Here visitors have their first glimpse of Quartermaine Hall. The grand foyer, with its sweeping staircase, is impressive but also charmingly cluttered with the everyday detritus of family life: a bath chair; a croquet set tucked away under the stairs; a silver tray on the sideboard with post or calling cards. And, of course, there’s the baize door discreetly hidden at the rear of the hall, which leads downstairs to the servants’ quarters and kitchens.
If you turn left from the Entrance Hall, you’ll enter the breathtaking Gallery, where the family’s collection of art and sculpture is on display, with an emphasis on works of the Italian Renaissance. If you’re a good enough friend of the family (and male), Charles Quartermaine might even invite you in to the Smoking Room beyond, for a quick glass of port. On the right-hand side of the entrance hall, visitors can admire the dining room with its silverware and family portrait, and, beyond, the elegant sunny space of the Breakfast Room, with its Rococo paintings and delightfully feminine energy.
Have a look around and, once you’ve sated your curiosity, we’ll head on upstairs.
After dinner, the gentlemen retreat here, to discuss hunting, fishing and politics over port and whisky. There might also be a game of chess over a pipe or two
The most dramatic space in Quartermaine Hall is the Gallery, showing off the family collection of Renaissance bronzes, marble sculpture and Old Master paintings
Covering the entrance hall itself, the main stairway, and the upper landing. This offers the visitor’s first impression of the Hall – but still has its share of family clutter
Here dinners are held to impress, with light glinting off the family collections of glassware and silver, while family portraits gaze down from the walls
A very feminine room, where the family takes breakfast, and where French paintings are complemented by a collection of exquisite porcelain figurines
Quartermaine Hall 