I told you I was over in England (again!) a couple of weeks ago, visiting some good friends. These good friends live not far from a certain big house, a big grand house that goes by the name Belton House. In these circles however it is known as Rosings Park! Yep, that’s right, it’s the house used as Rosings Park in the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice! As you can probably imagine it is a place I have really wanted to visit, so when Joanna told me that it is less than a 30 minute drive from where they live, I was more than a little excited!
So, on a cold Sunday after first having decorated their house for Christmas and put the Christmas tree up, Scott, Joanna and I set off to go visit Lady Catherine de Bourgh! Or if not her, at least her house!
It was a very exciting moment, as we drove up to the parking lot and I could see the house, that well known house, ahead of us!
“Rosings Park, we must understand, is very grand indeed”
Sadly since it was the wrong time of the year the house itself was not open. So we could not go inside. But we could wander the garden and look at the house from the outside! As I walked up the path to the house I had the pompous Rosings Park theme music ringing in my head, along with Mr Collins’s voice: “Mark the windows. There are sixty-four in all, sixty-four! And I have it on good authority that the glazing alone originally cost in excess of six hundred pounds!”
“It is a very handsome building, and prettily situated, sir. And by no means lacking in windows”
“Then how could I refuse? But I’ll only come if you guarantee me a glimpse of the famous chimney piece at Rosings Park”
When seeing the house in the film I was never a huge fan of it. I mean, it looks big and grand, but it’s not like Pemberly, one which I really, really liked! But I think that had mostly to do with the fact that this was the house of Lady Catherine and even though she is a highly amusing character (oh how “displeased” she would be to be refered to as amusing! I’m sure she would be “quite put out!”) she is not exactly nice, and because of that Rosings Park wasn’t one of my favourite houses. I like it a lot more now!! It’s a beautiful house, and having been to the place for real, seeing it with my own eyes and walking the grounds, it always makes it that much more special when watching the film again!
”Though it is nothing, of course, to the staircases you will see at Rosings. I say staircases because there are several, and each in its way very fine”
These windows, ladies and gentlemen (particularly ladies!) are the windows to Mr Darcy’s bedroom! Yep, it’s in this room we see Mr Darcy write that important letter to Lizzie. Joanna pointed out to me which of the windows it was, and so even though I couldn’t go inside, at least I got a picture of the outside of Mr Darcy’s bedroom! 
The garden was enormous! And so pretty! We were discussing how many gardeners it would take to take care of a garden this size. Upon returning home I discovered the answer to this, Mr Collins of course knew! “. . . thirty-two gardeners, and other gardeners.” Not bad!
After wandering about for some time, looking, admiring and taking pictures we headed to the gift shop and then on to the tea rooms. We were planning to run down quickly to the little lake that was apparently close by, to have a look at a pretty little boat house there, but when we came out from the tea room the rain was pouring down and seeing as it was quite a walk and we had no umbrellas or anything we decided to call it a day. Next time I go for a visit I will make sure it’s in the summer, so I can actually get inside the house as well!
It was sad to leave. But then, ”Who indeed would not be sad to be deprived of Rosings”!