Stamford, Lincolnshire, one of the most livable towns in the UK, with its honey-colored original stone buildings, is like stopping in the 18th century.
There are small bridges and green spaces for ducks, geese and people to rest, 5 churches to know where you are at all times, a walk around the church, roads and sidewalks are miniature, and colorful stores have many bright windows. In the freezing noon, lunch break office workers take their lunchboxes, step on the crisp leaves and find a bench to sit down outdoors, while old people holding hands and shopping will walk into the familiar tea room and order a cake with tea, bringing some natural warmth to this quiet town.
The quaint stone roads and unified style of buildings seem to drag the time not to let it go too fast.
The real star of the town is Burghley House, which was built in 32 years by William Cecil, Lord Burghley, the Chancellor of the Exchequer of Elizabeth I, a half-hour walk away. At the time, ministers were scrambling to build opulent mansions to attract Elizabeth I. But this mansion, built of locally produced limestone, is the best of Elizabethan architecture and has been featured in movies such as Pride and Prejudice and The Da Vinci Code. Burley Hall was the family home from the 18th century until 1961, when it was handed over to a board of trustees established by the Cecil family. Early November in England has been chilly, from the gate along the long driveway into the sky some unclear dull, but just as I crossed the boulevard, a magical wind blew away the entire cloud, instantly all the trees are gilded with gold, so bright that you can not open your eyes.
The construction of the Burley estate when the Renaissance style is germinating in England, the roof of the mansion you can see the semi-circular arches, Dorian stone columns or obelisks, the classic elements of the Roman style, the central courtyard also has the shape of the triumphal arch, rustic and atmospheric.
The golden gates on the west side of the estate was originally designed to meet the Queen, but unfortunately Elizabeth I never really went to Burley, and as the fifth Earl of Exeter grand and delicate wish, we got to see the gates to catch the afterglow of the sunset moment.
I came for the “Heaven” and “Hell” rooms in the mansion by the royal painter Antonio Verrio (also featured in “The Da Vinci Code”), but in late November the mansion was closed for renovations, with only the gardens and the garden designed by Capability Brown. Capability Brown designed the gardens and deer park for play.
The addition of modernist art to the classical gardens seems to be a consensus among stately home curators, and a similar exhibition was on display when we visited Harewood in Yorkshire.
The clouds and the wind, along with the gold that flows over the river, are all echoing in the memory. Perhaps only the rumbling fighter jets overhead will cut through the divide of time, allowing consciousness to turn back to reality in the eyes.
“Sometimes I think that if I look hard enough, I can see the past.”
