Greys Court
There is something peculiarly English about setting off for a day trip around a couple of National Trust properties on a day of unrelenting rain. Shall we? Shan’t we? We may as well. But to steel ourselves for the weather and because a combination of driving conditions and navigational deficiencies meant the journey to the environs of Henley-upon-Thames took longer than it should we stopped off at a splendid (and ironically named) pub, The Rising Sun, in Witheridge Hill. Fortified with Brakspear’s Bitter and Oxford Gold and delicious fish and chips, we were ready to take on whatever the elements chose to throw at us.
Greys Court is on the southern end of the Chilterns in a village called Rotherfield Greys. For obvious reasons we gave the woodland walks a wide berth and the walled gardens and 16th century water-wheel which was turned by a donkey a cursory inspection and headed for the dryness of the house. And what a delightful house it was too – cosy, warm, light and airy. It had the feel of a real home, having been occupied by Lady Brunner until 2003.
For me the highlights were the beautiful plaster work in the interiors, mainly but not exclusively on the ceilings. The many windows provided stunning views over the rolling countryside and the mix of Tudor, 18th century features and a more modern touch was enchanting. It is a compact house which can be gone round in around 45 minutes. Within the gardens are the remains of an old tower, built in 1347 and the last remnants of the castle that was on the site.
The place originally belonged to the de Greys and they had it for around 400 years, after the original land grant to Anchetil de Greye, who came over with the Normans. Alas, one of the de Greys backed the wrong horse in the War of the Roses and the property then passed to the Knollys family. It was Robert Knollys who demolished the old castle and built the present property.
Nuffield Place
Seven miles further on is Nuffield Place which was home of the car manufacturer, William Morris. He bought the pile in 1933 from Oswald Milne who built it in 1914 and lived there until his death in 1963. The house has been tastefully restored to reflect how it would have looked in the 1930s with personal bric-a-brac and newspapers detailing key moments in his career and his times littered around.
The house is not stunning but is rather modest considering Morris was one of the richest men of his time and homely. The beautifully oak-panelled billiard room has the faint whiff of tobacco – Morris was a prolific smoker – and the house is a testimony to his love of clocks and oriental art. In his bedroom is a cupboard which once opened reveals a workbench and pretty much any tool you could imagine. This arrangement allowed him to work on an idea without disturbing his wife and in a way that the maids could tidy up around him. There are some fine examples of oriental needlework in Morris’ wife’s bedroom and a gorgeous silk rug in the sitting room – we had to pad around with blue plastic elasticated bags around our feet to protect it from our sodden feet. Inevitably, there was a splendid old Wolseley proudly on display in an outside garage.
The house gave us an interesting insight into the man who put British motoring on the map and welcome relief from the rain.
windowthroughtime 