AKA best husband ever…

Last night after work, the hubby did the sweetest thing. It's my 30th birthday in a couple of days (yikes!) and he really wanted to take me to Hever Castle for the day as a surprise, but apparently it's closed until February. So instead, as a mini early birthday present, he took me to Eastbury Manor House in Barking for a candlelit tour of the house.

Apparently it was one of the first brick-built gentry houses to be erected in the area, and has barely been altered. It was completed in 1573 by Clement Sysley, an Essex merchant. It took 12 years to build it, and unfortunately he died quite soon after it was finished so he didnt get to enjoy it very much. Apparently it fell into rather bad dilapidation and was at one point used to house animals/cattle!

I didn't know much about the place, apart from the fact that it was supposedly where the gunpowder plot was hatched (not true, according to the guide, there is a link, but a much more tenuous one!). A lot of the interior has been changed over the years and is a bit museumy/officey. But it is a really gorgeous building with high and many chimneys, lovely timber beams in the roof, an original spiral oak staircase in the turret, and there's a beautiful room called the 'Painted Gallery' where there are lovely paintings on the wall of Italian fishing scenes – which, according to the guide, were actually painted over by the local council in their wisdom and have clearly had to be uncovered very carefully! There is also an original Tudor fireplace, which has a lovely white mantlepiece with Tudor roses formed from a sort of brick/plaster material.  

Sorry for rattling on, but I was so excited to see the place and thought I would share my experience with fellow history lovers