Stately Houses and Gardens
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Britain boasts a great many historic stately homes and country mansions surrounded by lavish landscaped gardens, which today are open to the public offering a fascinating insight into the lives of the British aristocracy. As a nation, Britain is steeped in history, heritage and prestige. For almost a century, Britain was the leading country in the world, with the British Empire ruling over a third of the planet. Reaping the rewards of this dominance was an elite aristocracy, whose wealth, importance and prestige is elaborately expressed in their ancestral homes. One of the most prominent examples of which is Blenheim Palace in the village of Woodford a few miles outside Oxford. Set in 2,500 acres this English baroque, palatial pad was a gift from Queen Anne to John Churchill the 1st Duke of Marlborough for defeating the French at the Battle of Blenheim, an event that altered the balance of power in Europe in England’s favour. Blenheim Palace was built, at the expense of the crown, between 1705 and 1722. Indeed this caused a national scandal as the Duke of Marlborough spared no expense, employing the best architects of the day such as Nicolas Hawksmoor, Sir John Vanburgh and eminent landscape gardener Capability Brown. Blenheim is an architectural marvel, a palatial celebration of the prestigious Spencer-Churchills, whose lineage includes Sir Winston Churchill. It was here at Blenheim, that Britain’s wartime Prime Minister was born and Churchill is buried nearby in Bladon. The centrepiece of Blenheim Palace is the Great Hall, decorated with scenes of Marlborough’s famous victory. While outside the famous lake ornamented by a series of cascades, is viewed by many as Capability Brown’s crowning achievement. The talents of Capability Brown were much sought after during the 18th century. The architect of the finest English country gardens, Brown’s services were employed at Longleat in Wiltshire, Chatsworth House in Derbyshire and Kew Gardens in London. At Longleat the 3rd Viscount of Weymouth employed Brown to develop the 900-acre estate surrounding his magnificent Elizabethan mansion dating from 1580. Longleat has been in the same family for over 450 years, the current owner the Marques of Bath, resides over a vast estate and popular tourist attraction. Longleat first opened to the public in 1949, where visitors were greeted by priceless collections from Wooton, van Goyen and Reynolds. Today Longleat is home to England’s largest safari park and is one of the most popular family attractions in the south of England. Named the Palace of the Peak, Chatsworth House is one of Britain’s most one of Britain’s iconic stately homes. Surrounded by landscape gardens, deep in the rugged countryside of the Peak District, Chatsworth House has been the ancestral home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire since the 1618. In the 18th century Capability Brown was commission by the 4th Duke of Devonshire and created, what for many is his grandest garden, boasting a 314 yard long canal, the 300 foot high Emperor Fountain and the delightful cascade designed by Grillet. The house is a glorious baroque palace with truly breathtaking interiors. The painted halls depict the life of Julius Caesar, while the State Rooms are lavishly furnished with a fabulous collection of paintings from Rembrandt and Gainsborough. But the centrepiece of the house is undoubtedly the Chapel, built between 1688 and 1693 and completely unchanged. Perhaps the most well known, but not the most celebrated garden associated with Capability Brown are the gardens at Kew. Brown, along with many other famous names contributed to the designs for the 300 acres surrounding Kew Palace, but Kew Gardens are better known as the home of the Royal Botanical Gardens, a designated World Heritage Site, with over 40,000 types of plant. Since the 18th century, Kew Gardens have played an important role in botanical science and today provide a fascinating attraction, away from the bustle and fumes of the capital. Another of Britain’s important horticultural sites can be found tucked away in the valleys of North Wales at Bodnant Gardens. From the 19th century Bodnant Gardens were owned by two presidents of the Royal Horticultural Society (father and son) who developed the estate into the horticultural haven it is today. The gardens are split between the Italianate upper gardens surrounding the Georgian Mock Tudor house and wild wooden gardens of the lower dell. Bodnant is famous for its rhododendrons and the fabulous Laburnum Arch a curving tunnel 55 metres long which flowers each year around late May. Not far away from Bodnant are the famous gardens of Powis Castle, developed in the 17th century by the illustrious Clive of India. Overhung with enormous clipped yew trees, with colourful herbaceous borders, the gardens are wonderfully laid out with Italian and French styles and retain their original lead statutes of Greek figures, shepherds and bagpipers! But the grand-daddy of all English (and Welsh!) country gardens, and another World Heritage Site, can be found at Stourhead. Regarded as the finest example of 18th century landscape gardening, Stourhead was inspired by the European landscapes as depicted in the paintings of Lorraine and Poussin. Stourhead in turn inspired the works of Capability Brown, who visited the estate many times to develop the model for his own creations at Longleat, Chatsworth and Blenheim. The 2,650 acre estate was bought in the 1717 by wealthy banker Henry Hoare who set about transforming Stourhead. He employed architect Colen Campbell to build the fabulous Palladian Mansion, one of the first of its kind in England at the time. The house stayed with the Hoare family for over 200 years until the heir to the estate was killed in World War One. On exhibit in the house is the magnificent Hoare collection including early Chippendale furniture and artworks from Canaletto, Poussin and Reynolds.
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