First stop of the day was Longleat Home and Safari Park. When I say safari park I actually mean an amusement park type experience with a 15th century manor house in front. So although there were elephants and lions on-site we just toured the house and formal gardens.

The hose was built from 1585 to 1601 has some crazy amount of rooms and 96 chimneys. It was rather large. We toured one side and the family lives on the other. The house belongs to the Marquess of Bath who just recently inherited the title and was at home while we were visiting. It was weird enough to be visiting a site that had all the trappings of a major zoo so I can’t imagine living there.

The house tour was really amazing. The house still held most of their pieces which had been sold to various museums but were loaned back to the house as long as they were displayed in public places.

The prior Marquess opened the house to visitors in the 1950’s. He was the first one to do so and was ridiculed as the mad marquess. It was long until more nobles were using this idea as a way to hold on their historic family homes. The safari park soon followed the opening of the house but so far other nobles have seem that as a step too far and have not followed suit.

Regardless of the theme park grounds the house had many fine Elizabethan touches that were nice to see. Along with the opulence of noble living up until the end of the last century.

We toured through the great hall which still had a medieval set up with a collection of civil war (not the American one) breastplates. The great hall had a gallery which in most houses has been taken down so it was nice to see where the musician set. From there it was more 19th century opulence with a great collection of art. Our tour guide was quick to point all the family information and personal items so I learned a lot about the hippy/painter 7th Marquess who never wore shoes and the current Marquess whose wife was on the England version of Dancing with the Stars – Strictly Come Dancing (a much better name). She did point out some of the portraits that our historians wanted us to see.

Sarah Gristwood one of the historians/authors on our tour wrote her first book on Arabella Stuart and one of her two known portraits is in this house. She told a story of going there for an event and talking to 7th Marquess (the hippy) about being excited to see the Arabella Stuart he replied he danced with her in the 60s. Being an artist you would have thought he had a better knowledge of the art he had is house but he did not. He didn’t go to his son’s wedding because his some took down some murals he had painted which were thought to distract from the collection displayed on the tours. (Look him up he looks like quite the character).

Queen Elizabeth II dined at the house so the table was set up for a formal gathering with the largest silver centerpiece I have ever seen. There were also multiple libraries and thousands of books. They have several books printed on the first printing press used in England so quite the outstanding collection.

Their prized procession is said to be the shirt Charles I wore when he was beheaded. The story goes that it was cold and he didn’t want people to mistake his shivers for fear so he asked to wear tow shirts. How one of them ended up at Longeat is likely a great story. What we go was one of Charles’ man servants who delivered it to someone connected to the house. They claim their is still blood stains but I really don’t see them.

After the tour of the house we grabbed a quick lunch (chocolate ice cream) and wandered through the gardens. We are right between frowning seasons. The tulips have come and gone (all except the late bloomers) and the roses had not yet started. There were some well manicured lawns but nothing incredible.

From Longleat we headed out to Salisbury Cathedral. We were a bit late and had to go through quickly but we caught al the highlights and everything with a Tudor connection.

They had the elaborate tomb of Jane Grey’s sister Katherine and her husband another sad tale for the family and a few other Tudor tombs. Two of the tombs were done in the realistic corpse look. I not a big fan of that style. If you are going to go through all that trouble and expense and have an elaborate sculpture for your tomb why not make it beautiful or at least something people would want to see.

Salisbury Cathedral also is home to one of the four copies of the Magna Carta. They claim to have the best and I have to agree. It was clear and readable – if you could read Latin.

We didn’t see anything else in Salisbury (just the gift shop) before heading back to the hotel. Nicola talked about Kane Grey on the bus and a new historian came in to discuss Queen Mary and her relationship with her father. She argued that anyone who stood up to Henry VIII and Anne Bolyn for all the years she did was not the weak timid person she is often described as during her Queen years. A very interesting talk that has made me want to read more about Mary.

Dinner was at the hotel tonight nothing super fancy but nicer than last night.