Weston Park in Shropshire is another place that I have visited this last summer but did not have time to see everything on offer.  Due to the most atrocious road works, reminiscent of those on the way to Hampton Court Palace, we arrived rather late in the day to Weston and did not have time to take in the gardens.

We did however manage to see the house itself.

Weston itself is mentioned way back in the Doomsday Book when it was held by Rainald de Bailleuil.  It was then held successively by the de Westons and the Myttons.

One thing that is pretty unique about Weston is that the supervision of the rebuilding of the present house back in 1671 was by Lady Wilbraham.  Which just goes to show that women were perfectly capable as men in some matters, architecture being one of them.

The house is now owned by the Weston Park Foundation, a charitable trust, having been gifted to them by Richard 7th Earn of Bradford in 1981.  The Earl is still actively involved in Weston Park.

Much of the interior decoration at Weston (not photographed) is due to Mary Montgomery who undertook the remodelling of the decor in the mid twentieth century.

The tour of the house begins in the Entrance Hall which displays numerous paintings of an equestrian theme.  I enjoyed this room as paintings with animals are amongst my favourites at any property. 

The next room on the tour is the Tapestry Room which remains dimly lit in order to preserve the tapestries from the harmful light of the sun.  You realise how small the world is when you hear that the tapestry sets were only made for five English clients and that of all the places where the others now are, one set is on display at Belvoir Castle, another place I have had occasion to visit.

The fireplace is well worth a look.  If you can take a look at the goat supports.  You can see the lizards at their feet which are said to echo the name Weston under Lizard.

Also on display here is the Bag of the Great Seal of England and the guidebook tells the story of how Sir Orlando Bridgeman melted the seal rather than betray his principles. 

The next room on the tour is The Drawing Room which contains a number of female portraits including one of Lady Elizabeth Wilbraham who is mentioned above as the person who rebuilt the present house.

From the female portraits of the Drawing Room we then come to the Library where the darker furnishings and male portraits on display give a far more masculine impression than the feminine Drawing Room.  

The tour then continues to the Dining Room which was actually created from several smaller rooms and involved the raising of the ceiling above.  This was accomplished by the third Earl during the 1860s.  The paintings on display here include those by van Dyck.

Once you have taken in all the paintings there you move on to the Marble Hall and the Salons.  Again remodelling was needed to produce what you see today as the Salons were originally an open courtyard.  They were enclosed in the late 19th century.

We then come to the Breakfast Room where the first thing to catch your eye is the magnificent chandelier.  It is hard to believe that this was restored after being found in pieces in the Temple of Diana.  Now on display it dates back to the late 18th century and is Georgian lead crystal.

There are also more paintings on display in the Breakfast room including one which appears to show a second face on it.  Unfortunately my memory is rather bad and I can't remember which painting it was.  If someone knows please let me know so I can add it here.