My theme for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge is – Places I Have Been. After some contemplation I decided to limit it to Places I Have been in the UK, this is because I have been to far more places in the UK and have very limited experience of places outside of the UK. I hope you enjoy my post.

A la RONDE

I thought it would be appropriate to begin with this unusual 16 sided property as it belonged to two cousins in the late 17th Century who loved to travel. The cousins were Jane Parminter, and her orphaned cousin Mary Parminter. They filled the property with items they collected on their travels around Europe. They were also very creative and made some beautiful crafts, which are also on display.

Initially the tour was a group of four ladies, Jane, her sister Elizabeth, cousin Mary and a friend, whose name I am not sure of. One of the party kept a journal of their travels but only the first six weeks of the journal is in tact which of course leads some unanswered questions. What is known is that one of the places visited was Versailles, and they saw Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette from a distance. There are also contemporary reports that the Parminter party of ladies also climbed the Alpine Peak, Mont Buet in 1786. They were the first ladies to climb a peak of 3000 meters. Mont Buet is known locally as Parminter Peak in honour of those wonderful ladies.

It is understood that the tour would have taken the ladies a decade to complete, however it was not possible for them to complete this in one 10 year block. It is known that Elizabeth was suffering from poor health and returned to London in 1788 and that she sadly passed away at a young age not long after, and Jane and Mary continued the tour following her death.

In 1796 Jane and Mary purchased land in Withycombe Raleigh and construction of A la Ronde began. The exact inspiration for A la Ronde is unknown but what we do know is that the European Tour Jane and Mary completed had a remarkable impact on the interior. One of the fascinating things about the property is the Shell Gallery. It is wondered whether a property on the island of Isola la Bella, that had a shell grotto was the inspiration for this piece of interior design.

A la Ronde now belongs to the National Trust and I believe it is open to visitors for most of the year but you can find more information on the National Trust website >>>Here<<<

Even though it has been nearly 10 years since I visited A la Ronde, its impact has always stayed with me. I loved all their treasures and how creative both Jane and Mary were. Below is one of my favourite little treasures which was on display. I was amazed by how detailed the work was. Look how beautifully placed all those shells are.

I hope you have enjoyed my first post from the blogging from A to Z challenge. All of the photos in this post are my own but I cannot promise the same for every post, as there are a few I cannot find.