Behind the green door

Facing the main front door

side alcove

mirrored side alcove, opposite

The inner hall fireplace (1)

The inner hall (2)

I was reading recently the lament that front doors are no longer used. The main entrance at the castle where we were staying is one such culprit. Behind the green door is a large and beautifully laid out entrance hall. Once you pass through the ovoid hallway, you reach an inner hall with a chimneypiece, within which there is a hearth plate dated 1635, with the royal coat of arms and initials CR, (Charles I).

For practical reasons - no servants, and closer proximity to where most deliveries are destined - the side entrance is the one used. But even for our arrival to stay with almost steamer trunk quantities of luggage, both entrances provide a physical challenge, getting the luggage up from the ground to whichever of the bedrooms we are usually allocated. Not surprisingly the amount of luggage we take now has diminished over the years.