The fireplace in the Great Hall, Westonbirt House

Helena was offered a stall at a special meeting of flower arrangers being held in a rather unusual building, Westonbirt House. Normally it is now a boarding school for girls but during their holidays they are keen to maximise income by hiring it out as a venue. We shared the booking and I sold my cards, but not as successfully as Helena who had a great day!

The building has an unusual genesis, being the third big house on this site in Gloucestershire owned by a particular family, the Holfords. The owner in Victorian times created this current estate with an enormous arboretum, which is now nationally renowned as a centre of excellence for the care of trees. If you want to know more read about its interesting history here and see other images of the buildings.

This picture is of the amazing fireplace in the Great Hall which we were delighted was being used as it wasn't very warm at first. Apparently the owner asked for a copy of the fireplace in the Dorchester house he'd had built as his London home, which was eventually pulled down to become the site of the Dorchester Hotel in Park Lane.

You can just see the edge of Helena's stall to the right of the fireplace. There is a certain Blipper who will be amused to see this image and I look forward to her likely comments! A certain coffee cup adds to the view. Unfortunately I couldn't show the gallery, with its walkway, which runs around the room, just above the view you can see here. From it lead off a range of rooms, mostly bedrooms.