was restored to what you see today in 1990 when even the paintings were restored.  The work was long overdue on the room itself and things came to a head when a small part of the ceiling in this room collapsed.

You then move on to the Blue Drawing Room which contains the majority of the Chinese collections.

The Red Drawing Room is said to be the most impressive room in the house and was created by Samuel Wyatt in 1794.  Joseph Rose, the younger was responsible for the ceiling decoration.  And for the eagle-eyed, take a look at the large mirrors in the room and see if you can spot the joins.

Coming out of the Red Drawing Room you come into the Swallow Passage, named for the swallows which nest beneath its verandah.  

You then come to the main staircase of the house.  At the foot of the staircase is a Vanderbank tapestry from a set known as the Elements.  This one is Earth but the whereabouts of the others are unknown...any ideas?  If you know where they are please do drop me a line and I will see if I can visit them too and note it here for others who are curious.

The next room is not always open to the public because it is the present families sitting room.  The room is called the Bird Room because it used to house the display of stuffed birds collected by the 3rd Earl. 

The State Sitting Room and State Bedroom are the next rooms on the tour and at the time of my visit you could see the work which has been undertaken to restore the room to its former splendour.  The room was once occupied by Princess Victoria and her mother the Duchess of Kent when they visited in 1832.

Be sure not to miss the Lichfield at Home display rooms which are about the life and work of the present Earl, including some of his photographs on display.

The tour then continues with the Saloon with its views over the terrace and the gardens.  This room was extended by Samuel Wyatt in the early nineteenth century to give a larger room for the family to entertain in.

You can then see Chinese porcelain on display in the Verandah Room and a model of the HMS Centurion in which Admiral George Anson circumnavigated the globe.

You then go on to the Library which uses concealed doors and mirrors to make the room appear to have more bookshelves than are actually there.

Finally you reach the Anson Room a room which is still occasionally used by the family and contains memorabilia of the life of Admiral George Anson.

Shugborough also offers the Staffordshire County Museum and Restored Servant's Quarters.  Here you can walk through various set ups from the past including a brewhouse, a street, a schoolroom, kitchen and more.  I am afraid that my visit through this part of the Estate was rather whirlwind due to my arriving late in the day but I am sure there is plenty here to make a full day of the visit.

The Park Farm is something I did not get to see at all, it may not have been open because of the foot and mouth crisis, but I did not have time to check.

And not forgetting of course the gardens, some of which are pictured above.  However there are not only the formal gardens, but also the grounds containing monuments if you have the time to look for them.  There is the Doric Temple and the Tower of the Winds, the Chinese House, The Ruin and the Shepherd's Monument.  Assuming the grounds are open to the public again these are all around the Estate to view.

There is also the grade 1 historic formal garden which is well kept and said to reflect the seasons.

All in all this is a place where you really need the whole day in which to see everything.