This sprawling estate, ancestral home to the Earl Grey since 1319, has meticulously designed gardens, woodlands, a diverse arboretum, and a tea house.
We reached Howick around 10:15 a.m. At the reception, while getting the tickets, we learned that at 11 a.m., there would be a two-hour walking tour of the gardens and the arboretum.
That meant there was enough time for us to taste the famous Earl Grey tea!
GREY FAMILY
Howick is a village in Alnwick, Northumberland, northeast England. (Alnwick is pronounced Anik)
The most famous name and family in this area was the Grey family, which owned the land at Howick from 1319.
They are an ancient English noble family from Creully in Normandy founded in the 11th century by Anchetil de Greye.
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| The Howick Hall |
This was the home of the most distinguished member of the Grey family, Charles, 2nd Earl Grey.
He was Prime Minister from 1830 to 1834, during which time the Great Reform Bill of 1832 was passed, which eventually led to our modern democracy. (The Reform Act 1832)
Slavery was also abolished during his tenure.
The Howick Hall underwent multiple renovations, the most significant one in 1928, after a big fire destroyed the interior of the main house in 1926.
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| The home of the Greys |
The family moved out of the main house in 1963 and now lives in the west wing, which was developed into a family home.
The ground floor of the Howick Hall is open to the public. The exhibitions there tell us a lot about the family, the gardens and the arboretum. We visited this after the tour of the gardens.
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| I found this quite nice. A place to just relax or have some tea and snacks. |
EARL GREY TEA
Since the walking tour was about half an hour away, we headed straight to the Earl Grey Tea House for a cup of tea.
The origin of this now-world-famous tea is not at all clear. But the most popular one, as mentioned on the Howick Hall website, is that it was first blended by a Chinese mandarin for Charles, the 2nd Earl Grey.
It says that Lady Grey used it in London when entertaining as a political hostess. It proved so popular that Twinnings marketed it, and it is now sold worldwide.
Sadly, the Greys, being unbusinesslike, failed to register the trade mark, and as a result, we were told they have never received a penny in royalties.
At the Tea House, we ordered, obviously, Earl Grey Tea and scones. They were delightful, and we enjoyed the break.
Earl Grey tea is a blend of black tea infused with the fragrant oil of bergamot, a citrus fruit. The oil gives Earl Grey its unique flavour. Traditionally, Earl Grey tea was made from Chinese Keemun black tea and intended to be served without milk. However, nowadays, many Earl Grey teas use artificial bergamot flavour. Some variations include green or oolong tea as the base.
Scone is a traditional British baked food popular in the UK and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans.
THE GARDENS
There has been a long tradition in the Grey family as gardeners and tree planters. Howick Hall Gardens are primarily the work of Charles, 5th Earl Grey and his wife Mabel, and later their daughter Lady Mary Howick between 1920 and 2001.
Between April and October, volunteers usually lead guided tours of the gardens every Monday and Friday. We were lucky to be there on a Friday.
We were a group of about 15 people. During the nearly two-hour tour, we saw a wide variety of plants and trees. They are from all parts of the world and burst into life depending on the season.
The different parts of the garden are Bulbs, Silverwood, The Bog Garden, The Borders and Rockery Garden, The Sensory Garden, and the Trees. (All these links are to the official website of Howick Hall.)
Howick Hall Arboretum opened in 2006. It has almost virtually been grown from seed collected in the wild from 1985 and there are about 11,000 trees and shrubs from about 1,800 taxa.
The walking tour ended around 1 p.m.
At 2 p.m., Howick Hall hosted a cello and piano concert. We listened to the recital for about half an hour and then walked around the Hall.
The exhibition tells the story of how the gardens and arboretum evolved through generations of passionate gardeners and plantsmen.
There are also a lot of displays that tell the story of Earl Grey and his family members and their contribution to the gardens.
The write-ups tell us interesting facts about unusual trees and plants growing at Howick and tales from plant-hunting expeditions abroad.
The amount of effort that has gone into developing this over all these years is mind-boggling, and it must easily be one of a kind.
We left around 3 p.m. for Boulmer Beach.
(To be continued)
Links to all the posts in the series
01 - Departure (June 05, Wednesday)
02 - Dockwray Square, Tynemouth (June 06, Thursday)
03 - Cresswell Pele Tower (June 07, Friday)
04 - Howick Hall Gardens & Arboretum (June 07, Friday)
05 - Boulmer Beach, Zamorins (June 07, Friday)
06 - Beamish Museum (June 08, Saturday)
07 - The Holy Island of Lindisfarne (June 09, Sunday)
08 - Linhope Spout Waterfall (June 10, Monday)
09 - London, Wanstead (June 11, Tuesday)
10 - London City (June 12, Tuesday)
11 - BBC (June 12, Tuesday)
I don't know of Howick Hall but I should. I can confirm the pronunciation of Alnwick as a relative of my late partner lives there. I thought it was just a very local accent, but it seems not.
ReplyDeleteI wondered how to pronounce it. Then my friend Henry told me the correct pronunciation. Many words in English, we know, aren't pronounced the way they are written.
Deletei am glad they restored it nicely after the fire.
ReplyDeleteYes. They have done a pretty good job.
DeleteThank you for sharing. I am enjoying your travels vicariously. :D Best wishes!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Darla.
DeleteAll said and done, I. must say that they lived in style. Like the design of the sit out table. Though weather beaten it is a good place to relax.
ReplyDeleteHi Haddock - Oh, yes, very much did! One thing I appreciate is the way they have preserved a lot of what was there in olden times.
DeleteHari Om
ReplyDeleteA full and delightful review, Pradeep! Though I would observe that there are many such house "castles" and gardens dotted throughout the UK, so not so singular as you might think. That said, each most definitely exudes it's own character and reflects the eccentricities of the owners, so neither are you wrong, and each and every such place deserves its visitors and accolades such as this. I'm love how you retained and referenced all the info. Believe or not, I have not visited Howick and must correct that on my next trip to Northumbria! YAM xx
Hi Yamini - Thank you. During the visit, I did my best to learn something from all that I saw. Unlike earlier, now all important information are there online.
DeleteI putting them out here in some detail so that not only will it be easier for the readers to understand the significance of the place but also they are here for me to come back and refresh my memory.
I could figure that those places have lots of castles, so much a part of the history. The fact that each one exudes a character unique to the owner is something I didn't know.
You must visit Howick. Enjoyed the landscape as well as the Howick Hall Gardens.
It must have been such a change of pace and climate for you while you were touring around Pradeep. I'm always fascinated by the old English manors and their beautiful gardens - so good that you were able to explore them and learn a little bit of their history in the process.
ReplyDeleteHi Leanne - Yes, the climate was a bit of surprise. It was really cold, especially the cold breeze. We were told that its intensity was unusual for early June. I like travelling, seeing new places and learning about different local history, customs and traditions.
DeleteIt looks like a beautiful place to visit. I did not know all that about the tea, either. Quite an eventful trip, and your day isn't even over yet.
ReplyDeleteYes, Jeanne. Made use of all the time available and saw as many places as possible!
DeleteSounds like an interesting tour. Many of those grand old houses no longer house the families that used them in their heyday. Kinda sad, but kinda good, too.
ReplyDeleteYes, the tour of the Howick Hall Gardens and Arboretum was not only interesting but also quite informative.
DeleteHi Pradeep - I echo Yam's comment ... so many wonderful noble houses and castles each with their own take on life ... depending on their situation - and soil condition ... the British Isles is a mishmash of geology ... also it's island situation. I hope you got to see the Poison Garden in Alnwick. My father and I had two weeks at Alnmouth in boiling weather - we could hardly move! - we did do some sightseeing. My father had been at school with members of the Percy family - hence his wish to see the area - at least I've had a brief visit too!! It sounds as though you're being shown some wonderful sights. I didn't know about Howick ... and the Earls Grey: so have learnt a lot - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThank you, Hilary. After you mentioned it, I looked up Poison Garden in Alnwick on the Internet and found an interesting article on the BBC website. A number of places have been left behind for the next visit. I am not sure when, though! Indeed, my friend Henry was kind enough to take me to quite a variety of places.
DeleteI have visited lots of places in the area but have not yet visited Howick.
ReplyDeleteHi CherryPie - Howick is a place worth visiting.
DeleteA lot of history comes alive in the post. Hope to keep up with what follows.
ReplyDeleteHi Tomi - Thank you. :-)
DeleteWhat a lovely visit. Some people drink Earl Grey with milk, but I prefer it with a slice of lemon. There's a Lady Grey tea, too. What a shame they didn't patent their tea blends.
ReplyDeleteI also had it with a slice of lemon. It was good. I wasn't aware of Lady Grey!
DeleteHello, Pradeep: Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm glad that we have reconnected. I am not a huge fan of tea, but we do drink it. The estate would be very interesting place to visit, however, and I am sure you enjoyed it. Take good care, All the best - David
ReplyDeleteHi David - Yes, it was quite an enjoyable tour.
DeletePradeep, thank you so much for remembering us. It was a pleasure to see you. I shall read all of your touring entries as I am interested. I also have read about Earl Gray...and I will say it is a favorite tea of mine.
ReplyDeleteHi Katie - Thank you.
DeleteI am glad to read this post, thanks for sharing - i took a virtual tour with you in this place, so interesting to read about the estate and your experiences, appreciate the efforts you take make this lovely post with pictures and so much content. Its always a learning experience for me whenever i visit your blog.
ReplyDeleteRien de mieux qu'une petite pause thé et scones ! Belle balade dans les jardins aussi, merci de partager avec nous cette superbe visite !
ReplyDelete