Troutbeck Village, here in the Lake District, has a famous 17th-century farmhouse, called Townend, owned by the National Trust (NT). Most houses owned by the National Trust are on the scale of stately homes so this one is tiny in comparison – but small is definitely beautiful!

Townend is open to visitors, standard adult admission charge is £8.50, though of course it’s free for National Trust members. Not being a NT member, so I decided to wait for one of the Heritage Open Days, this year on Sunday September 18, when Townend was open to the public free of charge. And what a great place it is to visit!

“Townend is a cosy farmhouse near Windermere brimming with character. Once home to the Browne family, who lived in the house for over 400 years, the house is now open to the public and full of original objects from the Browne’s time here. The last George Browne to live at Townend was a sheep and dairy farmer, gardener and keen wood carver. His passion for the craft is shown throughout the house in the intricately carved furniture, and it is this that gives the house much of its charm and adds to the interesting history – George often added years to a piece by putting older dates and initials on his designs to make them look more old-fashioned and to blend them in with the other furniture in the house.

The house itself is a traditional Lake District stone and slate farmhouse with round chimneys. A quaint cottage garden is planted with many of the plants and trees that George loved, including fruit trees, roses and phloxes.” And for the Heritage Open Day, the NT had invited a local woodcarver to come and share his skills in the garden ….

Townend also has a beautiful traditional barn that is still used by a local farmer…

The house is particularly famous for its library and for having many books that are the only remaining copies in the world…

It’s also got some quirky sloping floors, and the furniture has been built to accommodate those sloping floors – check out the legs of this bed…

There’s certainly lots to see….

My favorite room was this blue one…

And the door knocker is special!

This is “Oil painting on canvas, George Browne X (1834 – 1914), British (English) School, circa 1842. A three-quarter-length portrait of Master Browne aged about 8, in a Lakeland setting by a local artist”….

Jesus Church, Troutbeck was where the Browne family went to church ….

“Ben Browne wanted people to think that the Brownes were an important family. He had done well in growing the farm, and he was the High Constable of Kendal which was an important role in the local community. In 1710 he put his own pew in Troutbeck Church. This made the people in the village very angry, so one night they broke into the church, ripped out the pew and burnt it!” Now all that remains there in the church is a kneeler of Townend…

Townend is well worth a visit if you’re in the area ~ and thanks to the National Trust for opening it as part of Heritage Open Days!