One of the first things that CJ and I together with Helen did in Exeter was visit
A La Ronde, an 18th century 16-sided house located near
Lympstone,
Exmouth,
Devon in the ownership of the
National Trust. The house was built for two wonderfully interesting and eccentric spinster cousins, Jane and Mary Parminter. The diamond windows were the inspiration for the diamond windows in the last Harry Potter movie. If you ever get the opportunity this is a place to visit. CJ and I will be returning!
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| The Shell Gallery at the top of the house |
It looks fabulous! I will definitely have to put in my list of places to visit one day. Thanks for sharing the great photos.
ReplyDeleteHugs, Carol
You wouldn't be disappointed Carol.
DeleteThat is stunningly beautiful. Did you walk around and count all sixteen sides? I would have. Gosh if you keep on posting beautiful places of interest like these, I will never leave the UK, since I'd want to visit them all.
ReplyDeleteI'm a simple trusting soul, Virginia. I took them at their word. In any case I don't have sufficient fingers to use whilst walking round it.
DeleteGB you are too funny...here I was thinking I would place a stone on the first side and then walk around counting from there until I came back to the stone to make sure there were sixteen sides...my mind is curious like that.
DeleteWow.. Wonderful house :)) The chair looks great and the shell gallery very beautiful. Cheers, Ruby
ReplyDeleteHi Ruby. Good to see you back in Blogland.
DeleteWondefully quirky; I remember it from not too long ago on CJ's blog, I think.
ReplyDeleteWas it meant as a house to be lived in for the two sisters, or did they use it merely to display their treasures?
The English are very good at quirky! Yes CJ did blog about it. The house was lived in from when it was built in the 1790s until 1991. It was always lived in (and used as a showcase for the Parminters' treasures) by females with the exception of one male owner, The Rev Oswald Reichel who made some fundamental alterations in the 1890s.
DeleteQuirky has to be a euphemism - a little under-stated. I did like the chair though.
DeleteAs Georgia would say, that is way cool! There seems to be a smile in every corner!
ReplyDeleteI can hear Georgia saying it and she would be so right!
DeleteI would love the opportunity to visit this place. It's so unique!
ReplyDeletePerhaps one day! Who know Heather?
DeleteThis place is definitely on my wishlist if I ever get to visit that part of England. I can imagine J.K. Rowling getting some inspiration from there. I have to confess I don't remember the windows from the last Harry Potter movie (I'll have to watch it again to check what house they were on!)... But what did strike me already in CJ's post was the round room with the doors because that reminds me of the Department of Mysteries in the 5th HP book. And in the last one there is a cottage called Shell Cottage...
ReplyDeleteThere's also an outhouse with shells at nearby Bicton Park. I hadn't thought about it before but I can see why this house would supply lots of ideas for JKR.
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