Built
on 17 reinforced concrete piers pile-driven deep into the earth Stratford
Castle stands on the fringes of Camelot’s largest lake and was designed and
built to last for centuries. It is that most rare of creations – a dream
of beauty that has become a breathtaking reality.
The
Castle’s cornerstone on the North wing is engraved with Sir Walter Raleigh’s
immortal words: “True love is a durable fire in the mind ever burnynge ..”
and
the entire building is imbued with the spirit of those words. From the
magnificent stained glass oriole on its fine staircase to the bartizan
window on the lake frontage, to every detail of its architecture, here is a
very special home to love and take pride in.
The
stained-glass centrepieces set into the embrasured leadlite windows were
created by the late Thomas Sutcliffe R.A. famous for restoring the
magnificent stained-glass of Coventry Cathedral, bombed during the 1939
Battle of Britain. These centrepieces depict various Elizabethan
characters like the six wives of King Henry VIII (taken from portraits in
the National Gallery on Trafalgar Square) and others depict Henry VIII’s
Coat of Arms, the Red Rose of Lancaster, the White Rose of York which
together make up the Tudor Rose - still a principal symbol of British
monarchy today. There is also a stained glass centrepiece portrait of Sir
Walter Raleigh the most remarkable personality of the Elizabethan era and of
his family crest. In themselves individual works of art, these stained
glass creations are built into the very fabric of the Castle itself, and it
would be difficult to place a realistic value on them today.
Despite the splendid statement of its presence, the final impression one
has of the Castle is its unique warmth, homeliness and comfort. Simply
being within its great walls overlooking the lake gives one a sense of
occasion which is accompanied by the warmth of a real, lived-in, truly
comfortable home with all the “mod cons” one could wish for!
The
open rooftop of the Castle is now being turned into a “secret garden” with
one tower a Finnish Sauna and the other a Jacuzzi Room.
Stratford Castle is an astonishing achievement – a home with a real sense of
history and fairytale romance, yet with a welcoming, warm and well-loved
ambience – a masterpiece of present-day home architecture.
Under
high security, the Castle overlooks a beautiful lake with fly-fishing, a
classic Par 72 Hugh Baiocchi Golf Course, and excellent restaurants and all
the civilized facilities from first class medical attention to banks,
outstanding shopping Malls. Approximately 25 minutes from Durban’s
International Airport (an overnight flight from Heathrow and all of Europe’s
capital cities).
