Sudley House

I just came back from an amazing afternoon.

Now that I'm unemployed, the simply sitting around doing nothing is driving me crazy. So, after a long and hard day yesterday, I decided that today I would go out and do something. As I browsed through the Liverpool website, my eye fell on a stately home not far from my house and after some texts to friends, my plans for today were made. When I drew my curtains this morning, the sun was pouring its light over the roofs of Allerton and the people in t-shirts were plentiful. I even popped over to the Tesco on the corner in my sandals to buy some milk and cereal and it felt like Summer had come early.

At two o'clock, Rebecca arrived at the busstation and we set out for Sudley House. It was a nice 30 min walk through the residential areas of Allerton and with the sun shining down on us and the wind gently playing with our hair, we were enjoying ourselves as much as we could. We even passed the church where Anne and I got lost the very first time we came to Liverpool, which was a heartwarming memory (although at the time we were almost at each other's throats). The sign for Sudley House showed us a beautiful drive way, but our attention was drawn to the other side of the road, where a gorgeous view of Liverpool in the valley was visible. As I later learned, Sudley House was built on the second highest point in Liverpool, so that the home-owner, a retired shipmerchant, could have a great view over the bustling of the ships on the Victorian Mersey. I saw this panorama at the end of the tour, when one of the guides saw me taking pictures of the garden and proposed to take me to an even better view. Climbing high into the house via the servant stairs, he finally opened a little door and showed me unto the roof, where a breath-taking view was my reward. But I am running ahead of the story.

The beauty of Sudley House is its peace. It's not very well known, which means there are very little tourists (certainly as it was a weekday), which meant we had the garden and the house almost to ourselves. After numerous pictures amongst the trees and flowers next to the driveway, we finally made it up to the house and I was bold enough to ask a guided tour from one of the men there. His speciality was pictures, so he mainly talked about that, but oh, how I enjoyed it. The house itself is not a typical stately home in that its main focus point are the paintings and not the house itself so much. The principal house-owner, George Holt, was a fervent collector of art and after his death, his only child, Emma - a spinster for life -, preserved this collection and the house, donating the house with all its grounds and the pictures to the people of Liverpool after her death in 1944. Sadly, all the furniture was auctioned off, but the house itself was preserved in more or less the same state and so are the pictures. It was lovely getting a guided tour from someone who obviously loves the family history and I drank in every word of it. It reminded me so much of those holidays to England we used to make with my family, stately home after stately home explored, walking through the gardens, having a cup of tea in the cafetaria afterwards. I thoroughly enjoyed it and as the entrance was free, it is a place I will certainly go back to. I found such peace, just sitting on the terrace in the sun, having seen such history and such art. There even was a bridal exhibition upstairs, which meant I saw some beautiful old wedding dresses.

And even now, while I sit in my room behind my computer, the sun slowly setting behind the houses, I feel like I used to do on those days over Summer. My face fresh from the outside walking, with a subtle feeling of cool around my jaws and in my fingers, my eyes ever so slightly drooping, my stomach hungry for bread and soup. I take my book in hand and read and enjoy the new rhythm of my life.