A la Ronde: 16-sided booth, let the sun shine forever (21 photos + 1 video)

In picturesque Lympstone, Devon, England, stands an unusual 18th-century house – a sixteen-sided building built by two eccentric travelling cousins, Jane and Mary Parminter.





After returning from a decade-long tour of Europe, they turned their dream of a home filled with light and memories into stone.



Jane Parminter, the daughter of a wealthy wine merchant, went on a tour of Europe after her father's death in the company of her sister, cousin Mary, and a friend. During their years of travel, they traveled all over France, Italy, and Switzerland, and upon their return in 1795, they conceived of a house that would embody their freedom.

The inspiration was the octagonal Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. Having bought 6 hectares of land, the women built a 20-room, three-story house with a central octagonal hall. All the rooms were connected in a circle, allowing the cousins ​​to literally "follow the sun": have breakfast in the eastern living room, and move to the western oval room for evening tea.

Ingenious little things





Every detail of this house is subordinated to form. Sliding doors are hidden in the walls, folding seats are provided between the doors, and for curved walls - transforming wardrobes.

But the main treasure is, of course, the interiors created by the owners themselves: a gallery decorated with shells, feather mosaics and virtuoso paper appliqués.

Heiresses with character



Jane died in 1811. Mary lived in the house until 1849, bequeathing it "only to unmarried relatives." Thus began a series of eccentric heiresses, until in 1886 the house passed to the only man - the priest Oswald Reichel. He added a water tower, central heating and even "talking pipes", but the National Trust later restored the house to its original appearance.

Since 1935, the house has been open to the public, a reminder of two women who, in an age of patriarchy, built a world for themselves by their own rules - round, bright and without compromise.









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