79-609: Longleat is a stately home about 4 miles (7 km) west of Warminster in Wiltshire, England. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house , it is a Grade I listed building and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath . Longleat is set in 1,000 acres (400 ha) of parkland landscaped by Capability Brown , along with 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) of let farmland and 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) of woodland, which includes
158-454: A Center Parcs holiday village. It was the first stately home to open to the public, and the Longleat estate has the first safari park outside Africa and other attractions including a hedge maze . The house was built by Sir John Thynne and designed mainly by Robert Smythson , after Longleat Priory was destroyed by fire in 1567. It took 12 years to complete and is widely regarded as one of
237-450: A château or a Schloss can be a fortified or unfortified building, a country house, similar to an Ansitz , is usually unfortified. If fortified, it is called a castle, but not all buildings with the name "castle" are fortified (for example Highclere Castle in Hampshire ). The term stately home is subject to debate, and avoided by historians and other academics. As a description of
316-688: A country house, the term was first used in a poem by Felicia Hemans , "The Homes of England", originally published in Blackwood's Magazine in 1827. In the 20th century, the term was later popularised in a song by Noël Coward , and in modern usage it often implies a country house that is open to visitors at least some of the time. In England, the terms "country house" and "stately home" are sometimes used vaguely and interchangeably; however, many country houses such as Ascott in Buckinghamshire were deliberately designed not to be stately, and to harmonise with
395-604: A film location, including: Libel (1959); several episodes of the BBC science-fiction television series Doctor Who , and for 30 years a Doctor Who Exhibition was hosted on the grounds, with an event celebrating the series's 20th anniversary being held at the house at Easter 1983; the Indian Hindi film Mohabbatein (2000); and the BBC show How to Improve Your Memory (2006). The music video for Toni Braxton 's 1993 single " Breathe Again "
474-428: A fortunate few; it was the centre of its own world, providing employment to hundreds of people in the vicinity of its estate . In previous eras, when state benefits were unheard of, those working on an estate were among the most fortunate, receiving secured employment and rent-free accommodation. At the summit of this category of people was the indoor staff of the country house. Unlike many of their contemporaries prior to
553-524: A mixture of high architecture , often as interpreted by a local architect or surveyor, and determined by practicality as much as by the whims of architectural taste. An example of this is Brympton d'Evercy in Somerset, a house of many periods that is unified architecturally by the continuing use of the same mellow, local Ham Hill stone . The fashionable William Kent redesigned Rousham House only to have it quickly and drastically altered to provide space for
632-685: A tented gurdwara in the grounds. The imperial government highlighted the Pavilion as showing that wounded countrymen of British India were being well treated. With the official sanction of the state, a series of photographs were made to show the resplendent rooms converted into hospital wards. The soldiers were visited by Lord Kitchener in July 1915, and King George V in August of the same year, who presented several soldiers such as Mir Dast with military honours. The military hospital for Indian soldiers closed at
711-458: Is also home to Center Parcs Longleat Forest , a holiday resort . [REDACTED] Media related to Longleat at Wikimedia Commons Stately home An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house . This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people,
790-508: Is built in the Indo-Saracenic style prevalent in India for most of the 19th century. The current appearance, with its domes and minarets, is the work of the architect John Nash , who extended the building starting in 1815. George IV's successors William IV and Victoria also used the Pavilion, but Queen Victoria decided that Osborne House should be the royal seaside retreat, and the Pavilion
869-553: Is licensed as a venue for weddings. On 29 March 2014, the Royal Pavilion was host to one of a number of the first legal same-sex marriages to take place in the United Kingdom following the passage of the 2013 Same Sex Couples Act . The Royal Pavilion Garden, in the Pavilion's grounds, has a wide variety of plants, having been restored to Nash's original Regency vision. It is said to be the only fully restored Regency garden in
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#1732845107205948-473: Is politics; they talk politics; and they make politics, quite spontaneously. There are no written terms for distinguishing between vast country palaces and comparatively small country houses; the descriptive terms, which can include castle , manor and court , provide no firm clue and are often only used because of a historical connection with the site of such a building. Therefore, for ease or explanation, Britain's country houses can be categorised according to
1027-411: Is striking in the middle of Brighton, for its unique Indo-Islamic exterior. The fanciful interior design, primarily by Frederick Crace and the little-known decorative painter Robert Jones, was heavily influenced by both Chinese and Indian fashion (with Mughal and Islamic architectural elements). It is a prime example of the exoticism that was an alternative to more classicising mainstream taste in
1106-610: Is the ITV series Downton Abbey . Brighton Pavilion The Royal Pavilion (also known as the Brighton Pavilion ) and surrounding gardens is a Grade I listed former royal residence located in Brighton , England. Beginning in 1787, it was built in three stages as a seaside retreat for George, Prince of Wales, who became the Prince Regent in 1811, and King George IV in 1820. It
1185-542: The Marine Pavilion, flanking a central rotunda, which contained three main rooms: a breakfast room, dining room, and library, fitted out in Holland's French-influenced neoclassical style , with decorative paintings by Biagio Rebecca . In 1801–02, the pavilion was enlarged with a new dining room and conservatory, to designs of Peter Frederick Robinson , who worked in Holland's office. The Prince also purchased land surrounding
1264-482: The Regency style . After the death of George IV in 1830, his successor William IV also stayed in the pavilion on his frequent visits to Brighton. Queen Victoria , however, disliked Brighton and the lack of privacy at the pavilion. Brighton became accessible to Londoners by rail in 1841, increasing its popularity with the masses. In addition, the pavilion was cramped for her growing family. Famously, Queen Victoria disliked
1343-639: The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in 1987. Other Grade I listed buildings on the Longleat Estate include: the stables, the orangery , and the boathouse and bridge over the lake. Longleat Safari Park opened in 1966 as the first drive-through safari park outside Africa, and is home to over 500 animals, including Rothschild's giraffes , Grant's zebras , Rhesus monkeys , rhinos , African lions , Amur tigers and grey wolves . Cheetahs , koalas and spotted hyenas are among
1422-516: The Victoria Cross were treated here such as Khudadad Khan , Shahamad Khan and Mir Dast . The Pavilion hospital also incorporated the adjacent Dome and Corn Exchange ; these buildings had formerly been part of the large stable complex associated with the residence. The Pavilion hospital was set up with two operating theatres and over 720 beds. Over 2,300 men from the Indian Army were treated at
1501-399: The agricultural depressions of the 1870s , the estates, of which country houses were the hub, provided their owners with incomes. However, the late 19th and early 20th centuries were the swansong of the traditional English country house lifestyle. Increased taxation and the effects of World War I led to the demolition of hundreds of houses ; those that remained had to adapt to survive. While
1580-502: The 1850s, with the English economy booming, new mansions were built in one of the many revivalist architectural styles popular throughout the 19th century. The builders of these new houses were able to take advantage of the political unrest in Europe that gave rise to a large trade in architectural salvage. This new wave of country house building is exemplified by the Rothschild properties in
1659-419: The 18th century with houses such as Castle Howard , Kedleston Hall and Holkham Hall . Such building reached its zenith from the late 17th century until the mid-18th century; these houses were often completely built or rebuilt in their entirety by one eminent architect in the most fashionable architectural style of the day and often have a suite of Baroque state apartments, typically in enfilade , reserved for
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#17328451072051738-474: The 20th century, they slept in proper beds, wore well-made adequate clothes and received three proper meals a day, plus a small wage. In an era when many still died from malnutrition or lack of medicine, the long working hours were a small price to pay. As a result of the aristocratic habit of only marrying within the aristocracy, and whenever possible to a sole heiress, many owners of country houses owned several country mansions, and would visit each according to
1817-613: The Brighton Vestry successfully petitioned the government to sell the Pavilion to the town for £53,000 in 1850 under the Brighton Improvement (Purchase of the Royal Pavilion and Grounds) Act 1850 ( 13 & 14 Vict. c. v). The sale helped fund furnishing of Osborne House. In 1860, the adjacent royal stables were converted to a concert hall, now known as the Brighton Dome . The town used the building as assembly rooms . Many of
1896-668: The Flight into Egypt – worth more than £5m – was stolen from the drawing room in January 1995. It was found in a plastic shopping bag in London in 2002. Longleat staged the Red Bull Air Race in 2005. A copy of the painting The Fallen Madonna , a running joke from the BBC television sitcom 'Allo 'Allo! , was made for Henry Thynne and hangs in Longleat House. The house has been much used as
1975-535: The Orangery. Henry Thynne, 3rd Marquess of Bath (1797–1837) was succeeded by John Thynne, 4th Marquess of Bath (1831–1896) who collected Italian fine arts. He employed John Crace , whose prior work included Brighton Pavilion , Woburn Abbey , Chatsworth House and the Palace of Westminster , to add Italian renaissance style interiors. Thomas Thynne, 5th Marquess of Bath (1862–1946) inherited in 1896. During World War I ,
2054-577: The Pavilion's original fixtures and fittings were removed on the order of the royal household at the time of the sale, most ending up either in Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle . In the late 1860s, Queen Victoria returned to Brighton large quantities of unused fittings. George V and Queen Mary returned more furnishings after the First World War . Since the end of the Second World War ,
2133-523: The Prince of Wales was advised by his physician that the seawater and fresh air would be beneficial for his gout . In 1786, under a financial cloud with investigations by Parliament for the extravagances incurred in building Carlton House , London, the prince rented a modest, erstwhile farmhouse facing the Old Steine , a grassy area of Brighton used as a promenade by visitors. Remote from the royal court in London,
2212-605: The Royal Pavilion & Museums' buildings and collections were transferred from Brighton & Hove City Council to a new charity: the Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust. During the First World War, the Pavilion, along with other sites in Brighton, was transformed into a military hospital. From December 1914 to January 1916, sick and wounded soldiers from the Indian Army were treated in the former palace. Many Indian recipients of
2291-696: The UK. The garden is maintained using only organic methods by the Trust's garden team led by a Head gardener and including volunteers. The garden is often used by street entertainers, especially in summer. There is also a café in the garden. The garden is Grade II listed in the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens . Historic England deemed the garden 'at risk' in October 2017 due to its original character being blighted and overshadowed by unsightly fencing, litter bins, signage and lighting etc. Brighton and Hove City Council opened
2370-600: The ante-library, with a magnificent Venetian painting on the ceiling; the Red Library, which displays many of the 40,000 books in the house; the Breakfast Room, with a ceiling to match the ante-library; the Lower Dining Room; the bathroom and bath-bedroom: the bath is a lead-lined tub of coopered construction , originally filled by hand from buckets and drained the same way; taps and drains are now provided. The lead lining
2449-409: The beginnings of the site's attraction as a tourist destination. The Royal Pavilion has been changed from a private residence to a public attraction under civic ownership. Today, around 400,000 people visit the Royal Pavilion annually. General filming and photography are permitted inside the Royal Pavilion. Many of the items in the palace are on loan, in particular from HM The King. The Royal Pavilion
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2528-467: The best-known examples of the showy prodigy house , often built with the intention of attracting the monarch to visit. By the reign of Charles I , Inigo Jones and his form of Palladianism had changed the face of English domestic architecture completely, with the use of turrets and towers as an architectural reference to the earlier castles and fortified houses completely disappearing. The Palladian style, in various forms, interrupted briefly by baroque ,
2607-464: The brother of Charles I ; the upper west corridor; the Grand Staircase; and the banqueting suite on the top floor: the furniture and interiors designed by Claire Rendall, the dining table commissioned from John Makepeace and the chandelier from Jocelyn Burton . The house was designated as a Grade I listed building in 1968. The formal gardens, pleasure grounds and parkland were listed Grade I on
2686-520: The circumstances of their creation. The great houses are the largest of the country houses; in truth palaces, built by the country's most powerful – these were designed to display their owners' power or ambitions to power. Really large unfortified or barely fortified houses began to take over from the traditional castles of the crown and magnates during the Tudor period, with vast houses such as Hampton Court Palace and Burghley House , and continued until
2765-452: The constant attention she attracted in Brighton, saying "the people here are very indiscreet and troublesome". She purchased an estate and land that was redeveloped for Osborne House in the Isle of Wight, which became the summer home of the royal family. After her last visit to Brighton in 1845, the government planned to sell the building and grounds. The Brighton Improvement Commissioners and
2844-513: The country saw the building of the first of the unfortified great houses. Henry VIII 's Dissolution of the Monasteries saw many former ecclesiastical properties granted to the King's favourites, who then converted them into private country houses. Woburn Abbey , Forde Abbey and many other mansions with abbey or priory in their name became private houses during this period. Other terms used in
2923-428: The design of the wing around the next corner. These varying "improvements", often criticised at the time, today are the qualities that make English country houses unique. Wealthy and influential people, often bored with their formal duties, go to the country in order to get out of London, the ugliest and most uncomfortable city in the world; they invented the long week-end to stay away as long as possible. Their métier
3002-427: The early 1970s, hundreds of country houses were demolished . Houses that survived destruction are now mostly Grade I or II listed as buildings of historic interest with restrictions on restoration and re-creation work. However such work is usually very expensive. Several houses have been restored, some over many years. For example at Copped Hall where the restoration started in 1995 continues to this day. Although
3081-689: The end of January 1916 after most of the British Indian Army had been withdrawn from the Western Front in France and redeployed to the Middle East . The Pavilion reopened as a hospital in April 1916. It became a hospital for 'limbless men,' treating British soldiers who had lost arms and legs, usually from amputation. In addition to treating the men's physical needs, a great emphasis was placed on rehabilitating
3160-575: The finest examples of Elizabethan architecture in Britain. It continues to be the seat of the Thynn family, who have held the title of Marquess of Bath since 1789; the eighth and present Marquess is Ceawlin Thynn . Longleat was previously an Augustinian priory . The name comes from " leat ", an artificial waterway or channel such as that which supplies a watermill . Sir Charles Appleton (1515–1580) purchased Longleat for Sir John Thynn in 1541 for £53. Appleton
3239-422: The formal gardens with a landscaped park and dramatic drives and entrance roads. Thomas Thynne, 2nd Marquess of Bath (1765–1837) employed Jeffry Wyatville to modernise the house and received advice from Humphrey Repton on the grounds. Wyatville demolished several parts of the house, including Wren's staircase, and replaced them with galleries and a grand staircase. He also constructed many outbuildings including
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3318-430: The gardens around the house to allow for tourists. The safari park opened in 1966. Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath (1932–2020) was an artist and mural painter with a penchant for mazes and labyrinths: he created the hedge maze, the love labyrinth, the sun maze, the lunar labyrinth and King Arthur's maze on the property. Ceawlin Thynn, 8th Marquess of Bath (born 1974) inherited in 2020. A Titian work, Rest on
3397-473: The home counties and Bletchley Park (rebuilt in several styles, and famous for its code-breaking role in World War II). The slow decline of the English country house coincided with the rise not just of taxation, but also of modern industry, along with the agricultural depression of the 1870s. By 1880, this had led some owners into financial shortfalls as they tried to balance maintenance of their estates with
3476-399: The hospital. Elaborate arrangements were made to cater for the patients' variety of religious and cultural needs. Nine different kitchens were set up in the grounds of the hospital, so that food could be cooked by the soldiers' fellow caste members and co-religionists. Muslim soldiers were given space on the eastern lawns to pray facing towards Mecca , while Sikh soldiers were provided with
3555-499: The house was used as a temporary hospital. During World War II , it became the evacuated Royal School for Daughters of Officers of the Army . An American hospital was also constructed in the grounds; Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath (1905–1992) inherited in 1946. Faced with considerable death duties he sold large parts of the wider estates; to allow Longleat itself to survive, he opened the house to public visitors. Russell Page redesigned
3634-567: The house; and was succeeded by Thomas Thynne (1646–1682), and then Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth (1640–1714) who started the house's large book collection. Formal gardens, canals, fountains and parterres were created by George London with sculptures by Arnold Quellin and Chevalier David. The Best Gallery, Long Gallery, Old Library and Chapel were all added by Christopher Wren. Thomas Thynne, 2nd Viscount Weymouth (1710–1751) married Louisa Carteret . Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath (1734–1796) employed Capability Brown who replaced
3713-435: The household. These houses were always an alternative residence to a London house. During the 18th and 19th centuries, for the highest echelons of English society, the country house served as a place for relaxing, hunting and running the country with one's equals at the end of the week, with some houses having their own theatre where performances were staged. The country house, however, was not just an oasis of pleasure for
3792-551: The immediately preceding war then in World War I, were now paying far higher rates of tax, and agricultural incomes had dropped. Thus, the solution for many was to hold contents auctions and then demolish the house and sell its stone, fireplaces , and panelling . This is what happened to many of Britain's finest houses. Despite this slow decline, so necessary was the country house for entertaining and prestige that in 1917 Viscount Lee of Fareham donated his country house Chequers to
3871-438: The income they provided. Some relied on funds from secondary sources such as banking and trade while others, like the severely impoverished Duke of Marlborough , sought to marry American heiresses to save their country houses and lifestyles. The ultimate demise began immediately following World War I . The members of the huge staff required to maintain large houses had either left to fight and never returned, departed to work in
3950-484: The landscape, while some of the great houses such as Kedleston Hall and Holkham Hall were built as "power houses" to dominate the landscape, and were most certainly intended to be "stately" and impressive. In his book Historic Houses: Conversations in Stately Homes , the author and journalist Robert Harling documents nineteen "stately homes"; these range in size from the vast Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard to
4029-540: The latter two are ducal palaces, Montacute, although built by a Master of the Rolls to Queen Elizabeth I, was occupied for the next 400 years by his descendants, who were gentry without a London townhouse , rather than aristocracy. They finally ran out of funds in the early 20th century. However, the vast majority of English country houses, often owned at different times by gentlemen and peers , are an evolution of one or more styles with facades and wings in different styles in
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#17328451072054108-507: The men by training them in skills and trades. The Pavilion hospital operated until the summer of 1920, when the building was returned to Brighton Corporation. A new gateway in Indian style was unveiled in 1921 by the Maharaja of Patiala to commemorate the Pavilion's role in treating injured Indian soldiers during the war. The purchase of the Royal Pavilion from Queen Victoria, by Brighton, marked
4187-639: The minuscule Ebberston Hall , and in architecture from the Jacobean Renaissance of Hatfield House to the eccentricities of Sezincote . The book's collection of stately homes also includes George IV's Brighton town palace, the Royal Pavilion . The country houses of England have evolved over the last five hundred years. Before this time, larger houses were usually fortified, reflecting the position of their owners as feudal lords , de facto overlords of their manors . The Tudor period of stability in
4266-416: The most eminent guests, the entertainment of whom was of paramount importance in establishing and maintaining the power of the owner. The common denominator of this category of English country houses is that they were designed to be lived in with a certain degree of ceremony and pomp. It was not unusual for the family to have a small suite of rooms for withdrawing in privacy away from the multitude that lived in
4345-482: The most recent additions to the safari park. Four lion cubs were born in September 2011, making a total of ten cubs born that year, and Disney named two of them Simba and Nala as part of a co-promotion agreement for the upcoming Lion King 3D film. Longleat House was built in the sixteenth century by Sir John Thynn on the site of a dissolved priory, and in 1949 became the first stately home in Britain to be opened to
4424-438: The municipality of Brighton has worked to restore the Pavilion to its state at the time of King George IV. The city was encouraged in the 1950s by the permanent loan of over 100 items of furniture from Queen Elizabeth II . It has undertaken an extensive programme of restoring the rooms, reinstating stud walls, and creating replicas of some original fittings and occasionally pieces of furniture. In 2020, management and operation of
4503-399: The munitions factories, or filled the void left by the fighting men in other workplaces. Of those who returned after the war, many left the countryside for better-paid jobs in towns. The final blow for many country houses came following World War II ; having been requisitioned during the war, they were returned to the owners in poor repair. Many estate owners, having lost their heirs, if not in
4582-468: The names of houses to describe their origin or importance include palace , castle , court , hall , mansion , park , house , manor , and place . It was during the second half of the reign of Elizabeth I , and under her successor, James I , that the first architect-designed mansions, thought of today as epitomising the English country house, began to make their appearance. Burghley House , Longleat House , and Hatfield House are among
4661-450: The nation for the use of a prime minister who might not possess one of his or her own. Chequers still fulfills that need today as do both Chevening House and Dorneywood , donated for sole use of high-ranking ministers of the Crown. Today, many country houses have become hotels, schools, hospitals and museums, while others have survived as conserved ruins, but from the early 20th century until
4740-553: The operation of the Longleat Forest holiday village. The Longleat hedge maze is considered the world's longest, with 1.69 miles (2.72 km) of pathway. The layout was by maze designer Greg Bright. Over 16,000 English yews form the walls surrounding a central tower, and there are six raised footbridges. Longleat Woods ( grid reference ST795435 ) is a 249.9 ha (618 acres) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset, notified in 1972. Longleat Forest
4819-468: The owner of a "power house" or a small manor, the inhabitants of the English country house have become collectively referred to as the ruling class, because this is exactly what they did in varying degrees, whether by having high political influence and power in national government, or in the day-to-day running of their own localities or "county" in such offices as lord/deputy lieutenant , magistrates , or occasionally even clergy. The Country house mystery
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#17328451072054898-521: The owner's twelve children. Canons Ashby , home to poet John Dryden 's family, is another example of architectural evolution: a medieval farmhouse enlarged in the Tudor era around a courtyard, given grandiose plaster ceilings in the Stuart period , and then having Georgian façades added in the 18th century. The whole is a glorious mismatch of styles and fashions that seamlessly blend together. These could be called
4977-502: The ownership or management of some houses has been transferred to a private trust , most notably at Chatsworth , other houses have transferred art works and furnishings under the Acceptance in Lieu scheme to ownership by various national or local museums, but retained for display in the building. This enables the former owners to offset tax, the payment of which would otherwise have necessitated
5056-485: The pavilion was a discreet location for the prince to enjoy private liaisons with his long-time companion, Maria Fitzherbert . The prince had wished to marry her, and did so in secrecy as her Roman Catholic religion prohibited his marrying her under the Royal Marriages Act 1772 . In 1787, the prince commissioned the designer of Carlton House, Henry Holland , to enlarge the existing building. It became one wing of
5135-457: The private sale of the art works. For example, tapestries and furniture at Houghton Hall are now owned by the Victoria and Albert Museum . In addition, increasing numbers of country houses hold licences for weddings and civil ceremonies . Another source of income is to use the house as a venue for parties, a film location or a corporate entertainment venue. While many country houses are open to
5214-492: The property, on which a grand riding school and stables were built in an Indian style in 1803–08, to designs by William Porden , along with a famous onion garden to feed the Prince's well-known addiction. These provided stabling for 60 horses and dwarfed the Marine Pavilion. Between 1815 and 1822, the designer John Nash redesigned and greatly extended the pavilion, and it is his work that is still visible today. The palace
5293-467: The public and derive income through that means, they remain homes, in some cases inhabited by the descendants of their original owners. The lifestyles of those living and working in a country house in the early 20th century were recreated in a BBC television programme, The Edwardian Country House , filmed at Manderston House in Scotland. Another television programme which features life in country houses
5372-468: The public on a commercial basis. The house, park and attractions are open from mid-February to the start of November each year. The 9,800-acre (4,000 ha) estate, of which the park occupies 900 acres (360 ha), has long been one of the top British tourist attractions, and has motivated other large landowners to generate income from their heritage in response to rising maintenance costs. Longleat leases 400 acres (160 ha) of land to Center Parcs for
5451-509: The season: Grouse shooting in Scotland , pheasant shooting and fox hunting in England. The Earl of Rosebery , for instance, had Dalmeny House in Scotland, Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire, and another house near Epsom just for the racing season. For many, this way of life, which began a steady decline in 1914, continued well into the 20th century, and for a few continues to this day. In
5530-444: The second category of Britain's country houses are those that belonged to the squirearchy or landed gentry . These tend either to have evolved from medieval hall houses, with rooms added as required, or were purpose-built by relatively unknown local architects. Smaller, and far greater in number than the "power houses", these were still the epicentre of their own estate, but were often the only residence of their owner. However, whether
5609-566: The term distinguished between town and country. However, the term also encompasses houses that were, and often still are, the full-time residence for the landed gentry who dominated rural Britain until the Reform Act 1832 . Frequently, the formal business of the counties was transacted in these country houses, having functional antecedents in manor houses . With large numbers of indoor and outdoor staff, country houses were important as places of employment for many rural communities. In turn, until
5688-488: The true English country house. Wilton House , one of England's grandest houses, is in a remarkably similar vein; although, while the Drydens, mere squires, at Canons Ashby employed a local architect, at Wilton the mighty Earls of Pembroke employed the finest architects of the day: first Holbein , 150 years later Inigo Jones, and then Wyatt followed by Chambers. Each employed a different style of architecture, seemingly unaware of
5767-455: Was a builder with experience gained from working on The Old School Baltonsborough , Bedwyn Broil and Somerset House . In April 1567 the original house caught fire and burnt down. A replacement house was effectively completed by 1580. Adrian Gaunt, Alan Maynard, Robert Smythson , the Earl of Hertford and Humpfrey Lovell all contributed to the new building but most of the design was Sir John's work. He
5846-511: Was a popular genre of English detective fiction in the 1920s and 1930s; set in the residence of the gentry and often involving a murder in a country house temporarily isolated by a snowstorm or similar with the suspects all at a weekend house party. Following the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century, a third category of country houses was built as newly rich industrialists and bankers were eager to display their wealth and taste. By
5925-544: Was filmed at the house & gardens. The tour of the house comprises: the Elizabethan Great Hall, with a minstrels' gallery; The lower east corridor, a wide room originally used as servant access to the main rooms. This now holds fine furniture and paintings. Also on display are two visitor books, one showing the signatures of Elizabeth II and Philip, the other Albert ( George VI ) and Elizabeth (the Queen Mother);
6004-751: Was replaced in 2005. The room holds the first plumbed-in flush lavatory in the house; the State Dining Room, with a Meissen porcelain table centrepiece; the Saloon; the State Drawing Room, designed by Crace; the Robes Corridor; the Chinese Bedroom; the Music Room, with instruments including a barrel organ; the Prince of Wales Bedroom, so named because of a large painting of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales ,
6083-434: Was sold to the city of Brighton in 1850. The Prince of Wales, who later became George IV, first visited Brighton in 1783, at the age of 21. The seaside town had become fashionable as a result of the residence of George's uncle, Prince Henry, Duke of Cumberland , whose tastes for fine cuisine, gambling, the theatre, and general fast living the young prince shared, and with whom he lodged in Brighton at Grove House. In addition,
6162-523: Was the first of the Thynne 'dynasty' that have held unbroken ownership since the 16th century. Sir John's immediate descendants were Sir John Thynne the Younger (1555–1604) and then Sir Thomas Thynne ( ca. 1578–1639). Thomas's secret marriage to his family's enemy is said to have inspired Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet ; Sir James Thynne (1605–1670) employed Sir Christopher Wren to carry out modifications to
6241-422: Was to predominate until the second half of the 18th century when, influenced by ancient Greek styles, it gradually evolved into the neoclassicism championed by such architects as Robert Adam . Some of the best known of England's country houses were the work of only one architect/designer, built in a relatively short, particular time: Montacute House , Chatsworth House , and Blenheim Palace are examples. While
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