In late March we completed our trip to Cornwall by making a visit to Castle Drogo. It is famous for being the last castle built in England and so we thought we would make a slight detour to see it on our way home from Cornwall. It was built by Sir Edwin Lutyens for Julius Drewe, founder of the Home and Colonial Stores.
We were so enthralled by Castle Drogo that we decided we would see what we could of Lutyens's other houses (his war memorials, including the Cenotaph in London and the Thiepval memorial in France are well known). We soon discovered the Lutyens Society and before long were visiting Goddards, a handsome Lutyens house.
Goddards was built in 1898-1900 in Lutyens's traditional Surrey style using local materials. His client was Frederick Mirrielees whose objective was to built a holiday rest home for "ladies of small means", six visitors at a time.
The house passed through several owners after the death of Mirrielees and was eventually handed to the Landmark Trust in 1995 on a long lease.
At the head of this post is the view from the rear - there is no really imposing entrance. And below is the right hand wing.
Inside there is a large meeting room where heard more about the house and the Trust, and especially about the work of Gertrude Jekyll, the garden designer who worked with Lutyens on many of his commissions.
Perhaps the most surprising thing was the skittle alley.
The second part of the day's entertainment was a visit to Munstead Wood a few miles away: one of Lutyens's finest works based on the Surrey vernacular and the house whiuch he built for Gertrude Jekyll. We couldn't go in of course and the initial impression was of a very low-key building.
Mercifully however walking around the entrance on the left side, brought us to a fine view of the house - first from the corner ...
... and then squarely on the the rear elevations.
The extensive gardens of Munstead Wood and a couple of other local gardens were very pleasant, but less striking.
Finally we headed down the road towards St John the Baptist, Busbridge, passing the Thunder Box where Gertrude Jekyll would sit and watch the weather coming towards her.
The church of St John the Baptist proved to be a pleasant village church which was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott.
Inside there were some quite beautiful stained glass by Burne-Jones for Morris and Company.
To complete a wonderful day out our guide took on a short ramble on local roads which passed some other houses in the Lutyens style.
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