Out and about

A lovely day out in the sunshine last Saturday saw me exploring historic sites in Warwickshire. First, the magnificent ruins of Kenilworth Castle – then on to a pair of neighbouring National Trust places (Baddesley Clinton and then Packwood House).

The former owners of the middle one of the trio – a C15th moated manor house – were clearly people after my own heart. In the kitchen, I found perhaps the finest example of a carpet beater I’ve seen in a long time, alongside a maid’s uniform:

(Most carpet beaters tend to be too large, and too flexible. It was a shame that the shop didn’t sell replicas of this more compact version!)

The entrance hall continued a theme, with a prominently displayed [and admittedly very-badly photographed!] whip next to what was surely (!) a cane rack:

And then upstairs, a rather wonderful set of library steps in the owner’s study – perfect for bending a girl over. But sadly I couldn’t get to photograph those – although it does remind me that I need to share some snapshots of my own recently-acquired library steps!