Osborne House and the Swiss Cottage
Queen Victoria ’s holiday retreat, Osborne House is situated on a 342 acres estate on the Isle of Wight. Visitors can catch a glimpse into the life and times of Britain’s longest serving monarch.
In 1845 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert purchased Osborne House, its 342 acres and the adjacent Barton Manor, to serve as a country retreat to the Royal Family. In Queen Victoria’s words Osborne House was ‘a place of ones own – quiet and retired’ and she selected this property on the Isle of Wight after her childhood trips to the isle.
Osborne House is dominated by its two Italianate towers, designed by Victorian architect Thomas Cubitt to look out to the ships sailing in the Solent. An Italianate design by Prince Albert and Thomas Cubitt also graces the terraced formal gardens, which complement the house.
The opulent interiors of Osborne House include marble sculptures commissioned by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, which line the classically designed Grand Corridor of the House. Portraits and frescos line the walls and family photographs can be found on the desks of Victoria and Albert offering an insight into how the Royal Family lived here.
The richly decorated Durbar Room served as an elegant banqueting hall and today celebrates Queen Victoria’s role as Empress of India, with lavish symbols of India, including a huge statue of Ganesh, the elephant God of good fortune.
In the grounds there is a summerhouse, a museum of Victorian life, a miniature fort and barracks and the Swiss Cottage, which was originally built as a place where the royal children could learn domestic skills.
Throughout the grounds are a number of walkways along the elegant gardens and woodlands, while Osborne House boasts a restaurant overlooking the gardens and more recently a holiday home within the private grounds.
