Christmas at Wightwick Manor

Christmas displays in historic houses can be a mixed blessing. Some are so elaborate that you come away having seen the decorations rather than the house itself.

Wightwick, by contrast, got it exactly right.

It is a glorious Arts and Crafts house, one that repays repeated visits at any time of year. Its Christmas decoration was in keeping with that: tasteful, generous, hand-made and entirely suited to the spirit of the place. I loved it.

From the natural materials and William Morris fabrics to the hand-crafted decorations, the whole house felt warmly and thoughtfully dressed for Christmas. Nothing jarred. Nothing overwhelmed. In another life, I could almost imagine myself living there, decorating in this way and hosting lively house parties.

What made it work so well, I think, was that the decoration respected the house rather than competing with it. Arts and Crafts ideals are rooted in honesty of materials, craftsmanship and beauty in everyday things, and Wightwick is a showcase for all of that. The Christmas display did not hide those qualities. It revealed them.

That mattered to me because I had taken a group, none of whom had visited before. I wanted them to see the artistic richness of the house itself, not find it buried behind some irrelevant festive spectacle. I had even rung in advance to ask how extensive the decorations would be, so that I could manage expectations. What a relief, then, to find that what I had been promised was not only true, but better than I had hoped.

We had almost not made it at all. That morning we woke to snow, but thankfully our expert driver got us there on time without difficulty. In the end it only added to the magic: blue skies, snow on the ground and Wightwick looking at its absolute best. At Christmas, honestly, what more could you ask for?