Picture Day Friday: An Octagonal Georgian House

A la Ronde is a sixteen-sided house near Exmouth in Devon, England and is owned by the National Trust. The house was built in the 1790s to exact design specifications by two Parminter relatives—independently wealthy single ladies who preferred to share a house together rather than embark upon uncertain marriages.

The shape of their house was influenced by "the octagonal basilica of San Vitale at Ravenna in Italy that they had seen during their [seven-year] Grand Tour. Inside the house, there was a central octagon and all the other rooms came off this and linked to each other by means of tiny lobbies. The rooms facing east were the ladies’ two bedrooms and they moved round the house during the day, following the natural light."

What a cool concept of a house. And how ideal for English weather, where every modicum of natural light is precious.

Rachel Knowles has written a wonderful post describing the house, its architecture, and its interior furnishings and curiosities, all accompanied with personal photographs.


[Image copyrighted by Andrew Knowles. Used with permission.]