Date/Time
Date(s) - 23/05/2024
9:30 am - 6:30 pm
Location
Coach pick outside Leicester Botanic Gardens
Depart from Glebe Road, Oadby (LE2 2LD) at 9.30am or Hoby Village Hall (LE14 3DT) at 10.00am
Own packed lunch
After various setbacks organising the May event, we have settled on Grimsthorpe Castle and Gardens, a relatively near great house we have not yet visited. A second pick up has been arranged at Hoby Village Hall for this visit. Please make sure you make it clear when booking where you wish to be picked up.
We do not usually include the house in our garden visits but a Friend of the Trust, who had visited, thought that on this occasion the house should be included. The Castle has been in the Willoughby de Eresby family for 500 years. It is a marriage of architectural styles, from the Tudor south façade to the Baroque splendour of the north front, by Sir John Vanbrugh. Simon Jenkins describes Grimsthorpe as one of the great houses of England, a Vanbrugh masterpiece, and the northern Blenheim, while Pevsner sees the Great Hall as Vanbrugh’s finest room. Another important feature is the Chinese Drawing Room he describes as an exquisite chamber.
The gardens at Grimsthorpe castle are set in nearly 65 acres and include lawns, topiary, formal hedges, herbaceous borders, parterre, and an interesting productive kitchen garden. To end our visit we have arranged a coach tour of the large surrounding estate, which includes a Capability Brown landscape. It should be an interesting day.
More information here.
9.30 am Depart from Glebe Road
10.00 am Pick up at Hoby Village Hall
11.00 am Coffee on arrival at Grimsthorpe
11.30 am Tour of the Castle
1.00 pm Lunch We can eat our packed lunches in the Barn and then free time to explore the gardens
3.45 pm Coach tour of the park land
4.45 pm Depart for Leicester
Cost: Friends £49.00 Guests £51.00
(Includes coffee on arrival, tour of the Castle and coach tour of the park land)
For further information contact Elizabeth. (Telephone 01162705711)
If it’s necessary to make contact on the day of a visit: Fliss 07788644887 or Deb 07721855285
Please book, online or by post, by Monday 13th May 2024 at the latest.
To book and pay online:
Copy and paste this form into an email, complete and send to Fliss at flisshector@gmail.com
Grimsthorpe Castle and Gardens, Thursday 23rd May 2024
Name……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Address……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Telephone……………………………………. Email……………………………………………………………….
Pick up from Glebe Road ………. Hoby Village Hall ………
Please reserve places for …. Friends @ £49.00 ..… Guests @ £51.00
Total £…………. (Paid by bank transfer)
Pay by bank transfer to Leicestershire and Rutland Gardens Trust 30-18-69 00033098 Reference: GRM followed by your surname
Booking and Payment by post :
Download, print and complete the booking form and pay by bank transfer or cheque.