Our castle

It's technically called a manor, but it's way more fun to call it a castle.  I haven't taken any pictures from the outside yet (it's an amazing looking building!), but here are some of my favorite interior places.

The may be my favorite room so far.  It's the Ridgway Great Hall---giant chandelier, cedar walls with lion sconces, statutes of men holding their heads (Coop suggested that perhaps they all had headaches), huge firepalce (the concrete looking mantel area on the left of this photo):

Looking back at the other end of the hall:

One of the reasons it's my favorite room:  it holds this gigantic Bosendorfer grand piano.  Gordon, the president of Harlaxton college, said I can play it anytime I want.  Sweet!

 Another lovely room (I don't know it's official name yet).

See the small basket on the left side of the fireplace mantel?  Yeah, that's a basket of wipey board markers and erasers.  That's right.  This is a classroom.


Another classroom with a fantastic angular bay window:

The view of the ceiling at the top of the Cedar Stairs.  The stairs themselves are amazing.  Giant cedar scroll work all along the stair case.  Ornate plaster work in the middle (all the white floofy stuff around the middle square of this photo).

Here's a close-up of the plaster work.

The big rope things with tassels?  They're really pieces of rope dipped in plaster.

The Jesuits owned the manor in the 1950s and 1960s, and used it as a home for novices entering the Jesuit priesthood (is that what it's called?).  The woman giving us our tour explained that when the Jesuits left, they took some of the fixtures and artwork in the manor (and left much, much more).  For example, there used to be something across the top of this mirror, because it's clear that it's missing something.

Right.  Because it's just so plain looking now.

I love the twizzly marble columns on this door.