National Trust Baddesley Clinton

Simply captivating!

Tuesday 21st May

NT members Coach fare �19 per person
Non-NT members Entrance & Coach fare �30 per person
9:15-9:30am departure, leaving for home at 4pm

This house is simply captivating: a moated, intimate manor, set within the heart of the ancient Forest
of Arden, eight miles from Warwick. Most of the existing building was built by Henry Ferrers, a
lawyer, diarist and antiquarian, in the late 16th century. The house is packed with history � it was a
sanctuary for persecuted Roman Catholics who fled here, secreted amongst its many hiding places,
from priest-hunters determined to track them down. You can still see a priest-hole in the floor of
the kitchen, one of the ingenious hidden crannies designed by Nicholas Owen, a specialist in their
creation.
There are lovely gardens, too, including woodlands, a walk round the lake, and a new vegetable area.
Indeed, the restaurant uses many of the manor�s own vegetables in soups and meals; plus you�ve got
the usual NT shop, and a very well-stocked second-hand bookshop (no, Katie; we�ve got more than
enough already).
As a bonus, you might see the Lady in Grey � sometimes carrying a candle � or something ghostly in
the library, where watering-cans have been known to be overturned. (No, we�ve no idea why there
would be watering cans in the library, either.) Alternatively, there are plenty of stewards around to
answer questions.