Things to do in The Vyne house

Toys from times gone by are displayed in front of a red sofa next to a sparkling Christmas tree — Follow the story of The Nutcracker on a festive ground-floor adventure through the house. | © National Trust / Virginia Langer

This Christmas, the curtain rises on The Nutcracker as you explore the luxuriously decorated ground floor of the house at The Vyne. Following heroes Clara and the Nutcracker as they defeat the villainous Mouse King, you’ll encounter plucky gingerbread men, pirouetting snowflakes and see a sumptuous banquet in the ‘Land of Sweets’. House ground floor open daily 11am-3pm until 1 January 2024. Subject to volunteer availability. Closed 24 and 25 December.

Sat 25 Nov – Mon 1 Jan: Sparkling Christmas trees drip with glimmering glass baubles, velvet bows, gingerbread men, ballerinas and china teacups. With a nod to the ballet's Waltz of the Snowflakes, the staircase hall features twinkling garlands and a shimmering giant snowflake from which hang a flurry of smaller snowflakes.

As you explore the ground floor, the first few rooms introduce you to the story of The Nutcracker before you walk through a giant Christmas tree in the Stone Gallery to another world. Here, heroes Clara, the Nutcracker and his soldiers are shown fighting the evil Mouse King and his fiendish army of rodents.

After defeating the Mouse King, you'll follow Clara and The Nutcracker (now transformed into a prince) as they journey together through magical lands. Entering the Saloon, you'll encounter elegant figurines depicting famous dances from across the globe, while on the Christmas tree you might spot tiny ballerinas with petal tutus from the ballet's Waltz of the Flowers.

In the Dining Parlour, you arrive in the Sugar Plum Fairy's Land of Sweets where a sumptuous banquet is laid out on the table. You'll find two sweetie thrones here where you're welcome to pause for a selfie before continuing to the story's happy ending in the ante-chapel. Before you leave, you're welcome to visit the second-hand bookshop at the end of the corridor for a leisurely browse. House open 11am-3pm, subject to volunteer availability.
The Sandys and Chute families made The Vyne their home for over 500 years. They accumulated beautiful and important objects and made significant changes to the house during their lives, which you will see as you explore the opulent state rooms and humble servants’ quarters.

Currently decorated for Christmas, enter the house through the portico and explore each room of the ground floor to discover intriguing stories about The Vyne's former residents. With Grecian pillars, sweeping balconies and plasterwork like royal icing, the 18th-century staircase hall is a sight to behold.

Tucked away in a ground-floor ante-room, examine the intricate detail on Lattimo plates handpainted with 18th-century Venetian scenes. In the stone gallery, you’ll find a Tudor roundel that emulates the style and grandeur of the ancient world. The Vyne's pre-Reformation chapel showcases the earliest depiction of Henry VIII in stained glass.

Successfully conserved: The Vyne's leather screen

Back on display following painstaking conservation, gaze up at an 18th-century leather screen festooned with 24 romantic scenes. Once damaged and in poor condition, conservators rescued this treasure at the Royal Oak Conservation Studio based at Knole.

A gentlemen kneels beside a seated lady with his right hand in hers. — An 18th-century oil-painted scene after artist Jean-Antoine Watteau. | © National Trust / Karen Legg

Taking a closer look

Depicting 24 elegantly dressed couples engaging in ‘frivolous pursuits’ in rural settings, the oil-painted screen was almost slashed during a children’s sword fight in the fifties and became degraded under centuries of accumulated dirt and tears. You can see the screen for yourself, explore the origins of artist Jean-Antoine Watteau’s inspiration for the design and learn about the conservation of this treasure in a display room on the first floor of the house.

Curator's choice: must-sees at The Vyne

Whether you want to see the house’s surviving examples of Tudor craftsmanship or admire the exquisite taste of John Chute, here are four key things to look out for.

A pair of Lattimo plates depicting Italian cities, in the Ante Room at The Vyne, Hampshire — A pair of Lattimo plates depicting Italian cities, in the Ante Room at The Vyne | © National Trust Images

Venetian lattimo glass plates

In July 1741 John Chute and his friends commissioned these hand-made plates while visiting Venice. In a time before photography, these decorative souvenirs were a way of displaying their visit, featuring different painted views of the city. Made using a technique named lattimo, tin oxide was added to the glass to give it a white appearance. The images were copied from paintings and engravings. What really makes this set special is its survival. The sets belonging to John’s friends Walpole and Pelham-Clinton were sold after their deaths and are now dispersed. The Vyne is the only place where you can see a large, intact set of these plates (16 of the original 24 survive) which are still displayed in the cabinets made for them in the 19th Century.

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Close up detail of the 16th-century stained glass window in the Chapel at the Vyne, Hampshire

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Lake with swans and fringed by trees with orange and red late autumn foliage, The Vyne, Hampshire

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