Stanford Hall at Lutterworth in Leicestershire is in a beautiful setting that it popular with handgliders and therefore it seems appropriate that the Hall should also contain the Percy Pilcher Museum which contains a replica of "The Hawk", the flying machine in which Lieutenant Percy Pilcher RN was killed at Stanford in 1899.

I did not expect to find this particular display of the history of flight in the area and it was a welcome addition to the main hall.
 
 

The Hall itself is toured with a personal guide who takes you around the small but lavish property.

The tour begins in my favourite room of any house, The Library.  There are about 5,000 books in the Stanford Hall library.  I own almost 1,000 books myself so I have a lot of catching up to do.  Not to mention the building of an extension to house them all :-)

Like many of the rooms in the Hall the Library is regularly used by the family, particularly in the winter months when the house is closed to the public.
 
 

The tour continues along the Marble Passage where there are portraits on display which the guide can tell you the stories behind.

One of the most notable is a portrait of The Cardinal Duke of York, the last of the male line of Royal Stuarts and the younger brother of Bonnie Prince Charlie, the Young Pretender.

The next room on the tour is the beautiful and spacious Ballroom which contains several portraits from the Stuart Collection for which the house is famous.  Like the tourguide who conducted the tour I was on I have a soft spot for the Stuart Monarchs and find them the most interesting and entertaining collection of individuals to have come from a single family.

The tour continues to the Green Drawing Room which contains, amongst other things, a portrait of Elizabeth Cave who was responsible for the building of the stable block, the same building which now houses the Percy Pilcher Museum.  There are also more portraits from the Stuart Collection on view in this room.

The Grey Drawing Room is the next stop which contains more of the Stuart Collection together with family portraits.
 
 

The tour continues on the upper floor of the housel which is accessed by way of the Flying Staircase.  This unusually named staircase is cantilevered and does not require additional support. However iron posts were added when the house was opened to the public as a safety precaution.  Lined with more portraits of family members the staircase begins the contrast that is the upper level of the house.

The first room is the Bachelors' Room which is darkly furnished and decorated with a 17th Century Flemish Tapestry.

The South East Bedroom is next and is also much darker in furnishings than the lower floor of the house.  Again there is a 17th century Flemish tapestry adorning the wall, this one depicting a Roman battle scene.
 
 

The upper floor of the house is exited by way of the East Staircase which I remember much more disinctly than the Flying Staircase as I fell down it.  Not only embarrassing but very painful too.  There are pictures lining the walls of this staircase too, however they do not really stick in my mind, my passing them so quickly.  This is what comes of loose sandles and thick stair carpets, not a good combination.

The final room of the tour is the Old Dining Room which displays amongst other things the hidden portrait of a 17th Century Dutch Lady.  This picture was originally believed to be of Elizabeth of York.  However an x-ray revealed the hidden painting beneath the portrait.  A restoration process was used to reveal the hidden picture and this is now on display for the public.

This final room also contains a number of items of family clothing from past centuries as far back as 1610 and these are also on display for the public to view.

All in all a great way to spend the afternoon although there is not enough to keep you busy all day.  However if you are close by this is ideal as you can then move on to a similar place for the rest of the day.  For myself however it was a long journey to reach Stanford Hall and early evening before I left.