We went out for a drive yesterday and ended up at Witley Court. It wasn’t planned – as we drove past we saw the English Heritage sign. Even though it’s not far away I can’t say I know much about the place, other than the fact it was destroyed by fire and E H were restoring parts of it.

(If blogger is in the right mood - you can click on the picture and it will enlarge)

I can’t believe something so outstandingly phenomenal was so close by and I’ve never visited it before. What a stupendous building and surrounding grounds. You can’t help feeling saddened that it now stands a derelict empty shell. So much of it’s exquisiteness has just crumbled away.

But on saying that, it isn’t difficult to imagine what visitors must have felt all those years ago when they first saw this magnifiant estate in all its splendour. Its haunting beauty still remains and with a little imagination you can go back in time and visualise all of its grandeur.

Walking through the house and seeing the fountain framed in a decaying doorway took me completely by surprise. It was one of those jaw dropping moments. I’ve never seen anything like it. As I walked down the pathway towards it I was awe struck. I’m not normally very hot when it comes to history but I instantly recognised the scene in front of me.

Pegasus the winged horse with Perseus on his back, slaying the sea serpent, and Andromeda chained to a rock. As a child I always thought the sea serpent was a Kraken, thank you Hollywood, but Greek history mentions Keto – both mean sea serpent, so I don’t suppose it matters. The fountain was only partly working, with the cupids or sea nymphs sitting on an ornate fish shooting out water.

The photographs just don’t do it justice, or even begin to capture the size.

The other fountain is still in disrepair, but looking around at the work that's underway, I would imagine that one day it to will be returned to its full glory.

The only down side was the grounds closed at 4 p.m. and there wasn’t enough time to explore all of the estate. We only briefly visited the church, with it's ornate decor, so without a doubt we’ll be paying a return visit in the summer.