Read this blog: The one where Robert tries his hand at milling
Sunday 7th September 2025
We set off for another day of cultural visits to make the most of Matilda’s life time membership of the National Trust.
First on Matilda’s route was Knightshayes – a house built in the 19th century gothic revival style for Sir John Heathcoat Amory. The grand stable block was built in 1871.
It now houses a café and shops and people who know Matilda will understand that the café is always an important part of the experience.
We arrived before we could enter the house and so took a stroll around the kitchen garden. Walled kitchen gardens were designed to create warm micro-climates and thereby extend the growing season so that the owners/residents could enjoy fresh produce beyond the usual natural season for crops.
From the late 1880s until the 1970s the vast kitchen garden was used to grow crops of vegetables, fruit and herbs, but subsequently fell into disrepair. In the 1970s the gates were locked and the garden was neglected and used for sheep grazing until the National Trust started restorations.
Now, following an extensive garden restoration after the National Trust took over the property the original layout has been reinstated. When we visited the sunflowers were looking resplendent. The walls and turrets of the garden were designed by William Burges, in keeping with the original style of house. But more of that later.
Once we were permitted entry at the designated time we found the house to be a beautiful, welcoming home.
Initially, Sir John Heathcoat Amory commissioned William Burgess – an architect who bridged the Pre-Raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts movement – to design a new home for his family.
We loved the opulent and detailed decoration and it reminded us of Cardiff Castle so it was no surprise to discover that this had also been one of Burgess’ commissions.
Sadly, Sir John Heathcoat Amory found Burgess’ designs to be too ornate and sumptuous and Burgess was replaced by John Dibblee Grace who was told to tone down the earlier designs.
Unfortunately, the Heathcoat Amory family seem not to have appreciated the groundbreaking work done for them by either of these eminent architects. Many of the decorative details were covered up and ceilings were hidden behind false ones.
Successive generations forgot about about alterations to the extent that, when the National Trust inherited the property in 1972 and began restoration work, the ornate decorative ceilings which were exposed were entirely unexpected.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale was filmed at Basildon Park in Berkshire and Claydon in Buckinghamshire, two properties cared for by the National Trust. Although there was no connection to Knightshayes a sign in the café invited visitors “to celebrate the film’s release in cinemas, by indulging in a Golden Bramley Apple Crumble scone, with delicious apple compote and whipped custard?” Although not entirely convinced by this tenuous link, Matilda nevertheless obliged – see Dish of the day.
Even the gates and topiary here are stylish.
There is also a second café in a conservatory for those who need reviving part way round.
From here we drove to Dunster. Matilda remembered the octagonal Yarn Market when she stayed in this picturesque market town with her mother on a visit as a teenager but did not remember visiting either the castle or the mill. The National Trust now manages both these properties.
Dunster Working Watermill, to give it its full title, is a restored 18th-century, double-overshot mill on the River Avill located within the grounds of Dunster Castle.
When we visited it was home to a colony of bats.
As the name implies, the mill is fully functional and boasts three floors of traditional machinery and a museum of farming tools [see Video of the day].
It produces organic stoneground flour and has milling days. Although the mill was not running on the day we visited, Robert tried his hand at milling.
Dunster Castle was originally a motte and bailey fortification which was converted into a lavish country home during the 19th century.
The redevelopment created a Gothic and picturesque building more in tune with Victorian tastes.
There is also a riverside wooded garden and bowling green.
The architect Anthony Salvin was commissioned to design the renovations and the work was undertaken between 1868 and 1872. The intention was to create a striking building which looked as though it had grown organically over time and the castle is intentionally asymmetrical.
The interior changes included ornate decoration and . . .
. . . a new library and billiard room were created.
The redevelopment also included building an underground reservoir able to hold 40,000 imperial gallons (180,000 litres) of water to provide running water for the castle, gardens and village. You can now enter the subterranean reservoir.
The terraced garden is home to Mediterranean and subtropical plants, similar to those seen in the Tresco Abbey Gardens.
The 17th-century stables at Dunster Castle are some of the oldest surviving intact stable blocks in England and feature original timber beams, cobbled flooring, and ornate stall dividers. The stables now house the National Trust shop.
From here we drove to Coleridge Cottage, where the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge lived with this wife and children between 1797 and 1799 during which time he wrote “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and “Kubla Khan”.
Appropriately, the pub opposite is named The Ancient Mariner but it was sadly not as historic and atmospheric as we had hoped. Nevertheless, Matilda was very satisfied with the four stamps in her National Trust passport.
Video of the day:
Selfie of the day:
Dish of the day:
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