181-511: The Brill Tramway , also known as the Quainton Tramway , Wotton Tramway , Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad and Metropolitan Railway Brill Branch , was a six-mile (10 km) rail line in the Aylesbury Vale , Buckinghamshire , England. It was privately built in 1871 by the 3rd Duke of Buckingham as a horse tram line to help transport goods between his lands around Wotton House and
362-698: A Catholic heiress Mary Nugent, who had an income of £14,000 a year. He was created 1st Marquess of Buckingham in 1784 by King George III . On the death in 1788 of the Marquess's father-in-law Robert Nugent, 1st Earl Nugent he inherited the Earl's Irish (8,900 acres (3,600 ha)) and Cornish estates. The 2nd Marquess of Buckingham married in 1796 Anna Eliza Brydges the daughter and heiress of James Brydges, 3rd Duke of Chandos who had died in 1789. He thus acquired this wife's estates in Hampshire and Middlesex. Up until 1822
543-485: A gasworks was built to the west. A siding from Westcott station ran south to the gasworks, to carry coal. Waddesdon Manor chose not to use the Tramway for supplying coal to the gasworks and the siding was abandoned in 1886. Waddesdon Manor was complete in 1889, 13 years after construction began. The Winchendon Branch closed and the track was removed. The gasworks remained operational, supplied by road, until its closure during
724-517: A hexastyle portico supporting a pediment in the middle of the facade, there is a minor order of 48 Ionic columns over 20 feet (6.1 m) high that runs the length of the facade. The portico fronts a loggia that contains the doorway to the Marble Saloon, this is flanked by large niches that used to contain ancient Roman statues, between the columns of the portico used to be the marble sculpture of Vertumnus and Pomona by Laurent Delvaux now in
905-612: A branch line from East West Rail, to run from Claydon LNE Junction via Aylesbury Vale Parkway to Aylesbury, which were discussed in Parliament in 2021. This proposal remains "under review" and is not in any current plans. (The route of HS2 uses the same corridor and, as of August 2023 , the Claydon line is needed to move materials for its engineering works.) 51°53′28″N 0°54′43″W / 51.8910°N 0.9120°W / 51.8910; -0.9120 Stowe House Stowe House
1086-513: A ceremony in which coal from the first goods wagon to arrive at Wotton was distributed to the poor. At its opening the line was unnamed, but it was referred to as "The Quainton Tramway" in internal correspondence. The extension from Wotton to Wood Siding was complete by 17 June 1871; the opening date of the northern branch to Kingswood is not recorded, but it was not fully open in February ;1873. The London and North Western Railway began
1267-529: A dedicated service from Quainton Road, with three vans a week of milk collected from the Wotton estate shipped to the London terminus at Broad Street . The only passengers were estate employees and people accompanying livestock. The Duke and Jones intended to run no more than one train on each section of the line so the line was not built with passing loops or signalling. When more than one horse-drawn train or locomotive
1448-405: A flywheel drove chains which in turn drove the wheels, the locomotives were noisy and were nicknamed "Old Chainey" by locals. The first of the new locomotives, given serial number 807 by Aveling and Porter and numbered 1 by the Tramway, was delivered to Wotton station on 27 January 1872. On the day of its delivery, the now-redundant horses had been sent away. Nobody at Wotton could operate
1629-545: A further 27 operating with a Parish meeting, see list of civil parishes in Aylesbury Vale . The Aylesbury Vale countryside is described in the English novel The War Hero . The Vale has a number of historic buildings and landscapes which are tourist attractions. The National Trust owns several properties including Waddesdon Manor , Claydon House and the landscaped gardens at Stowe House . The Silverstone Circuit sits on
1810-519: A heavy load their front wheels would lift off the track. The Duke's cost-cutting led to poor maintenance of track and equipment, and the service was often interrupted by derailments and accidents. In 1876, the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway raised its prices for coal haulage. All coal hauled on the Tramway needed to pass along the A&;BR from Verney Junction or Aylesbury and Jones had to raise prices to cover
1991-526: A junction with the Aylesbury and Buckingham railway but would have its own station at Quainton Road at a right angle to the A&B's line. A turntable at the end of the tramway would link to a spur from the A&B's line. The line was to run roughly southwest from Quainton Road to Wotton near Wotton Underwood. Just west of the station at Wotton the line split. One section would run west to Wood Siding near Brill. A short stub called Church Siding would run northwest into Wotton Underwood itself, terminating near
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#17328558164582172-623: A large water tower known as the Black Tank was built in the fork of the main line and Church Siding. One day the engine ran off the line and the driver collected 19 field labourers and odd men and shoved her back onto the lines and she finished the journey with no further mishap. Letter to The Times , 6 December 1935 The engines proved adequate but slow. On 6 February 1872, Jones timed one as taking 41 minutes to travel roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) from Quainton Road to Wotton hauling 42 tons (43 t). They were low-powered, and when pulling
2353-481: A line running southwest to northeast from Oxford to Bletchley and a second southeast from Brackley via Buckingham to join the Oxford–Bletchley line halfway along its length. The first section opened on 1 May 1850, and the whole on 20 May 1851. The Buckinghamshire Railway intended to extend the line south to the station at Aylesbury but the extension was not built. On 6 August 1860
2534-631: A man now in the Art Gallery of Ontario and Portrait of a Woman now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ; Orazio Gentileschi 's The Rest on the Flight into Egypt now in the J. Paul Getty Museum ; Claude Joseph Vernet 's Rocky Coast in a Storm in the Wallace Collection ; Giovanni Battista Lusieri 's A View of Naples over nine feet in length this water colour remained in the house until sold in 1985 to
2715-449: A moment to look at the train and was knocked down and killed instantaneously. The body was taken to Wotton House. Bucks Herald , 10 March 1883 Despite frequent derailments, low speed meant Wotton Tramway had a good safety record. The locomotives occasionally ran over stray sheep, and on 12 September 1888 sparks from one of the Aveling and Porter engines blew back into one of
2896-410: A passenger railway, but goods traffic continued to be the primary purpose of the line. The line was heavily used to ship bricks from the brickworks around Brill, and cattle and milk from farms on the Wotton estate. By 1875 the line was carrying around 40,000 imperial gallons (180,000 L; 48,000 US gal) of milk each year. The inbound delivery of linseed cake to the dairy farms and of coal to
3077-497: A passenger." Letter to The Times , 6 December 1935 The introduction of the Bagnall locomotives and the traffic generated by the works at Waddesdon Manor had boosted the route's fortunes, but it remained in serious financial difficulty. The only connection with the national railway network was by way of the turntable at Quainton Road. The 3rd Duke of Buckingham chaired the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway but its management regarded
3258-535: A paw on a ball. These are the original lions dating from the late 1700s. They were sold in 1921 to Blackpool Corporation and had been standing in Stanley Park in Blackpool but were reinstated in 2013 in a swap deal that saw copies going to Blackpool. Either side of the portico are two tripartite windows separated and flanked by Ionic columns. These are enclosed with an arch that contains a carved Portland stone tondo in
3439-469: A precarious financial position that any successful legal action against them would likely have forced the line through Quainton Road to close, severing the Tramway's connection with the national network altogether. Local dairy farmers began to switch to beef and butter, causing a drop in milk transport. From its peak of 20,994 tons carried in 1877, goods traffic fell in each of the next four years, dropping to 9,139 tons (9,286 t) in 1881. Many of
3620-419: A pupil of Grinling Gibbons . The most elaborate pieces of carving were the gallery on the south side, the octagonal pulpit dated 1707 and the elaborate reredos that reached nearly the full height of the room, the lower half having two Corinthian columns flanking the altar above which used to hang a copy of Rubens 's painting of 'Holy Lamb'. This in turn was flanked by rich carving of fruit and plants. Above
3801-469: A railway. By the mid-1870s, the slow locomotives and their unreliability and inability to handle heavy loads were major problems. In 1874 Ferdinand de Rothschild bought a 2,700-acre (1,100 ha) site near Waddesdon station from John Spencer-Churchill, 7th Duke of Marlborough , for his planned Waddesdon Manor . Jones and the Duke recognised that construction would increase the haulage of heavy goods and that
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#17328558164583982-470: A richly detailed Doric entablature of white plaster with satyrs on the metopes . Hanging from the soffit of the entablature between each pair of columns are replica brass lanterns with glass domes, these are copies of the original light fittings. These columns flank four doors on the cardinal directions , the rest flank plain niches that once contained eight Ancient Roman statues. These were sold in 1848, recently new plaster casts of eight statues from
4163-449: A scheduled passenger timetable was published and the line was named the "Wotton Tramway". (Officially called the "Wotton Tramway", it was commonly known as the "Brill Tramway" from the time of its conversion to passenger use.) The new terminus of Brill railway station , at the foot of Brill Hill approximately 3 ⁄ 4 mile (1.2 km) north of the town, opened in March 1872. It was now
4344-478: A series of 52 family portraits, including: The Rt Hon. George Greville prime minister, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, now in the Bass Museum ; a posthumous portrait of George, Marquess of Buckingham , by John Jackson now at Christ Church, Oxford ; Mary Nugent, Marchioness of Buckingham by Sir Joshua Reynolds, last sold in 1989 and present whereabouts unknown; William Wyndham, Lord Grenville by John Hoppner now in
4525-672: A significant example of the English garden , and, along with the Park, passed into the ownership of the National Trust in 1989. National Trust members have free access to the gardens but there is a charge for all visitors to the house which goes towards costs of restoration. The gardens and most of the parkland are listed Grade I separately from the House. The park and gardens saw 213,721 visitors during 2020/21. The medieval settlement of Stowe clustered around
4706-434: A vaulted ceiling, the western end of the room has a recess flanked by two Egyptian style lotus columns that originally contained a heating stove in the form of a carved sarcophagus , removed in 1922. The frieze around the ceiling is decorated with a winged solar disk, the symbol of the god Ra , and uraei between falcon wings, which alternate with Ankh , the symbol of life, flanked by sceptres , symbols of power. There
4887-426: A week to build the line, each paid 11 s per week. They carried out all the construction except laying the track, which was done by the specialists, Lawford & Houghton. The line was built using the cheapest materials and winding around hills to avoid expensive earthworks. The ballast was a mix of burnt clay and ash. The stations were crude earth banks 6 inches (150 mm) high, held in place by wooden planks. As
5068-459: A well near Wotton came to nothing, and the Duke's expedient of drawing water from a pond near Quainton Road did not impress the pond's owner. By March 1872 Jones recorded that "The party to whom the pond near the Quainton Station belongs is making complaints about our having water and I expect he will be using force to prevent our getting any". A wooden water tower was built at Brill station, and
5249-458: A year. It was decided that 5 million bricks per year was a realistic figure, with bricks to be manufactured in kilns between Brill and Wood Siding stations and shipped down the Tramway to the national network. Progress was slow and obstructed by the local authority. Few records survive of the Brill Brick and Tile Works, as it came to be called, but it was operational by 1895. Jones (1974) says
5430-433: Is a central skylight also elliptical. The floor is made of 72 four-foot-square slabs of white Carrara marble resting on a brick vault; in the centre of the floor is a metal grille, part of the heating system. This is the first room to be fully restored to its pre-1848 condition. The State Music Room, to the east of The Marble Saloon, is approximately 30 by 40 feet (12 m), probably designed by Valdrè and finished in
5611-567: Is a grade I listed country house in Stowe , Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of the private Stowe School and is owned by the Stowe House Preservation Trust. Over the years, it has been restored and maintained as one of the finest country houses in the UK. Stowe House is regularly open to the public. The gardens (known as Stowe Gardens , formerly Stowe Landscape Gardens ), are
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5792-403: Is an illuminated sun globe over the south door. Also sold in 1922 were seven canvas sepia paintings on the walls which depicted Egyptian figures and hieroglyphics and two sculptures of Sphinxes that used to be at the base of the staircase. The designer of the room is not known for certain, though Sir John Soane implied in a lecture that the 1st Marquess was responsible for the concept. In 2012 all
5973-519: Is circular and is of The Dance of the Hours after Guido Reni , and is flanked to the north and south by two rectangular paintings of the four seasons. Between these large paintings are four smaller ones of landscape scenes. All the paintings are believed to be by Valdrè. The central chandelier is a recreation of 2012 of the one sold in 1848. The ancient Roman sculpture the Marine Venus , that used to stand in
6154-417: Is decorated with emblems of Bacchus, including four thyrsi surrounding an ornate jug with a handle in the form of a satyr . Encircled by a wreath of vine-leaves and grapes. The four corners have relieves of Venus, Flora , Vulcan and Venus, the crystal chandelier is modern replacement for the original one as is the fireplace. Displayed in the room are several pieces of the 'Stowe Service' commissioned from
6335-776: The A413 road and the A418 road meet at Aylesbury. The A421 road passes through the north of the Vale providing connections to Milton Keynes , Bedford and the M1 to the east, and the M40, Oxford and Birmingham to the west. The Vale is served by rail connections to the capital, containing several railway stations on the London to Aylesbury Line – the major station being Aylesbury . At Aylesbury there are connecting services to Princes Risborough . In addition,
6516-612: The Arts of War and were designed by Lambert de Hondt the Younger. The largest tapestry depicted the Battle of Wijnendale and included a depiction of Lord Cobham who was one of Marlborough 's generals at the battle. The ceiling was destroyed in 1935 when the western pavilion of the south front was reconstructed due to structural problems. Also known as "The Servery", the Garter Room, which served as
6697-593: The Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway , with the 3rd Duke (then still Marquess of Chandos) as chairman and Sir Harry Verney as deputy chairman, was incorporated by Act of Parliament to connect the Buckinghamshire Railway (now operated by the LNWR) to Aylesbury. The 2nd Duke ensured the new route ran via Quainton , near his estates around Wotton, instead of a more direct route via Pitchcott . Beset by financial difficulties,
6878-549: The Berlin State Museums were added to the niches flanking each door and were unveiled in September 2009. Added at the same time to the niches between each pair of statues were fibreglass copies of the original gilded Athéniennes (or Torchieres ), the originals were made of timber and painted and gilded to resemble metal. Above the niches and doorways are white plaster rectangular reliefs depicting arms and trophies . Above
7059-622: The Chandos Delta Dormitory . Immediately to the east of the Breakfast Parlour, originally dated 1748, the room was extended and redecorated in 1775. In a relatively plain room, the painting that used to be in the centre of the ceiling, Venus at her toilet by Vincenzo Valdrè was sold in 1922 along with the marble chimneypiece with its central relief of Hebe and Jupiter's Eagle . The room once contained eleven paintings attributed to Rembrandt although only three are considered so now,
7240-631: The Chandos portrait of William Shakespeare now in the National Portrait Gallery, London , also from this room and now in the National Gallery, London, are two paintings, a portrait of Martin Luther which used to be ascribed to Hans Holbein the Younger and Francesco Raibolini 's portrait of Bartolomeo Bianchini . The north-east closet was a water-closet. In the niches in the walls that flank
7421-612: The Chiltern Main Line passes through the district, stopping at Haddenham & Thame Parkway . The West Coast Main Line passes through the Vale twice along its eastern borders, with national intercity services stopping at nearby Milton Keynes Central which, with Bletchley , is also served by regional services. As of 2023, construction work is underway on two further rail lines across the Vale, High Speed 2 (HS2) and East West Rail (EWR). The HS2 route runs north-west, largely following
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7602-497: The Doge's Palace which are now in other British collections. They include a hexagonal side table, the top inlaid with various marbles and now in the Wallace Collection , and two gilt gesso side tables. One is in the V&;A, the other at Sudeley Castle . The State Dining Room measures 75 by 25 feet (22.9 by 7.6 m). Located to the west of The State Drawing Room , created in the 1740s
7783-603: The Kunstmuseum Winterthur ; and attributed to John Closterman, General Michael Richards and his Brother, General John Richards, at the siege of Belgrade now in the Slovak National Gallery . Also originally in the corridor but sold in 1848 were eleven Greek vases , three from the Lucien Bonaparte 's excavations at Canino , also a Roman sarcophagus dating from Trajan 's reign. Located immediately to
7964-512: The Large Library . These housed the extensive print collection. Over 55,000 prints were sold in 1834 at Philips auction house, but raised only £6,700. The remaining English prints were sold in March 1849 at Sotheby's for £3,800. After this sale the bookshelves were removed and replaced with panels of blue silk with matching curtains, (these were sold off in 1922), and the room assumed its present name. The plaster ceiling dated between 1774 and 1775
8145-675: The North Carolina Museum of Art . Reached from the south-west door in the North Hall via the Stucco Corridor with its plaster barrel vaulted coffered ceiling is the cantilevered stone West staircase with iron balustrade, dating from the 1730s, James Gibbs is thought to be the designer. There are various smaller rooms on the main floor of the house, mainly plain in decoration but used to house many important paintings, including: two paintings of 1648 by Frans Hals , Portrait of
8326-540: The Worcester Porcelain Factory in 1813 by the 1st Duke while he was still a Marquess. The service was sold in two batches, 206 pieces in 1848, and the remaining 164 pieces in 1921. But as pieces have appeared on the market they have been repurchased. Also on display in the room are several family portraits that have also been bought as they have come on the market, they are The Marquess of Buckingham painted in his Garter robes by John Jackson ; William Pitt
8507-518: The tympanum with carvings of The four seasons , and is in turn flanked by twin Corinthian pilasters the same size as the columns of the portico. The facade is surmounted by a balustraded parapet , in the centre of the parapet of the east pavilion is a sculpture of two reclining figures of Ceres and Flora the corresponding figures on the west pavilion are of Liberty and Religion. The end pavilions each have three tripartite windows matching those on
8688-402: The 1710s to the 1740s, leading garden designers were employed by Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham , these included Charles Bridgeman , James Gibbs , William Kent and Capability Brown , as well as architect Sir John Vanburgh . After Viscount Cobham's death, his nephew Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple , inherited and he began a programme of naturalisation in the parkland, altering
8869-459: The 1740s to 1760, under Viscount Cobham, the western and the eastern state apartments were expanded. From 1770 to 1779, Earl Temple obtained a first design from Jacques-François Blondel for the new south front of the house. However this design did not meet with the Earl's approval, in 1771 Robert Adam produced a new design for the south front; this design was adapted and made more uniform by Thomas Pitt assisted by Giovanni Battista Borra and
9050-495: The 1760s. Above each chimneypiece is a mirror. The bookcases are of mahogany there are over five hundred shelves on the lower walls and they have their original doors with brass wire grilles. The walls are completely covered by the shelving, and even the walls between the seven windows of the south wall. The upper two hundred and forty shelves are accessed via a gallery running around the east, north and west walls. The over 20,000 volumes that were on these shelves, largely collected by
9231-497: The 1st Duke and the 1st Marquess's nephew Richard Griffin, 3rd Baron Braybrooke . The Foreign Secretary (from 1938 to 1940) Lord Halifax was also related to the family, through his mother Lady Agnes Elizabeth Courtenay, daughter of Lady Elizabeth Fortescue, herself daughter of Hester Grenville, daughter of George Grenville , the Prime Minister. George Nugent-Temple-Grenville undertook the grand tour in 1774. In 1775 he married
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#17328558164589412-629: The 1st Duke in 1827–1829 toured the Mediterranean aboard his yacht the Anna Eliza named after his wife. Many of the art works that adorned the house were acquired both during these trips and through the 1st Duke inheriting his father-in-law's art collection. The 1st Duke, before he inherited Stowe, also bought paintings at the sale of the Orleans Collection in 1798 and continued to buy paintings for another twenty years as well as books, engravings and
9593-468: The 1st Marquess of Buckingham were sold in January 1849, at Sotheby's ; the sale lasted 24 days. There is a series of three marble busts in the windows that were sold from the house in 1921 but have been repurchased. These are: 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos by Raimondo Trentanova, Frederick III, German Emperor and Victoria, Princess Royal both carved by Tito Angelini. Also there are small busts above
9774-484: The 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors of the north front, and the west and east pavilions of the south front, where the 2nd floor is disguised in the same way as in the central pavilion. Described by historian Christopher Hussey as the "outstanding monument to English landscape gardening", the gardens and parkland of Stowe are Grade I listed. The gardens were developed by several generations of the Temple and Grenville families. From
9955-677: The Ashmolean Museum; Aert de Gelder 's The Temple Entrance now in the Mauritshuis . The house contains over 400 rooms. The ground floor rooms to the east of the Gothic Library were used by the family as personal rooms including the Billiard room , Sitting room, Water closet , Manuscript room, Gun room and Plunge pool . The rest of the ground floor was given over to the service areas . The house has low wings that are set back and project from
10136-446: The Aveling and Porter engines), traffic rose. The figure for milk traffic rose from 40,000 gallons carried in 1875 to 58,000 gallons (260,000 L; 70,000 US gal) in 1879, and in 1877 the Tramway carried 20,994 tons (21,331 t) of goods. In early 1877 it appeared on Bradshaw maps and from May 1882 Bradshaw listed the timetable. A fatal accident of a very sad nature occurred on Thursday evening last on
10317-402: The Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway from further afield before being sent down the Tramway to the site, implying there was no works capable of making high numbers of bricks along the Tramway. Brill Brick and Tile Works could not compete with the larger and better-connected brickworks at Calvert and declined. The brickworks finally closed in the early 20th century. The building was taken over by
10498-559: The Brill Tramway closed. The infrastructure was dismantled and sold. Little trace remains other than the former junction station at Quainton Road , now the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre . Brill is a small village at the top of the 600-foot (180 m) high Brill Hill in the Aylesbury Vale in northern Buckinghamshire , 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Oxford , and 45 miles (72 km) north-west of London . It
10679-416: The Duke intended that the line be worked only by horse-drawn carriages , the line was built with longitudinal sleepers to reduce the risk of horses tripping. A 13-foot (4 m) diameter turntable was installed at Quainton Road to link the tramway to the Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway. On 1 April 1871, the section between Quainton Road and Wotton was formally opened by the Duke of Buckingham in
10860-578: The Duke that "The traffic is now becoming so heavy that I would, most respectfully, venture to ask your Grace to consider the subject as to whether an Engine would not be the least expensive and most efficient power to work it." In late 1871, residents of Brill petitioned the Duke to extend the route to Brill and open a passenger service. The Duke agreed; it is likely he had already planned passenger services to Brill, as correspondence from early 1871 mentions passenger facilities at "the Brill terminus". In January 1872
11041-552: The Duke was a trustee. The Duke agreed to pay an annual rent of £12 (about £1,500 in 2024), in return for permission to run trains. With the consent of the Winwood Charity the route did not require Parliamentary approval, and construction could begin immediately. The Duke envisaged a tramway west from Quainton Road railway station across his Wotton estate. The line was intended for transport of construction materials and agricultural produce and not for passengers. It would not have
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#173285581645811222-631: The Eastern Pavilion, the Chapel was created in 1742–1748 and originally rose through two floors. The room was divided into two floors in 1929 when the new school chapel was built, all the timber panelling being reused in the new chapel. Only the plaster ceiling decoration survives, this consists of octagons, crosses and hexagons. The elaborate carved wood panelling of cedarwood came from a house in Cornwall also called Stowe. It had been carved by Michael Chuke,
11403-650: The Elder by William Hoare ; William Pitt the Younger by John Hoppner ; a copy of Anne Chambers, Countess Temple by Allan Ramsey ; Sir Peter Temple, Second Baronet by Cornelius Johnson ; Sir Richard Temple, Third Baronet attributed to Henri Gascar ; a photographic copy of Earl Temple by Allan Ramsey the original is in the National Gallery of Victoria ; Alice Anne, Duchess of Buckingham by Sir Arthur Stockdale Cope ; Viscount Cobham by Jean-Baptiste van Loo ; The Third Duke of Buckingham and Chandos an engraving of
11584-491: The Elder who became Prime Minister of Great Britain. Their son William Pitt the Younger also served as Prime Minister. George Grenville the brother of the 2nd Earl Temple was also to serve as Prime Minister. William Grenville youngest brother of the 1st Marquess of Buckingham also served as Prime Minister, and it was during his premiership that the Atlantic slave trade was abolished . The final family member to be Prime Minister
11765-773: The Graces west. There are also eight smaller octagonal panels depicting pairs of vases and classical reliefs. The areas between these paintings are decorated with painted acanthus and all the paintings are bordered by white and gilt plaster beams decorated in guilloché . The two chimneypieces on the north wall date from the 1920s the original pair were sold in 1922 and are now at Benham Park , these were of white and yellow Siena marbles, with elaborately carved wooded overmantels that contained paintings now in America, these are Goddess conducting Learning east and Mercury conducting Tragedy and Comedy to Parnassus . There are four paintings above
11946-596: The Great in its centre flanked by two doors. Works of art sold in 1848 that used to be in this room include Anthony van Dyck 's portrait of the Marquess of Vienville , and among other sculpture two marble vases bought as Ancient Roman but actually the work of Giovanni Battista Piranesi , one of these is now in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art . This is the grandest interior in the House, located immediately behind
12127-557: The J. Paul Getty Museum; Joshua Reynold's painting of the Marquess of Buckingham was sold by Lady Kinloss in 1899 and is now in the National Gallery of Ireland ; John Martin 's The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum now in the Tate Britain collection, originally thought to be destroyed in 1928 when the Thames flooded the gallery basement, it has since been rediscovered and restored in 2010–2011; Jan van Huysum 's self-portrait now in
12308-421: The North Hall to which it is connected by the staircase by the east wall which was inserted at this time, and was created as the winter entrance, linked to the Porte-cochère created at the same time, beneath the North Portico with ramps connecting to the forecourt to allow carriages to pick up and set down passengers under cover. Decorated in the Egyptian style of decoration. The room has inward sloping walls and
12489-423: The Saxon Manuscripts were inherited from Thomas Astle under the terms of his will in 1803 on payment of £500, the Irish manuscripts were purchased from Charles O'Conor in 1804. These are now either in the British Library or Royal Irish Academy including the Stowe Missal . The manuscripts now in the British Library include The Medieval Bestiary , Stowe MS 1067 and the Psalter , Stowe 2 (Psalter) . The room
12670-556: The Small Tapestry Dining Room is located to the west of The State Dining Room, originally dating from the late 1750s, but having undergone drastic reconstruction little of the original decoration survives. Only the gilt cornice and plaster frieze, and the frames that enclosed the tapestries are still in place. The elaborate marble chimneypiece and its carved-wooden overmantel, which contained an oval portrait of Lord Cobham dressed in armour by Sir Godfrey Kneller, were sold in 1922. The four tapestries sold in 1921 were from Brussels and depicted
12851-403: The State Bedroom, is to the west of The Small Tapestry Dining Room . Designed by Borra in 1755 and completed over the next five years. None of the original decoration survived the reconstruction of the west pavilion in 1935. There is a reconstruction of the original plaster ceiling with its Garter insignia in the centre. The most important painting in the room, that used to hang on the east wall,
13032-536: The Stowe Service of Worcester Porcelain, as well as archaeological specimens. The main rooms are mainly located on the 1st floor (referred to in the US as the 2nd floor) Piano nobile , a few are on the ground floor (referred to in the US as the 1st floor). During the sales of 1921 and 1922, all the remaining furnishings and art works not sold in 1848 were auctioned , as were several fittings, including chimneypieces . Some of
13213-558: The Swan and Juno and her peacock ; these are both now in the Wallace Collection. The Large Library is one of the three libraries in the house, is 75 by 25 feet (22.9 by 7.6 m), it is located to the east of The State Music Room . This room was created in 1793 from the former East Gallery . The plaster ceiling dates from then, with its elaborate cornice supporting a deep coffered cove in each corner of which are clusters of grapes,
13394-437: The Tramway as a nuisance. In the 1870s it charged disproportionately high fees for through traffic between the Tramway and the main line with the intention of forcing the Tramway out of business. Relations deteriorated between Jones and J. G. Rowe, Secretary and Traffic Manager of the A&B. The A&B's trains at Quainton Road would miss connections with the Tramway, causing milk shipped to Quainton to become unsellable, to
13575-490: The Tramway between Waddesdon and Westcott stations and ran south to the foot of Lodge Hill. From there a cable tram ran on narrow gauge rails up the hill to a gully close to the building site. Materials were hauled along the cable tramway in tubs by a steam-powered winch. The Winchendon Branch was hastily and cheaply built; after one of the Tramway's locomotives derailed there on 5 July 1876 Jones refused to allow his engines on it, and from then on materials were hauled along
13756-525: The Tramway no longer owned enough horses and had to hire them. By 1881, the passenger service was losing £11 (about £1,400 in 2024) a month, although reduced use of locomotives lowered maintenance costs. Reliability had improved, but services were still slow. Horse-drawn passenger services took 60–70 minutes to travel 6 miles (9.7 km) between Quainton Road and Brill. The locomotive-hauled mixed trains , with frequent stops to load and unload, were timetabled at 1 1 ⁄ 2 to 2 3 ⁄ 4 hours to make
13937-469: The Tramway's station at Waddesdon (later renamed Waddesdon Road). The top of Lodge Hill, a landmark, was levelled to provide a site and sloping drives were cut into the hill to provide access to the construction site. Transport of materials was by horse, but the contractors had to get enormous stone blocks up the hill. Rothschild's contractors built a line, known as the Winchendon Branch, which turned off
14118-602: The V&A. Above the niches is a large frieze on a Bacchic theme, this is based on an engraving in James Stuart 's and Nicholas Revett 's Antiquities of Athens of the frieze on the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates . There is a flight of thirty-three steps the full width of the portico which descends to the South Lawn. The staircase has solid parapets either side that end in sculptures of Medici lions standing and resting
14299-425: The W. E. Fenemore workshop, making hay loaders , before being converted into a timber yard in the 1920s. Once the train had stopped 1 ⁄ 2 mile (0.80 km) short of the station, and looking out after a long wait I saw the engine far away. Luckily my shouting was heard and the combination guard, porter and stationmaster ran back. In answer to my "What has happened?" he replied "We just forgot we had
14480-564: The Wallace Collection; Philip Baptising the Eunuch by Aelbert Cuyp now at Anglesey Abbey ; View of a Village by David Teniers the Younger now in the National Gallery and The Persian Sybil by Domenichino now in the Wallace Collection; several of these works were acquired at the sale of the Orleans Collection . Also the finest pieces of Sèvres porcelain of the over 200 in the collection used to be displayed in this room, but these were sold in 1848. The furnishings included several pieces from
14661-477: The Wotton Tramway between Brill and Quainton Road. The ladies' maid of Lady Mary Grenville, daughter of the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, was, it appears, with two other ladies' maids walking along the Tramway, and when near a spot where it is crossed by the highway were overtaken by the engine who sounded his whistle and two of them promptly left the track. Ellen Maria Nicholls [ sic ] lingered for
14842-541: The area's buildings were also important. The line began to carry manure from London to the area's farms, carrying 3,200 long tons (3,300 t; 3,600 short tons) in 1872. The tramway also opened a cartage business to handle the onward shipment of goods and parcels unloaded at Brill and Wotton stations. With horses unable to cope, Jones and the Duke decided to convert at least part of the railway for locomotives . The lightly laid track with longitudinal sleepers limited them to 9 long tons (9.14 t; 10.08 short tons), and it
15023-461: The backing of the wealthy Ferdinand de Rothschild , investors were deterred by costly tunnelling. In 1888 a cheaper scheme was proposed in which the line would be built to a lower standard and avoid tunnelling. In anticipation, the line was named the Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad. The existing line was upgraded in 1894, but the extension to Oxford was never built. Instead, operation of the Brill Tramway
15204-501: The bookcases on the window wall, Homer , Francis Bacon , Isaac Newton , Horace , Demosthenes and another of Homer. These were sold in 1921 but donated to the House and returned to their original positions. Also called The Temple Room, the State Drawing Room is to the west of The Marble Saloon and measures approximately 30 by 40 feet (12 m), with an apse in the centre of the north wall. There are doors at each end of
15385-530: The branch by horses. The building of Waddesdon Manor generated huge business for the Tramway. Large numbers of bricks from Poore's Brickworks at Brill were shipped. By July 1877 the entire output of the brickworks was going to supply the Waddesdon Manor works, with 25,000 bricks a week being used. Additional bricks were also shipped via Quainton Road, along with 7,000 tons (7,100 t) of Bath Stone from Corsham . The manor also required power and in 1883
15566-556: The ceiling contains a circular panel 4 feet 6 inches (1.37 m) in diameter that contains 726 painted armorial bearings of the various families that the then Marquess was descended. the wooden bookshelves include glazed bronze doors based on the bronze screen around Henry VII 's tomb in Westminster Abbey . The fireplace was supplied by a brass-founder Thomas Catherwood in 1807 for £100. This room used to contain amongst other treasures 1085 Saxon & Irish manuscripts ,
15747-516: The central block around 130 feet (40 m) in width, the lower linking sections 75 feet (23 m) wide that contain on the west the State Dining Room and on the east The Large Library, then at the ends the two pavilions the same height as the central block about 90 feet (27 m) in width. The central block and the end pavilions are articulated at piano nobile level with unfluted Corinthian pilasters over 35 feet (11 m) tall which becomes
15928-401: The central block, the tondos of which are each carved with a sacrificial scene. The ground floor is lower than the floor above, about 15 feet (4.6 m) in height and visually acts as a base to the facade, it is of banded rustication with simple arched windows beneath each window on the upper floor. In 1790 a balustrade was added parallel to the façade that ran from the bottom of the steps
16109-540: The coal shortage of 1916. It was demolished shortly afterwards. The track of the disused siding remained until at least 1916. Poore's Brickworks was well established, and Jones believed there was potential profit in the Duke of Buckingham's capitalising on his access to a railway line by becoming directly involved in brickmaking. Trials with Brill clay in 1883 proved positive, and in April 1885 Jones sought estimates for machinery and labour necessary to produce 10 million bricks
16290-628: The collection hung on the walls. There were in 1838 fifty-two paintings hanging on the walls, including: Helena Fourment by Rubens . She was his second wife, now in the Barber Institute ; The Exposition of Moses by Nicolas Poussin now in the Ashmolean Museum ; The Finding of Moses by Salvator Rosa now in The Detroit Institute of Arts ; Assumption of the Virgin by Murillo now in
16471-421: The colonnades are linked to screen-walls containing gateways by William Kent which were moved from the forecourt to this position and heightened in 1775 by Vincenzo Valdrè. The east gateway leads to the stable court the west to the kitchen court. At right angles to these walls stand the arches designed by Giacomo Leoni c. 1740; these were formal entrances to the gardens, they now lead to various buildings put up by
16652-497: The cove, Mercury , Jupiter , Venus , Saturn , Apollo and Diana . There are also nine of the signs of the zodiac . The flat centre of the ceiling is enclosed in a plaster beam, which in turn encloses a square with a circle within which encloses a painting of Mars . The south wall has in its centre a large set of doors which lead into The Marble Saloon , either side of these doors are portraits by Sir William Beechey of on left Richard, first Duke of Buckingham & Chandos on
16833-712: The debts of £1,464,959 (well over £100,000,000 in 2003 terms) he had accrued by 1845. He was called the Greatest Debtor in the world . The Duke left to live abroad in August 1847 to escape his creditors. That year saw the sale of the family's London home Buckingham House in Pall Mall . In March 1848 the family estates in Ireland, Hampshire , Gloucestershire, Somerset , Cornwall, Oxfordshire , Northamptonshire & Middlesex some 36,000 acres (15,000 ha) of land, were sold. Followed by
17014-538: The design of the house on that of Coleshill . From the 1720s to 1733, under Viscount Cobham , additions to the house included the Ionic North tetrastyle Portico by Vanburgh , as well as the re-building of the north, east and west fronts. After Vanburgh's death in 1726, work continued under William Kent , and it was probably he who designed the now-demolished two-tier south portico, which consisted of four Tuscan columns with four Ionic or Composite columns above. From
17195-401: The early 1780s. With an apse in the centre of the north wall, there are doors at each end of the side walls, though only the northern pair are real, the other two are false doors . The north has within the apse two sets of doors flanking a niche that is surrounded by a decorative frame. There are two un-fluted scagliola Corinthian columns on the corners of the apse and also within it flanking
17376-402: The east and west pavilions of the south front. These extend north before projecting even further east and west. The full length of the house is over 900 feet (270 m). These wings to the east included the riding school , coach houses and at the extreme east the stables designed by Vanbrugh. The west area includes the kitchen (still used as such by the school), the laundry, the dairy and at
17557-623: The east, north and southwest, but no line southeast towards London and the Channel ports. With a railway near the border of Wotton House estate, the 3rd Duke decided to build a small-scale agricultural railway to connect the estate to the railway. His intended route ran on his own land other than a small stretch west of the Aylesbury and Buckingham line. This land was owned by the Winwood Charity Trust, an operator of almshouses in Quainton of which
17738-463: The east, the Chiltern Hills to the south and South Oxfordshire to the west. It is named after Aylesbury , the county town of Buckinghamshire. Winslow and Buckingham are among the larger towns in the vale. The bed of the vale is largely made up of clay that was formed at the end of the ice age . In the 2011 UK census the population of Aylesbury Vale was 174,900. In the 2001 UK census
17919-439: The engines would not cope. Engineer William Gordon Bagnall had established the locomotive firm of W. G. Bagnall in 1875. Bagnall wrote to the Duke offering to hire his first locomotive for trials. On 18 December 1876, the locomotive Buckingham was delivered. It entered service on 1 January 1877, mainly on the steep section of the line between Wotton and Brill. Jones was unhappy with some aspects of Buckingham , but recognised
18100-423: The entablature is the very elaborate frieze , this consists of over 280 human and 14 animals in plaster all alto-relievo , the sculptor was probably Charles Peart. The subject of the frieze is the suovetaurilia . The dome is coffered of white plaster, there are 160 coffers nearly all of unique shape. The coffers contain highly decorated rosettes , and the ribs in between are also very elaborately decorated. There
18281-401: The extent that Jones began unloading milk at Waddesdon and shipping it to Aylesbury by road. Jones asked the Duke to intervene but relations remained poor; in 1888 Rowe blocked the telegraph along the Tramway, and in one meeting Jones and Rowe threatened violence. Jones sought legal advice and was told that the Duke would probably win a legal action against the A&BR. The A&BR was in such
18462-581: The extreme west the 138-foot-long (42 m) orangery , designed by Vanbrugh. Although the Central Pavilion of the south front appears to be only two floors high, there are in fact bedrooms over the State Music & Drawing rooms, these are lit by windows facing respectively east and west. The centre is filled by the Marble Saloon which rises to the full height of the building. There are more bedrooms on
18643-502: The family had been staunch Whigs , but in order to obtain the long sought Dukedom the family became Tories . The Dukedom was bestowed in 1822 by King George IV on Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville 2nd Marquess who became the 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. The deal was to support the then Prime Minister Lord Liverpool 's administration. The family spent a great deal of money to control several rotten boroughs , including Old Sarum , whose M.P.s switch their support to
18824-489: The family portraits and other items associated with the house have since been bought back and are now on display in the house. located behind the north portico this is the main Entrance Hall of the house and the least changed of the rooms dating from the 1730s. The ceiling has a deep cove , and was painted by William Kent in grisaille on a gold background imitating mosaic . There are six classical deities depicted in
19005-454: The family was in financial difficulty. The family's estates and their London home at Buckingham House (No. 91 Pall Mall ) were sold and the family seat of Stowe House seized by bailiffs as security and its contents sold. Over 40,000 acres (16,200 ha) of the family's 55,000-acre (22,300 ha) estates were sold to meet debts. The only property in the control of the Grenville family was
19186-471: The first decade of the 19th century, on the ground floor created the Gothic Library to the designs of Sir John Soane . This is a rare example of Soane using the Gothic style. In 1834, Richard, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos , inherited the library of Lord Grenville , his uncle, of which in 1824 The Times had claimed Following the bankruptcy of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1847, much of
19367-535: The first station in the Aylesbury Vale. On 1 October 1863 the Wycombe Railway opened a branch from Princes Risborough railway station to Aylesbury railway station on the western side of Aylesbury, leaving Aylesbury as the terminus of two small and unconnected branch lines. Meanwhile, north of Aylesbury the Buckinghamshire Railway was being built by Sir Harry Verney. The scheme consisted of
19548-414: The flat centre of the ceiling has elaborate decoration, including in the border of the central panel mermen holding and feeding a griffin . The main entrance is in the centre of the long north wall. There are chimneypieces in the centre of each end wall. These are of white marble with flanking caryatids ; the jambs are of black marble, one dates from 1792 which is a copy of the other probably dating from
19729-407: The formation of lakes and woodland, as well as moving monuments to new locations. The park and gardens saw 213,721 visitors during 2020/21. John Temple was the first member of the family to serve as high sheriff of Buckinghamshire and also justice of the peace . Sir Thomas Temple first purchased a knighthood in 1603 from James I then purchased from the same monarch the baronetcy in 1611. He
19910-408: The former Great Central Main Line route, but without providing any services to any towns in the county. EWR runs across the Vale, with trains between Oxford and Milton Keynes Central, calling at Winslow and Bletchley , due to commence in early 2025. Buckinghamshire Council has established a cycleway between Buckingham and Winslow to maximise use of the new station. There are also proposals for
20091-458: The full length of the house and then returned at both ends, there are a series of 30 pedestals along the balustrade, that until their sale in 1921 were topped by bronze urns . These were replaced by replicas in 2013. This was probably added to keep visitors from the lower windows of the house, and formal flower beds were laid out in the area. In 1793 George, 1st Marquess of Buckingham , converted The East Gallery into The Large Library and, in
20272-574: The improvement and ordered a locomotive from Bagnall for £640 (about £76,100 in 2024). Wotton was delivered on 28 December 1877 and Buckingham was returned to Bagnall in February 1878. Buckingham and Wotton were more reliable than the Aveling and Porter engines. With modern locomotives on the Brill–Quainton Road route (the Kingswood branch generally remained worked by horses, and occasionally by
20453-417: The line in April 1873. The Railway Regulation Act 1844 defined minimum standards of travel, one of which was that the trains travel at an average of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h), which the Aveling and Porter locomotives could not manage. None of the stopping places had adequate station buildings, and the line had no signals. Yolland permitted the line to continue as a tramway, but refused to recognise it as
20634-588: The line on the incline, but the road has since been firmed in. Letter from Ralph Jones to the Duke, 26 June 1871 The surveyors designing the line had worked on the assumption that the wagons would have a load on each wheel of 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 long tons (2.54 t ; 2.80 short tons ) and had designed the line accordingly. As it turned out, the four-wheeled wagons used had an average weight of 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 long tons (3.56 t; 3.92 short tons) and each carried 6–7 long tons (6.10–7.11 t; 6.72–7.84 short tons) of goods, meaning this limit
20815-511: The line took over eight years to build, eventually opening on 23 September 1868. The new line was connected to the Wycombe Railway's Aylesbury station, and joined the Buckinghamshire Railway where the Oxford–Bletchley line and the line to Buckingham met. A junction station was built. With no nearby town after which to name the new station, it was named Verney Junction railway station after Sir Harry. Aylesbury now had railway lines to
20996-431: The locomotive so a horse had to be hired from Aylesbury until the driver arrived. After the delivery of the second locomotive on 7 September 1872, all passenger services were drawn by locomotive except on Thursdays, when locomotives were replaced by horses to allow for maintenance. The line carried 104 passengers in January 1872, rising to 224 in April, and 456 in August 1872. With steam came the need for water. Plans to dig
21177-574: The mid-1880s the Tramway was finding it difficult to cover the operating expenses of either goods or passenger operations. Aylesbury Vale The Aylesbury Vale (or Vale of Aylesbury ) is a geographical region in Buckinghamshire , England , which is bounded by the City of Milton Keynes and West Northamptonshire to the north, Central Bedfordshire and the Borough of Dacorum ( Hertfordshire ) to
21358-462: The missing decoration and sculpture was recreated, returning the room to its original form. The East Corridor and Grand staircase Dating from the 1730s, connects the North Hall via the south-east door with the Ante-Library , this is a relatively plain room, the stone staircase at the east end of the corridor is cantilevered from the walls and has a wrought iron balustrade, the ceiling above
21539-471: The most valuable of the paintings, furniture, the household silver was sold in 836 lots over a week in September, and other art works at Stowe, the over 21,000 bottles of wine and over 500 of spirits in the wine cellars below the Marble Saloon , were all sold from 15 August to 7 October 1848 by Christie's . The auction was held in The State Dining Room , but only raised £75,400. At the end of
21720-722: The murals has yet to be taken. The walls of the corridor are now lined with paintings of former headmasters of the school and in the east window above the staircase there is white marble bust a copy of the head of the Apollo Belvedere . There used to be forty-five paintings on the walls, including: Godfrey Kneller 's portrait of John, Duke of Marlborough now in the Institute of Directors ; Henry Fuseli 's paintings of characters from A Midsummer Night's Dream , Titania and Bottom now in Tate Britain and his Oberon wakes Titania now in
21901-444: The national rail network. Lobbying from the nearby village of Brill led to its extension to Brill and conversion to passenger use in early 1872. Two locomotives were bought but trains still travelled at an average speed of 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h). In 1883, the Duke of Buckingham planned to upgrade the route to main line standards and extend the line to Oxford , creating the shortest route between Aylesbury and Oxford. Despite
22082-411: The niche, was purchased by Queen Victoria at the 1848 sale and is now at Osborne House . This has been replaced in the niche by a bust of William Pitt the Elder by Joseph Wilton , which is on loan to the house. There is mention of a chamber organ in the room in 1779. Also sold in 1848 were two Italian neo-classical side tables with Verd antique tops, the frames being carved with plaques of Leda and
22263-512: The niche. The walls are painted with panels in the form of Grotesques and Arabesques . The chimneypiece in the centre of the east wall is of white marble inset with panels of rosso antico marble and with carved decoration of musical instruments in white marble and ormolu . This chimneypiece was sold in 1922 but bought back in 1991, and a new mirror above the chimneypiece was made to replace the original one. The plaster ceiling has gilt moulded decoration and seven inset paintings. The central painting
22444-735: The north of England. The Brill Tramway went into financial decline. In 1933 the Metropolitan Railway became the Metropolitan line of London Transport . The Brill Tramway became part of the London Underground, despite Quainton Road being 40 miles (64 km) from London and not underground. London Transport aimed to concentrate on electrification and improvement of passenger services in London and saw little possibility that passenger routes in Buckinghamshire could become viable. In 1935
22625-413: The north of the Large Library , created in 1805, this is really a wide corridor, about 50 feet (15 m) long, and low in height, with a plain ceiling and walls, the fireplace on the east wall is a replacement for the carved marble one sold in 1922. The main feature of the room are the eight Tuscan columns of scagliola imitating Verd antique marble, the work of Domenico Bartoli. The room housed in 1838
22806-631: The northern boundary of the Vale with South Northamptonshire , and the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is located near Quainton . Aylesbury is home to the County Museum (which includes the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery ), and Buckingham features the Old Gaol Museum . There are no motorway junctions in the Vale although the M40 does cross it for five miles between junctions 8A and 9. The A41 road ,
22987-468: The paintings sold in 1848 fetched) both now in the Wallace Collection. Also originally in this room and now in the Wallace Collection are the almost 10 feet (3.0 m) high astronomical regulator clock by Michael Stollewerck formerly at the Palace of Versailles and a Boulle armoire . Also from this room was a German marquetry cabinet, later bought by Mayer Amschel de Rothschild for Mentmore Towers . It
23168-463: The parish church of St Mary's, Stowe. From 1330, Osney Abbey maintained a manor house at Stowe occupied by a steward. Osney Abbey retained Stowe until it was forced to surrender its estates to the Crown in the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. Sir George Gifford MP owned Stowe Manor and Rectory. He willed it to his son Thomas Gifford (born about 1542 died 16 February 1593). The Stowe estate
23349-460: The parish church, and a 1 mile 57 chains (2.8 km) siding would run north to a coal siding near Kingswood . The branch to Kingswood was routed to pass a pond, to allow the horses working the line to drink. Ralph Augustus Jones was appointed Manager of the project, and construction began on 8 September 1870. Twenty labourers from the Wotton estate who would otherwise have been unemployed following harvest were employed six days
23530-413: The passengers using the Tramway continued their journey by way of the A&BR line; in 1885, 5,192 passengers changed trains between the A&BR and the Tramway at Quainton Road. Jones suggested that the A&BR subsidise the Tramway's service to the sum of £25 (about £3,400 in 2024) per month to allow passenger services to continue, but the A&BR agreed to pay only £5 (about £700 in 2024) per month. By
23711-440: The population of Aylesbury Vale was 165,748, representing an increase since 1991 of 18,600 people. About half of those live in the county town Aylesbury. Aylesbury Vale was administered as a local government district of northern Buckinghamshire, with its own district council between 1974 and 2020. The council's offices were in Aylesbury. The district council's logo included the historical figure of John Hampden . The district
23892-686: The portrait by C.A. Tompkins & a possible portrait of Earl Temple by Robert Edge Pine . Also in the room are two of the original Athéniennes from the Marble Saloon. Now called the Chandos Sigma Dormitory . It is immediately to the east of the Blue Room dating from 1773 to 1775. This is a relatively plain room. The ceiling is coved , centre of the ceiling is decorated with a circular painting of Venus blindfolding Cupid surrounded by plaster decoration that includes incense burners. The marble fireplace dated 1774 with its relief of Venus and Cupid
24073-433: The present site. This house is now the core of the mansion known today. The house is the result of four main periods of development. Between 1677 and 1683, the architect William Cleare was commissioned by Sir Richard Temple to build the central block of the house. This building was four floors high, including the basement and attics and thirteen bays in length. Cleare had worked as Christopher Wren 's chief joiner and based
24254-617: The prime minister, although the 1832 Reform Act would end this practice. The 1st Duke was a colonel in the Royal Buckinghamshire Militia (King's Own) , he led his battalion in 1814 to France under the command of The Duke of Wellington . The 2nd Duke through his mother Anna was descended from the House of Plantagenet and was an active member of the Royal Buckinghamshire Yeomanry . His support of which added to
24435-555: The probable architect being either Henry Flitcroft or 'Capability' Brown. The Stowe House Preservation Trust are currently fundraising to restore this room to its former magnificence. This was The State Gallery until 1817 when it assumed its current name. The ceiling has an elaborate plaster entablature supporting a deep cove, this has painted decoration dated 1747 by Francesco Sleter, including Hebe feeding Jupiter 's Eagle east, Cupid playing with two Graces north, Cupid asleep with two Graces south and Diana and her Hounds west,
24616-558: The recess between the two southern closets used to be displayed a collection 120 pieces of Maiolica . One of the finest pieces a dish painted with St. Thomas touching Christ's wound from Deruta is now in the Courtauld Institute of Art . The Blue Room is to the east of the Large Library , used as a small drawing room. Until the 1849 sale this was known as the Print Room and the walls were lined with bookshelves similar to those in
24797-689: The rest being School of Rembrandt. All the paintings were sold in 1848. They included: Samson Threatening his Father-in-law , in 1989 this was sold by the estate of the late P Chrysler Jr; Bellona now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art ; Self-Portrait as a Young man now in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum ; Eleazor Swalmius now in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp ; A Young Negro Archer and (genuine Rembrandt) The Centurion Cornelius sold for £2,300 (the highest price any of
24978-500: The right Anna Eliza, First Duchess of Buckingham & Chandos she is depicted with her son later the 2nd Duke. The west wall has above the fireplace Thomas Banks 's white marble relief of Caractacus before the Emperor Claudius in its centre which is flanked by two doors. The east wall has above a small staircase leading to the ground floor, Christophe Veyrier 's white marble relief of The family of Darius before Alexander
25159-579: The room prior to 1935 contained separate closets. The south-western closet was called the Japan Closet and was decorated in a Japanese style , this used to contain the Chandos Jewels finally sold for nearly £10,000 by Lady Kinloss in 1929, also the room used to have a staircase to the dressing room on the floor above. The south-eastern closet was called the Shakespeare Closet because it contained
25340-435: The sales the estate had contracted to the core 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) in Buckinghamshire. The garden staff were cut from 40 to 4. In January 1849 there was a 24-day sale at Sotheby's of the books from the library, that raised £10,356. Richard Plantagenet Campbell Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (10 September 1823 – 26 March 1889), usually shortened to Richard Temple-Grenville,
25521-480: The same journey, slower than walking. Jones hoped to increase passenger revenue by promoting Brill as a spa. The chalybeate springs of Dorton Spa outside Brill were known for supposed healing powers, and a resort had been built around the Spa in the 1830s, featuring a modern pump house and eight baths, set in 12 acres (4.9 ha) of parkland. Despite the redevelopment and the building of modern hotels in Brill, Dorton Spa
25702-543: The same king. In 1715 he married Anne Halsey an heiress of a rich London brewer . She brought a dowry of £20,000 (equivalent to £3,950,000 as of 2023). He was a member of the Kit-Cat Club where he probably first met fellow members John Vanbrugh and Joseph Addison whose writings on garden design influenced the development of the gardens at Stowe. Cobham was the centre of the Whig party grouping of Cobhamites . His sister Hester
25883-629: The school. The exterior of the house has not been significantly changed since 1779, although in the first decade of the 19th century, the Egyptian Hall was added beneath the North Portico as a secondary entrance. The showpiece of the House is the south facade overlooking the gardens. This is one of the finest examples of neoclassical architecture in Britain. The main front stretches over 460 feet (140 m). Divided into five major sections, these are:
26064-455: The side walls, though only the northern pair are real, and the other two are false doors . The plaster ceiling is probably a design of Valdrè. Decorated in neo-classical style with a symmetrical arrangement of nereids , tazzas , paterae and other motifs, originally the details were gilt but this was replaced by silver in a 1965 restoration. The ceiling dates from 1776 and was executed by James Lovell . The original marble fireplace dated 1777
26245-442: The siding to the brickworks opened with the extension to Brill, implying that Brill Brick and Tile Works existed in early 1872. This is almost certainly incorrect; no mention of the sidings is made in the Duke of Buckingham's correspondence before 1887 and no reference to the Brill Brick and Tile Works exists in any source earlier than 1895. The bricks used to build Waddesdon Manor had to be shipped by road from Poore's to Brill or along
26426-495: The small ancestral home of Wotton House and its associated lands around Wotton Underwood near Brill. The Grenvilles looked for ways to maximise profits from their remaining farmland around Wotton, and to seek opportunities in heavy industry and engineering. Richard Plantagenet Campbell Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville (titled Marquess of Chandos following the death of his grandfather Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1839)
26607-679: The south portico. It is based on the Pantheon in Rome. It is elliptical in plan, 63 by 45 feet (19 by 14 m); the domed ceiling is over 56 feet (17 m) high. The room was probably designed by Vincenzo Valdrè, the basic structure was built between 1775 and 1777 but decoration was probably only complete by 1788 at a cost of £12,000. The lower half of the walls are surrounded by 16 unfluted Roman Doric columns made from red scagliola with white veins that mimics Sicilian Jasper (the work of Domenico Bartoli) and with white marble capitals and bases, supporting
26788-498: The spaces between these paintings are decorated with animals including swans and their cygnets, pigeons and rabbits. There are three large octagonal paintings on the central flat of the ceiling. These are probably early 19th-century replacements for the original by Robert Jones. They are Venus disarming Cupid east, Venus on her Chariot, crowned by Cupid and attended by the Three Graces centre and Venus at her Toilet, attended by
26969-399: The staircase is painted with Fame and Victory , by Francesco Sleter, the same artist's wall paintings on the staircase were thought to no longer survive, but in 2016 it was discovered that beneath later paintwork the wall murals are largely intact. Small sections have been exposed, revealing a grisaille scheme of trompe-l'œil statues in niches, a decision on whether to uncover and restore
27150-530: The studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller ; in the centre of the north wall Lady Christian Lyttelton the sister of Viscount Cobham, a copy of a portrait by Kneller; over the western fireplace King George II from the studio of Sir Godfrey Kneller; and on the west wall A Lady in Eastern Costume on a Terrace with a Peacock possibly Lady Hester Stanhope by James Northcote , she was the great-granddaughter of Sir Richard Temple 3rd Baronet. Also known as The Snug ,
27331-429: The surcharge or keep prices stable despite the loss of profits. Road-hauled coal from Bicester was already undercutting the Tramway and the unreliable engines had given the Tramway a poor reputation. Jones kept prices fixed and absorbed the increased costs, wrecking the Tramway's already declining business. In 1873, the 3rd Duke attempted to have the Wotton Tramway recognised as a railway, and William Yolland inspected
27512-559: The train's cattle wagons , igniting the straw bedding and badly burning two cows. The line had one serious accident, in which Ellen Maria Nickalls, a servant at Wotton House, was struck by a locomotive near Church Siding and killed. The coroner returned a verdict of accidental death, absolving driver James Challis. Jones increased scheduled passenger journeys from two to three each day in each direction. With locomotives generally occupied with goods, many passenger services were drawn by horse. The increased passenger journeys boosted revenues, but
27693-473: The two doors in the west and east walls of male and female centaurs with Bacchic emblems and lyres , probably painted by Robert Jones. The walls used to be hung with five Brussels tapestries commissioned by Viscount Cobham from O. Leyneir, they depict the triumph of classical deities: Ceres , Bacchus, Neptune , Mars and Diana, sold in 1921 they are now in Switzerland. The dining table when fully extended
27874-567: The valuable collection was sold. The library has provided provenance to many valued manuscripts including the Stowe 2 Psalter , Stowe 54 , the Stowe Breviary and the " Stowe manuscripts ". Several owners of Stowe undertook the Grand Tour , Earl Temple spent 1729–1733 in France, Switzerland & Italy, the 1st Marquess in 1774 visited Italy, the 2nd Duke before he inherited his title in 1817, and
28055-596: Was Joshua Reynolds 's Marquess of Granby , now in the collection of the National Army Museum , Earl Temple's nephew Richard Grenville was the Marquess's Aide-de-camp during the Seven Years' War . The magnificent state bed which was set up in the room in 1759–1760 and was nearly 15 feet (4.6 m) in height, survives in the Lady Lever Art Gallery . It used to be in the recess on the west wall. The bed
28236-431: Was William Ewart Gladstone . He married Catherine Glynne the granddaughter of Catherine sister of the 1st Marquess of Buckingham. Other notable politicians in the family included Thomas Grenville the brother of the 1st Marquess, Robert Nugent, 1st Earl Nugent the father-in-law of the 1st Marquess, Thomas Pitt, 1st Baron Camelford brother of William Pitt the elder, George Nugent-Grenville, 2nd Baron Nugent brother of
28417-423: Was 65 feet (20 m) long. The walls are hung with various portraits of people associated with the house and family that have been acquired over the years, these are, on the east wall Caroline Harvey wife of the 3rd Duke by Sir Francis Grant , donated by the granddaughter of the sitter, The Hon. Mrs. Thomas Close-Smith (1886–1972) on her death in 1972; above the eastern fireplace Queen Caroline of Ansbach from
28598-491: Was a British statesman of the 19th century, and a close friend and subordinate of Benjamin Disraeli . He was styled Marquess of Chandos until the death of his father in 1861. With the death of the third Duke of Buckingham and Chandos in 1889, there remained no heirs-male to the dukedom, so it became extinct. After which ownership of the estate was separated from the title Earls Temple of Stowe which passed by special remainder in
28779-418: Was a long way from major roads or rivers, and separated by hills from Oxford. It remained small and isolated. In the 1861 census it had a population of 1,300. Richard Plantagenet Campbell Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville , the only son of Richard Plantagenet Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos , was born on 10 September 1823. By the mid-19th century
28960-523: Was a very rich carving of the Royal Arms . Situated on the ground floor beneath the centre part of the Large Library, this room was created in 1805. It was the last major interior to be added to the house and was designed by Sir John Soane. The plaster ceiling pattern is based on a very shallow fan vault . The plasterer was one William Rothwell, who charged £495 10 shillings & 7 pence. The centre of
29141-586: Was an active supporter of John Wilkes . When the Earl's cousin George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe died in 1762 he left his Vanbrugh designed house Eastbury Park and estates in Dorset to Earl Temple. He attempted to sell the house, but as no buyer could be found, he demolished most of the building using the marble from the house in the Marble Saloon at Stowe. The Eastbury estate was finally sold in 1806. The 2nd Earl Temple's sister Hester married William Pitt
29322-560: Was appointed Governor of Madras , serving until 1880. On 15 June 1839 entrepreneur and former Member of Parliament for Buckingham , Sir Harry Verney, 2nd Baronet , opened the Aylesbury Railway . Built under the direction of Robert Stephenson , it connected the London and Birmingham Railway 's Cheddington railway station on the West Coast Main Line to Aylesbury High Street railway station in eastern Aylesbury,
29503-466: Was appointed chairman of the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) on 27 May 1857. After the death of his father on 29 July 1861 he became 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, and resigned from chairmanship of the LNWR, returning to Wotton House to manage the family's estates. His efforts to pay debts incurred by his father earned praise from Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli , and in 1875 he
29684-512: Was created Countess of Temple in her own right in 1749 by King George II , from which her son, heir to the estate inherited his title as 2nd Earl Temple. Richard Grenville the future 2nd Earl Temple, married Anna Chamber in 1737, an heiress with a £50,000 fortune. He was leader of the Whig group known as the Grenvillites . King George II made Earl Temple a Knight of the Garter in 1760. Earl Temple
29865-433: Was delayed in Slough , and the excursion arrived back at Wood Siding at 2.00 am. This wet weather has considerably affected the incline just below the Lodge. The horses' feet sunk in very deep and they have been down once or twice—I do not think your Grace would wish them to pass over it again until something has been done. Some burnt ballast put down would make the footing firmer. On Monday three separate trucks ran off
30046-480: Was drawn by horses between Wood Siding and Quainton Road and by locomotive from Quainton Road to Aylesbury where the carriages were attached to the 7.30 am GWR service via Princes Risborough to London, arriving at 10.00 am. The experiment was not a success. Sharp overhanging branches posed a danger to passengers and had to be cut back in the week before the excursion. The day was wet and ticket sales were lower than expected. The return from London to Quainton Road
30227-430: Was finished in 1779. The interiors of the new state apartments were not completed until 1788, much of the interior work being by an Italian, Vincenzo Valdrè (1740–1814). At the same time, the final remodelling of the North Front was taking place: this involved the erection in 1770–1772 of the two twin quadrant colonnades of Ionic columns that flank the facade. These may be to Robert Adam's design. The northern ends of
30408-485: Was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the boroughs of Aylesbury and Buckingham , Aylesbury Rural District , Buckingham Rural District , Wing Rural District and part of Winslow Rural District . Aylesbury Vale was absorbed into the new unitary Buckinghamshire Council on 1 April 2020. There are 111 civil parishes in the area of the former non-metropolitan district: 84 with a parish council, including three town councils ( Aylesbury , Buckingham and Winslow ), and
30589-418: Was furnished with ebonized mahogany tables and chairs inlaid with ivory , one of the tables is now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum . The door from the library has on the outside a carved stone relief dated to the late 16th century, above it, of The Battle of Bosworth Field , the Gothic Staircase by the door connects the two libraries. Created c.1803, the Egyptian Hall is situated beneath
30770-494: Was in operation, the Tramway operated a token system using colour-coded staffs to ensure only one train could be on a section. Drivers between Quainton Road and Wotton carried a blue staff, those west of Wotton and the Kingswood siding a red staff. On 26 August 1871, an excursion ran from Wood Siding to London hauled by the Great Western Railway (GWR). It carried around 150 people, for a total of 105 + 1 ⁄ 2 passenger fares (with each child counted as half an adult), and
30951-418: Was in this room that Queen Victoria and her husband slept during their visit, redecorated for the occasion, including the purchase of the largest Persian carpet in the country, 25.5 by 16 feet (4.9 m), this cost £200, but only fetched £55 in the 1848 sale. The 2nd Duke spent £5,300 on redecorating the house and on entertaining the royal couple for a visit that lasted a few days. Located immediately behind
31132-442: Was leased from Thomas Gifford in 1571 by Peter Temple whose son, John Temple, bought the manor and estate of Stowe in 1589 and it eventually became the home of the Temple family. Their family fortune was based on sheep farming , at Witney in Oxfordshire, and in 1546 they rented a sheep farm in Burton Dassett in Warwickshire. In the late 17th century, the house was completely rebuilt by Sir Richard Temple, 3rd Baronet , (c.1683) on
31313-401: Was moved to the Rembrandt Room for Queen Victoria's visit. The two elaborately carved and gilt robe chests, one of " gopher wood " [ sic ], the other of sandalwood , that used to stand on the north wall flanking the white marble fireplace are now in the Wallace Collection . The room takes up the space behind the two western tripartite windows of the South Front , the corners of
31494-465: Was regularly exceeded. The coal wagons used on the line weighed 5 long tons (5.08 t; 5.60 short tons) each and carried 10 long tons (10.16 t; 11.20 short tons) of coal, meaning a load on each wheel of 3 + 3 ⁄ 4 long tons (3.81 t; 4.20 short tons). As well as damaging the track the loads strained the horses, and soon the line began to suffer with derailments , particularly in wet weather. On 20 October 1871 Jones wrote to
31675-399: Was sold in 1922 and is now in Spain at the headquarters of Grupo Santander ; it contains an antique alabaster bas-relief from Egypt of a Sacrifice to Bacchus . The north wall has an engaged fluted Corinthian columns of wood flanking the apse and a further two within it. There are quarter columns in the corners of the room. The walls used to be hung with red Damask and the finest paintings in
31856-402: Was sold in 1922. There used to be 39 paintings in this room, including Virgin and Child with SS John the Baptist and Catherine , dated 1504 by Andrea Previtali this is now in the National Gallery, London and Woman at her Toilette once attributed to Leonardo da Vinci and bought as such in 1780, now School of Fontainebleau , this is in the Worcester Art Museum , Massachusetts. Now called
32037-436: Was taken over by London's Metropolitan Railway and Brill became one of its two north-western termini. The line was rebuilt in 1910, and more advanced locomotives were introduced, allowing trains to run faster. The population of the area remained low, and the primary income source remained the carriage of goods to and from farms. Between 1899 and 1910 other lines were built in the area, providing more direct services to London and
32218-475: Was the first member of the family to serve as a member of parliament in 1588–1589. Sir Peter Temple was a supporter of Oliver Cromwell and served as a colonel in the parliamentary army during the English Civil War . When the War of the Spanish Succession broke out in 1702 the 4th Baronet was appointed a colonel by William III , he was later promoted to lieutenant general . First created Baron Cobham in 1714 by King George I , then in 1718 Viscount Cobham by
32399-432: Was the only population centre in Bernwood Forest , a forest owned by English monarchs as a hunting ground. Traditionally believed to have been the home of King Lud , Brill Palace was a seat of the Mercian kings , the home of Edward the Confessor , and an occasional residence of the monarchs of England until at least the reign of Henry III (1216–1272). Brill was a centre for manufacture of pottery and bricks, but it
32580-444: Was thus necessary to use the lightest locomotives possible. Two traction engines converted for railway use were bought from Aveling and Porter for £398 (about £44,900 in 2024) each. They were chosen for weight and reliability, and had a top speed on the level of 8 miles per hour (13 km/h). They took 95–98 minutes between Brill and Quainton Road, an average of 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h). With an unusual configuration in which
32761-424: Was unfashionable and by the late 19th century was little used. Jones and the Spa's owners hoped Queen Victoria would visit during her 1890 stay at Waddesdon Manor and thus boost Brill as a spa town. A visit was arranged, but Victoria changed her mind and visited the spa at Cheltenham instead. The spa traffic never materialised. In 1876, Ferdinand de Rothschild began work on Waddesdon Manor, a short distance south of
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