comfortably coexist. Under the same
sprawling roof youâll find traces of a floor
that dates back to AD300 when Port Eliot
was a thriving monastery. (The house thus
lays claim to being Englandâs oldest
inhabited building.) Not far away thereâs a
controversial mural on the walls of a
neoclassical interior designed by Sir John
Soane. âSome people love it but others think
itâs dreadfulâ says Lucy Walker events
manager. Either way itâs impossible not to
be astonished.
In most practical senses Port Eliot is out
of sync with the modern world. There are 11
staircases 82 chimneys and half an acre of
roof. But there are only 11 radiators to heat
the 124 rooms and in them little has
changed over the past two centuries. The
green wallpaper lining the Lobby was made
in the 1800s using arsenic. âWe were told by
the late Earl that no one had ever died but
not to go licking itâ says Ruth.
The medieval cellars were remodelled in
the 19th century into an array of service
rooms. Opening o a wide central corridor a
Scullery China Closet Lamp Room a Still
Room and a Carpenterâs Closet remind you
of the numerous sta who once lived and
worked here. In the main kitchen which is
still used by the Eliot family the Esse oven
dates back to c1900. The dishes in the
porcelain cupboard are still used at dinner.
âI wouldnât dare to ask anyone to pass me
the potatoes â the china is so valuableâ
says Lucy.
Threadbare carpets and frayed bed
hangings apart the powerful imprint of the
Eliots who moved in after the Dissolution
of the Monasteries and whose lives and
loves shape every room remains indelible.
The word âdemocracyâ is said to have first
been coined by Sir Thomas Elyot a courtier
amongst Henry VIIIâs retinue whose
portrait hangs in the Lobby.
Port Eliot is out of sync with
the modern world. There
are only 11 radiators to
heat the 124 rooms
ABOVE Boots and shoes
lined up by the garden door
and hats arranged on a
table and stacked on top
of a linen press inject a
quirky dash of humour that
is part of Port Eliotâs unique
charm. The distinctive green
wallpaper dates from the
1800s and contains arsenic
LEFT An elaborate Meissen
fruit service is among the
18th and 19th-century
porcelain treasures stored
in the China Closet.
Although very valuable
much of it is still used by
the familyH&A LIFESTYLE: Open house
H&A SUMMER 2017 91