Return to Athelhampton.

We were promised fair weather for last Saturday and foul for Sunday so took ourselves off on the Saturday to look around Athelhampton Hall, a 15th century manor house near to Dorchester. We have visited the gardens before but never been inside the hall.

We entered through an impressive front and inner door.

There were lovely things to discover.

The dining room is where the author Thomas Hardy and his second wife, Emma, were dining when they received news of the start of the First World War.

A very inviting bedroom upstairs with a beautiful fireplace.

To the right of the fireplace a doorway leads through to this small private chapel.

On the stairs leading to the library there is graffiti cut into the stonework. There is always someone wishing to leave their mark!

This painting is of the Great Court with the yew pyramids that were planted in the 1890's. They have since grown some and look magnificent. Yes, I took a lot of photos in the garden and I'm going to bore you with them!