Cheekwood Estate and Gardens

John and I had a goal of seeing a botanical garden while in Nashville, thinking that we just may see some spring flowers and blooming trees. A little bit of research led us to Cheekwood mansion and gardens. Cheekwood has 55 acres of cultivated gardens as well as a 1.5-mile woodland trail.

 

You may notice a ribbon tied around the tree in the picture above. Many of the trees in the gardens of Cheekwood had that same black and red ribbon. It was in memory of the people killed in the Nashville school shooting which had happened a week or so ago.

 

We did not spend as much time touring the gardens as we thought we would- it was an overcast cool day and springtime flowering was just beginning. Instead, we took a tour of the 30,000 square feet mansion pictured above. That is a 1930s home, formerly the home of Mabel Wood Cheek and Leslie Cheek. He was a wholesale grocer who also invested in Cheek Neal Coffee Company, the producers of Maxwell House Coffee. Today it is one of the "most intact country place era estates in America", according to the written information provided to us.  The building of it was inspired by baronial British manor houses, and, as most of the wealthy did back in that time, furnished with itemspurchased by the Cheeks on their trips to Europe.

Pictured above is a marble fireplace, and above it is an antique clock purchased from the Grosvenor House in London.

 In the picture above you are looking at the "transverse hallway". Notice the tapestry on the wall  of the previous room, and also the large beautiful wooden door. That picture may give you an idea of the grandeur of the mansion. Maybe one more picture is needed here, that of the dining room.

Over time the Cheek family amassed and displayed a large collection of paintings, furniture, textiles, silver, and books. Their collection focuses on works of art from the 1870s through WW11. There was a lot to see in this house and we spent most of our day just touring it..We did walk around some of the grounds outside, where we saw the outdoor sculptures of Cheekwood. This is one place I would love to visit again, preferably at summer time!