English Country Homes at Christmas

It’s that time of year again and what better source of inspiration for interior schemes at Christmas than British country homes?

We visited some of Cheshire’s finest country estates; Tatton Park, Arley Hall & Gardens and Capesthorne Hall in the run up to yuletide to find out how they are embracing the festive season and reflecting this in their interior schemes. 

From enchanting fairy tales and traditional Christmas colours of gold, red and green to more modern settings, we couldn’t wait to find out how these grand homes were telling a festive story and being transformed into magical settings for Christmas 2019. 

Tatton Park 

Owned by the National Trust, Tatton Park is a historic estate with a neo-classical mansion, 50 acres of landscaped gardens, 1000 acres of deer park, a rare breed farm, and medieval old hall. 

Last year Tatton celebrated the culinary delights of Christmas with a theme of “food, glorious food”. 

This year the team has chosen fairy tales and eleven rooms will be magically transformed. 

A Fairytale Christmas Mansion

The library, home to over 8,000 books will become the setting for Beauty and the Beast. The entrance hall will feature a magnificent Christmas tree and Cinderella’s coach. Themes of Snow White and Aladdin and a resident fairy godmother also feature in the Winter Wonderland. Guests can follow the sweetie trail through the servants’ quarters where they’ll enter the Witches’ gingerbread house. 

The fairytale Christmas Mansion opens from the 26th November until the 5th January and details of opening times can be found at www.tattonpark.org.uk.

Arley Hall & Gardens

The Arley estate has been part of the Warburton’s family since the end of the 12th century and the Jacobean Grade II country house, Gothic Revival Chapel and gardens and landscape park are considered to be some of the finest in Britain.  

Christmas Floral Extravaganza 2019

Each room within the hall will be decorated by florists in a traditional style with hundreds of fresh flowers and foliage from Arley Gardens. The decorated rooms are open for only a limited time due to the freshness of the arrangements. As part of the Christmas Floral Extravaganza on December 2nd from 10am - 4pm a delicious traditional Christmas fayre will also be available in The Gardener’s Kitchen from a Christmas dinner to mince pies and mulled wine. 

Candlelight & Carols Evening

On Tuesday 3rd & Wednesday 4th December from 6-9pm, visitors can meander around the Hall enjoying the imaginative floral displays, listening to the ‘The Serenade Singers’ and choir in different rooms. Tickets can be booked via the website www.arleyhallandgardens.com. 

Capesthorne Hall

Dating from 1719, the Jacobean Hall set in 100 acres of parkland with three lakes and exquisite gardens is the cherished home of the Bromley-Davenports whose ancestors have owned the estate since Domesday. 

At Capesthorne, Lady Bromley Davenport oversees a talented team of housekeepers and family friends who decorate the house with holly and foliage from the estate’s gardens. The beautiful wreaths created by the Capesthorne gardeners show how you can bring inspiring décor to any home, not just a grand country house.

Christmas at Capesthorne opens from Friday 22nd November. Guests can enjoy exploring the house while being entertained by local musicians, choirs and visiting Santa the marquee and craft stalls. Festive food and refreshments will be available in the Lakeside Cafe - to find out more visit www.capesthorne.com. 

In all these houses seasonal decoration is used to bring people together by creating a festive feeling for friends and family to enjoy. The rooms themselves, with their antique furniture, china, and portraits, are enhanced by Christmas lighting, floral artistry and opulent displays.

HMC at Christmas

At HMC we have carefully sourced antique pieces to complement interiors for this very special time of year. We have a wide variety of unique items available in our Gift collection, selected from our travels in the UK and beyond. 

From English and Chinese ceramics to silver photo frames and decorative boxes we hope we can help in your search. 

Watch out for the next blog featuring our favourite pieces from the Hobson May Collection for imaginative Christmas gifts that are truly one of a kind and will be cherished for years to come.

For early previews of our latest arrivals be sure to subscribe to HMC Communications.