Moseley Old Hall

What a treat for Saturday - a day out!  Lynne (our Ormskirk friend) and her friend Marie came for a visit.  We went to visit a National Trust property near Wolverhampton - Moseley Old Hall.  The brochure says "The house that saved a king".  King Charles II hid in the priest hole at Moseley in 1651 when he fled the Battle of Worcester.  He managed to go on to escape to France with a price on his head.  I learned a snippet of English history.  The way the building looks today with its red brick is nothing like it's origins although inside you see the timber frame that shows the way it was built.  The Victorians built a brick "shell" around the building.  I guess it was their method of renovation.  I did manage to find a photo of a painting that shows the way it used to look.  My photo below shows the same entrance today.  We had a tour of the house which was very interesting.  Mick would have enjoyed it.

Courtesy of the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

It wasn't a bad day at all.... a bit cold but it didn't rain.  The gardens were lush and green with the promise of Spring wherever you looked.  Bulbs peeked out from the soil and the bare trees covered in buds.  I'm so much looking forward to the English gardens in Spring.  They'll remind me of the one we left behind.

We stopped at Hollybush Garden Centre for a very late lunch and then briefly at the supermarket before returning to the marina.  By the time we'd had a cup of tea it was 7pm and the girls headed off home.  An enjoyable day.


While I'm typing this (Sunday morning) it's snowing.  Not the huge floaty flakes of Germany but England's sloppy wind blown ones and they're just melting on impact.  Maybe it will improve as the weather forecast says there's more to come.

Photos : Moseley Old Hall.  I loved that knot garden!