DOOR TO NOWHERE

Take a closer look at the door above.  The building behind is a large and impressive Stable block from when the House to which it belongs was in it’s heyday.

Yep, it goes nowhere and is a false door painted into the gap.  Most people pass it by without a second look but in truth it is the best bit of camouflage painting I have seen.

In fact most people visiting Calke Abbey in South Derbyshire head straight down to the House and do not give the Stable Block a second glance….and that is a shame.  Certainly the House is well worth a visit, it has been left very much as it was when the family gave up the house to the National Trust. It provides a glimpse of life in times long gone.

But the Stable Block is important in it’s own right.  A substantial group of buildings around a cobbled stable square and very befitting for the importance of the Estate.  There are obviously stables for a good number of horses plus storage for the carriages that went with them and an indoor riding school.  But explore further and you will find a Blacksmiths, a Butchery, Tack rooms and even a Fire Station plus lots of other rooms for who knows what, all with that rich musty smell of living history.

The House at Calke Abbey is situated in a dip beneath the Stables and well sheltered from the weather. It also kept the House very separate from the bustle of the Stables.

The Parkland that surrounds the house is very well wooded but on the 23rd of November  the green leaves still hang stubbornly onto their trees, true some have lost all their leaves but autumn colours have so far (even on Exotics) largely past us by here in the Midlands.

23rd November