A house made for company

There was a time when going to someone’s house could occupy an entire weekend.

And if the house happened to be in the country, getting there was part of it.

Guests travelled. Bags were unpacked. Bedrooms were prepared. Someone had thought about dinner, what would be poured, where everyone might sit and what could be done with the hours in between.

The great country houses were destinations in their own right.

Few places in South Australia tell that story quite like Martindale Hall.

Built near Mintaro in 1879, Martindale was made for company. Under the Bowman family, guests came from Adelaide by train and were collected from nearby Merildin station by carriage. Days might include polo, cricket, boating or a walk through the grounds. Then everyone came back to the house.

Dinner. Music. Conversation. Another cup poured.

The Mortlock family carried that spirit forward, with house parties, lunches and dinners making Martindale a place known as much for its welcome as its architecture.

There is something I love about that.

The idea that receiving people well deserved thought.

The good china.

A table properly set.

Something worth eating.

Enough tea.

And, perhaps most importantly, no great urgency for anybody to leave.

The pleasure of being received. 

We often think of hospitality as entertaining.

I think it is slightly different.

Good hospitality is the feeling that someone expected you.

They have made room. Thought ahead. Put something good on the table. Your presence mattered enough for them to prepare.

Martindale Hall still has that particular magic.

Today, on selected dates throughout the year, you can experience the house around the table again through its seasonal high teas.

The grand dining room is set. The china comes out. Sweet and savoury dishes are brought to the table and proper loose-leaf tea is poured while guests sit, talk and take rather longer over the afternoon than they normally might.

The Merry Wolf has had the rather lovely privilege of being among the teas poured there.

It feels very much at home.

An invitation to follow along. 

Martindale Hall hosts events and special experiences throughout the year, and the high teas tend to be the sort of thing people hear about and then wish they had booked.

So if a long table in an old country house sounds like your idea of a good afternoon, follow Martindale Hall on Instagram and Facebook.

That is where upcoming high teas, seasonal events and other reasons to make the drive to Mintaro are announced.

Perhaps the great pleasure of the country house was the invitation itself.

To arrive. To be welcomed in. To stay awhile.