George Washington's House vs Ickworth

We visited George Washington's house at Mount Vernon (just south of DC). In order to properly evaluate Mount Vernon, I will compare it to Ickworth house in Cambridgeshire, our favourite National Trust house in the UK....

Category 1: Historical Significance

Ickworth has been the seat of the Hervy family, the last of which to own the house was John Hervy the 7th. Mount Vernon was built primarily by George Washington, the First President of the United States, who led the US army during the revolution against the British and defined the office of President.

1-0 to Mount Vernon.

Category 2: The House

Mount Vernon (not a good photo, but good for an idea):

Ickworth:

I think Ickworth wins. 1-1.

Category 3: Edutainment

The museum at Mount Vernon was great - really good history of George Washington and lots of exhibits/information/movies etc. I honestly can't remember anything from looking around Ickworth, except that one of the wings was once a squash court.

2-1 to Mount Vernon.

Category 4: The Grounds

Here it was closer. Mount Vernon is situated on the Potomac, with a wonderful view of the river:

But Ickworth, although not as spectacular, has more walking trails and routes. I even ran a 10K there afew years ago on the paths, although the run ended in a rather steep hill just before the finish line....

I think here Ickworth wins here - its a great place to walk around on a Sunday afternoon :) 2-2.

Category 5: Tea Rooms.

The most important thing about a house is probably the tea room, for cake after a long walk. Here, Mount Vernon had a food court, with food from pizza to sandwiches to cookies. Very nice, but no cake.

Ickwork had a tea room featuring a nice seasonal selection of meals with, more importantly, cake, scones and cream teas.

So, Ickworth wins by a scone, 3-2.

Also - following this had Meatloaf for tea....