#isleofwight #appuldurcombe #englishheritage #staycation
Appuldurcombe House is one of my favourite places on the entire island... and it's free to visit!
Appuldurcombe House (also spelt Appledorecombe or Appledore Combe) is the shell of a large 18th-century English Baroque country house of the Worsley family. The house is situated near to Wroxall on the Isle of Wight, England. It is now managed by English Heritage and is open to the public. A small part of the 300-acre (1.2 km2; 0.47 sq mi) estate that once surrounded it is still intact, but other features of the estate are still visible in the surrounding farmland and nearby village of Wroxall, including the entrance to the park, the Freemantle Gate, now used only by farm animals and pedestrians.
Appuldurcombe began as a priory in 1100. It became a convent, then the Elizabethan home of the Leigh family. The large Tudor mansion was bequeathed in 1690 to Sir Robert Worsley, 3rd Baronet, who began planning a suitable replacement.
The present house was begun in 1702. The architect was John James. Sir Robert never saw the house fully completed. He died on 29 July 1747, in his memory a monument was erected overlooking the house on Stenbury Down.
The house was greatly extended in the 1770s by his great-nephew Sir Richard Worsley, 7th Baronet Worsley of Appuldurcombe. The newly extended mansion was where Sir Richard brought his new wife, the 17-year-old Seymour Dorothy Fleming, whom he married "for love and £80,000". Capability Brown was commissioned in 1779 to design the ornamental grounds at the same time as the extensions. A romantic ruined folly known as "Cooke’s Castle" was built on the hill opposite to improve the view. During Sir Richard's time, the house held a magnificent art collection and was the setting for Sir Richard's entertaining of some of the most eminent figures of the age.
Troops were billeted in the house during both world wars, and at the onset of the Second World War the house was taken over by the military. On 7 February 1943, a German Luftwaffe Dornier Do 217 that was engaged in a mine-laying mission turned inland and dropped its final mine very close to the house, before crashing into St Martin's Down. The mine exploded, blowing in windows and causing the collapse of part of the roof. The resulting hole in the roof was left unrepaired, and after the war much of the remainder of the roof and the interiors were removed and sold off.
Although the house is now mainly a shell, its front section has been re-roofed and glazed, and a small part of the interior recreated. The house has become well known as one of the supposedly most haunted places on the island. There are frequent tales and claimed sightings of ghosts, phantoms and other supernatural phenomena.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd1W2h-a2Aw
Filmed 31st August 2022. From Southern Vectis:
Calthorpe Road is closed
Routes 8, Coaster and Downs Breezer divert from Ryde via Puckpool Hill, Seaview Dover, Bluett Avenue and Nettlestone. Route 8 can operate as normal from Seaview, Coaster and TDB use Seaview Lane to Nettlestone then as normal
Diversion is in both directions
#southernvectis
#isleofwight
#kittikoko
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kittikoko - Isle of Wight tourist attractions, virtual walks, bus ride POVs, hovercraft videos, arcade tours and everyday life.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4IJhfxt14g
#islandline
#isleofwight
#trains
Camera: GoPro HERO10 Black
https://amzn.to/3OYJGNV
Isle of Wight Walkers' Map
https://amzn.to/3LB7xAX
Walking on the Isle of Wight: The Isle of Wight Coastal Path and 23 Coastal and Countryside Walks
https://amzn.to/3vMaZSs
Pocket Rough Guide British Breaks Isle of Wight (Travel Guide with Free eBook)
https://amzn.to/3xZJAiQ
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kittikoko - Isle of Wight tourist attractions, virtual walks, bus ride POVs, hovercraft videos, arcade tours and everyday life.
As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission for purchases made through links in this post.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7lftRpgzdo
#southernvectis
#isleofwight
#kittikoko
Camera: GoPro HERO10 Black
https://amzn.to/3OYJGNV
Isle of Wight Walkers' Map
https://amzn.to/3LB7xAX
Walking on the Isle of Wight: The Isle of Wight Coastal Path and 23 Coastal and Countryside Walks
https://amzn.to/3vMaZSs
Pocket Rough Guide British Breaks Isle of Wight (Travel Guide with Free eBook)
https://amzn.to/3xZJAiQ
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kittikoko - Isle of Wight tourist attractions, virtual walks, bus ride POVs, hovercraft videos, arcade tours and everyday life.
As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission for purchases made through links in this post.
...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gip7h6cAos