To end all dereliction

I wish we were still doing the 'Derelict' challenge.  Today I saw dereliction to end all dereliction..

This is Northington Grange.  It is managed by English Heritage, though I think the family who own/owned it are still very much involved.  The EH website says of it:

Set in a landscaped park, The Grange at Northington, Hampshire, is the foremost example in England of Greek Revival architecture. The mansion owes its present appearance to the architect William Wilkins, who, between 1809 and 1816, transformed a modest 17th century brick building into something more like an Ancient Greek temple. Literally wrapping the house in cement, Wilkins added classical façades, including the striking temple front supported on eight gigantic columns.
Public outcry saved The Grange from demolition in 1975 and it is now used as an opera venue.

Sometime - maybe later in the year, I will go back and try for a shot of the outside.  It is in the middle of nowhere, about 6 miles from Winchester and approached down a very long farm track.  The opera only happens in the summer and today there should have been no-one there at all.  However, when sis and I got there we discovered they were rehearsing a one-off opera about Jane Austen, and while the performers were busy tootling away, the very sweet caretakers let us have a peep inside.

It is a wreck.  Almost no plaster on the walls, where the upper floors should sit there is netting stretched across (presumably to stop bits of debris falling on posh paying guests - you can see a bit of it here) and obviously no furnishings.  This piece of baroque painted wall plaster we found clinging on in the hall.  Most of the downstairs looked like the extra.

Okay, that's enough from me.  I hope your day's gone well.  Talk to you later  xx