A la Ronde


Following mentioning fossils in the last two posts I will move on this week to show you some shells instead! We visited A la Ronde a few weeks back and although it sounds as if it should be in France it is in fact near Exmouth in Devon. It is a quirky 16 sided house full of creative treasures from around the world including lots and lots of shells!




This fascinating house was built for two spinster sisters in the 1790's. They had travelled extensively through Europe, on Grand Tours collecting treasures as they went.  They enjoyed buying and creating decorations which included using feathers,shells,decoupage,seaweed,stones and glass.




They would follow the sunshine around the house working under the windows on small fold down tables making their latest creations.


One of the striking features of the house was a two storey "Octagon Hall " off which all the rooms radiate. This makes the shapes of the rooms very unusual and quirky, as can be seen in one of the bedrooms.


This bedroom window in particular had wonderful views looking out towards the Exe estuary and in the far distance towards Dawlish.





On the top floor is a sort of Gothic seaside grotto that is decorated with 25,000 shells. As the contents of this gallery are so fragile it can only be viewed by a remote control camera. The picture above taken from a screen just doesn't do it justice as you can see by looking at it yourself using this Link.

These aren't the only shells as there are still cupboards and shelves covered in them throughout the house!




As if that wasn't enough this frieze made of feathers really caught our eye. It must have taken so much patience to create it and it is amazing it is still there so many hundreds of years later. Again it is better to see it for real. I recommend when you open the link to use the sound effects and the auto rotate at the bottom of this page to explore the drawing room. Do look for the frieze around the top of the walls, and around the doors and fireplace and the silhouettes they created

The sisters would never allow any men to enter their houses or grounds, as this now belongs to the National Trust they are welcome. We enjoyed seeing something completely unique, I hope you enjoyed your glimpses of it too!
Until next time.
Sarah



Comments

  1. This looks fascinating, what a shame we didn't know about it when we were down in Devon, would have loved to have visited it. Good to know it is also a NT property.

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  2. It is such a lovely place. My middle son studied history at Exeter university and I remember visiting there with him a few years back. You look as if you had a perfect day to enjoy all those treasures and the countryside too. B x

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  3. Wow! Imagine the hours it must have taken them to do that shell gallery. I guess it kept them busy.

    Thank you for sharing, Sarah.

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  4. Fascinating! The curtains on the diamond-shaped windows certainly are unique. Thank you for sharing.

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  5. And how painfully meticulous to arrange all those tiny feathers.
    I wonder, about the birds tho?

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    1. The features were from native game birds and chickens. Sarah x

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  6. What an interesting place. I thought I had a lot of shells, but my collection is nothing compared to the ones in the gallery

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  7. Fantastic! Definitely one to put on the list. I loved the detail of the shells revealed by the cameras and the clock sound was lovely. X

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  8. Oh oh, no men in the house and grounds. Who does cut the lawn etc.? ;)
    And an Ikea stool in one of the rooms.
    Thank you for showing the house.

    Sigrun

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    1. I did wonder too about all the jobs that were done by men at that time! I hadn't noticed the IKEA stool it must have been put there to allow children to see out of the window! Sarah x

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  9. A la Ronde is such a unique and special little place to visit and you have shown it off beautifully - I didn't realise that it had such wonderful views from the windows.
    I hope to have time to call in and see it one day when down in that corner of the world.

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  10. Oh, this is such a cozy spot! Love everything about this structure!

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  11. I got quite dizzy viewing the rooms via your link but it was worth it! What an amazing house; it looks quite large for two ladies, perhaps they had servants? It's somewhere that I'd love to visit and to find out more about the two sisters. They sound like very unique siblings. Thanks for sharing, Sarah. Cx

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  12. What a unique place and what unique people they must have been.

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  13. I love that quirky bedroom and the walkway around the roof. I am sure I have been born into the wrong period as I would have loved to have gone on the Grand Tour with rich relatives to support and indulge me!

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  14. Very interesting and a great historical treasure! Thank you for sharing!

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  15. Very interesting, the house itself is so unusual, and you've taken some lovely photos of it and the surrounding area, so picturesque. What an unusual but productive life the women lead, and it did make me smile that men were not allowed in, a rare event at that time I imagine. I was given an enormous shell from Papua New Guinea, and the students I taught were always fascinated with it, there is something wonderful about shells. I also enjoyed the tour of the house via your link.

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  16. Amazing, of course - but I wouldn't like to do the dusting.

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  17. I've never visited A La Ronde, and your pictures make it look well worth a visit. I'm always glad when these idiosyncratic places are preserved. I wonder what it was like there when the sisters lived there? I imagine it a bit like my elderly great aunts when I was a kid, they lived together, they put up with men visiting but I think they preferred them not being there, it made life simpler for them, they said!

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  18. Wow, that's an amazing place. And yes, it's definitely quirky.

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  19. What a lovely blog today. Your header photo is wonderful and your avatar with your Westie is grand !

    cheers, parsnip

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  20. Weren't they fortunate to have the means to create such lovely, eccentric lives for themselves? But imagine, no men--not for me. Although I love the picture of a whole army of 18th century women caring for the grounds.
    All those shells and feathers are a bit fussy for me, but I absolutely love the house itself. The ticking clock is especially nice in the link.

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  21. What an amazing place! Those ladies must have been quite independent and unusual for their time. Glad that men are now allowed in the place to see it too ;-)

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  22. I have often wondered about visiting this place and it looks fascinating from your pictures. The view across to Dawlish is my favourite, we go to the Warren now and then for the walk on the other side of the Exe and for the bird hide.

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  23. We visited the house during one of our holidays and thought it was amazing. If I remember correctly there is a small church and school room, in the grounds, the ladies had built to educate the local children.

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  24. We did walk in the grounds but didn't go down to the church. Next time we are in the area we will have to find it. Sarah x

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