We had a day off today (and it was a very nice day for march 1st) so we took a drive out into Derbyshire and visited Calke Abbey.

It’s not an abbey. A priory once stood there, though. The name was given to the present house in 1808.

It’s a National Trust property, and is rather unique in that it has seen little change from the 19th century in places, and even less change since WWII. The house and estate was given to NT in 1985, to avoid £8M death duties, and before that many room shad been simply ignored for years. The trust has conserved, but not restored, the house, so it’s a time-capsule essentially, and it still appears as a house in decline rather than a shiny, restored one, which is actually far more interesting and atmospheric.