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.

Upton House

Upton House is a National Trust property located in Warwickshire. It was a brought by Lord & Lady Bearsted in 1927, which unfortunately coincided with the Great Depression. Lord Bearsted noticed the high unemployment in the village and offered jobs to anyone who wanted employment. Lord and Lady Bearsted were a very charitable couple and recognised that their wealth came with great responsibility. Both made regular donations to charity. Lord Bearsted donated his fathers land in Kent and Lady Bearsted, supported the Bearsted Maternity Hospitals. During World War II Lord Bearsted financially helped Jews fleeing Germany. They used Upton House as a place in which to house their large collection of art, entertain friends and enjoy Warwickshire’s country pursuits.

The outside of Upton House is impressive and the gardens are beautiful but my favourite items are inside. The art collection that was left for the National Trust is amazing. There are 183 works of art by 124 artists. The art works consist of portraits, landscapes, religious depictions, hunting scenes, mythology, abstract, etc… Artists range from Stubbs and Hogarth to Bosch and El Greco. There is so much to see but one of my favourites is the piece by Canaletto which shows a scene from Venice. I have seen his pieces in various galleries and I am always drawn to his work.

---

Upton House is such a beautiful place to visit and you cannot take it all in with one visit. There is such a lot to see. I have not included a lot of photos as you can see the House and its contents a lot better on the National Trust website: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/warwickshire/upton-house-and-gardens/the-house-and-collection-at-upton#cb-274487715-0

The link above will take you to the Canaletto painting and also some other works displayed at the property.

Thank you for reading x