On our quest to get out of the continual heavy rain on our travels around Devon last week, we came across a little treasure of a place called Castle Drogo. I understand that it was the very last castle ever to be built in England (early first half of the 20th century) and some place it is too.
The architect was the famous Edwin Lutyens, known for all kinds of buildings including Queen Mary's Dolls House. I did take photos of the exterior of the castle in the rain but sadly none came out brilliantly - so won't bore you with them. Similarly my attempt to take photos of two dolls houses inside Castle Drogo were not much better but I will show you the best of the bunch and have added links further down on here, so that you can view proper official National Trust photos too. Visitors were not allowed to take flash photography inside Castle Drogo so I had to make do with taking photos in natural light along with the aid of a bit of computer magic!
I didn't catch the significance of this little treasure but the front was open and one could view inside so a little easier to photograph. There were snippets of information about how one goes about restoration of an old dolls house...very interesting! I found the antique fixtures and fittings plus the style of decor fascinating too.
Mary Drewe's Dolls House
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| A bedroom at the front of the house. |
However, the massive dolls house found at the end of the Service Corridor was simply stunning. It was made for Mary Drewe, the eldest of the two daughters of the owner of Castle Drogo and was built by the estate's carpenter in 1906. It even had running water! However the little house frontage was closed so one had to be content with peeking through the front windows. My attempt at photography through the glass windows were not great but will show you anyway.
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| A brief peek at the dining room. |
I think this is the dining room.....you can't see much as the light was reflecting on the glass....so I have included a second photo of the same room below.....not sure it is much better, sorry.
After a bit of Googling I found this wonderful link so that you can see some brilliant official photos of Mary Drewe's dolls house. Do go take a look, it's magnificent!
Plus if you click on the official Castle Drogo website, there is a photo of the interior of this dolls house within the slide show.
Bunty House
Last but not least, tucked away in the magnificent and vast gardens on the Castle Drogo estate is the most exquisite little Wendy house I think I have ever seen. This was made for Frances Drew, sister of Mary. Just look at the garden too......isn't it magical?
If you are ever in south Devon I can highly recommend a vist to Castle Drago....you will love it!