Bourton House
Located in the village of Burton-on-the-Hill, in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, Bourton House is an eighteenth-century manor house with a sixteenth-century Tithe Barn. It is surrounded by a three-acre garden and a seven-acre walled pasture that is now planted with specimen trees. The Jacobean-style house was originally built in 1598 and was shortly thereafter purchased by the wealthy London lawyer Sir Nicholas Overbury. There is a dark history involving Overbury's son, which includes adultery and murder. It is quite a convoluted story, and I don't believe any of the shady dealings actually took place at Bourton House. You can read the story here and decide for yourself. An interesting note about these manor houses and gardens is that the front of the houses usually faced the back of the property. At least that was the case with Hidcote and Kiftsgate . The same here with Bourton House, where the entrance to the property (right next to a busy street) contained a litt...
and it is one of my favorites. I remember being in awe when I first saw this book and was mesmerized by the photographs as well as reading about Tudor's lifestyle. She loved the old times and lived that way. She dressed in old-timey clothing (making her own and buying them in antique stores), raised chickens and cows, and made her own candles which illuminated her farmhouse that was built by her son. Her garden is full of stone terraces that overflow with foxgloves, peonies, roses and all kinds of flowers. She also loved Corgis and had a menagerie of them. She believed she was the reincarnation of a sea captain's wife and her obituary says that she intended to go back to the 1830s when she died!
Yes she was very fascinating wasn't she... Wouldn't it have been a treat to meet her and tour her gardens!
ReplyDeleteShe certainly lived her life on her own terms and we are the ones who are better for it.
ReplyDeleteHi Phillip,
ReplyDeleteSomething that struck me from one of the books was that her son built the house with everything in proportion to Tasha Tudor's height - so that even the ceilings were reachable.
A unique personality, for sure!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
I, too, was saddened to learn of Tasha Tudor's passing. She was such an interesting person. Her garden was an inspiration, wasn't it?
ReplyDeleteJan
Always Growing
she always seemed to me the embodiment of a fairytale. Thanks for sharing this, Phillip. She really understood the important things in life. I am glad you appreciated her, too.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Philip
Oh my gosh I hadn't heard that she died. She was always an inspiration to me...she has certainly left her mark on the world.
ReplyDeleteSoooo you blog is the reason I have been thinkng about Tasha Tudor? I had childhood books on my mind all morning and just made a post about them. I was wondering why Tasha Tudor was on my mind. It's all your fault! LOL..I loved her and use to sell her illustrations on eBay. They were the most requested. She was wonderful.
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