On Thursday 16th July a group from The Friends braved the summer sunshine and heat to visit two contrasting houses in Sussex: Grade-I-listed Standen, belonging to the National Trust, designed by the Arts and Crafts architect Philip Webb, and Saint Hill Manor, of late-Georgian design, now occupied by the Church of Scientology.
Image of Standen © David Iliff - license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0
The tour of each house was full of interest and gave us fascinating insights into the different ways of living of their occupants.
At Standen we enjoyed a light lunch in the barn and at Saint Hill a cream tea in the ‘Monkey Room’, decorated by John Spencer Churchill, a nephew of Sir Winston Churchill. It was a very memorable day out.
Image: the group arriving at Saint Hill, © Ian Kennaway