See how people lived through time – what they wore, the toys they played with and how they managed their household chores.
Find out about the history of the house, the landscaping of its estate and enjoy the beautiful Picture Room.
Explore cooking, washing and other contraptions used in Bristol homes over the last 300 years. Marvel at beautiful paintings from the art collections hung on sumptuous red flock paper.
Beyond the House:
The dairy
The dairy was built in 1803-5 and is a Grade II* listed building. Designed by fashionable architect John Nash, the cottage style is similar to the cottages in Blaise Hamlet. The dairy provided butter and possibly cheese for the house. Cows and sheep were grazed on the estate and it’s likely that the milk of both was used in the dairy.
It’s been suggested that the decorative appearance of the dairy means that it was intended more as a fashionable amusement for its wealthy owners, than as a working dairy. However, the building has many of the practical features which were recommended at the time for a dairy – and in some respects was progressive.
The dairy garden and amphitheatre
The dairy garden was once the site of the original manor house. It was demolished after 1798 when Blaise Castle House was completed. The planting designs in the garden have evolved over time. What’s here today includes plants and shrubs that would likely have been known and used at the time the house was built and the estate was landscaped.
The amphitheatre was created as part of a Heritage Lottery Fund project in 1999 which saw many areas of the estate restored and redeveloped.
Blaise Castle
The Castle was built as a summer house for the owner of the estate, Thomas Farr, in 1766. It’s said that he liked to view his ships on the Avon from the top of the castle. The castle once had a kitchen, with a dining area on the first floor and Farr used to entertain guests here. Today only the shell of the castle remains, which is looked after by the Friends of Blaise, who open it to the public regularly throughout the year.
The castle is around a 20 minute, uphill walk from the house on uneven paths.