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Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire The Cloisters at Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire.
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The house also hosted a visit by King George V and Queen Mary in 1912. Wentworth was tried and beheaded for treason in 1641. It was once the home of Charles I’s ill-fated administrator, Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford. This 18th-century mansion has recently been bought and will undergo £40m of restoration work over the next 20 years. The largest private residence in Europe, Wentworth is twice the width of Buckingham Palace. Wentworth Woodhouse, South Yorkshire The East Front of Wentworth Woodhouse, the longest country house frontage in England.
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The plentiful windows – an extravagance as glass was expensive – led to the rhyme, ‘Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall.’ 5. It is a magnificent example of a prodigy house – showy properties built to house the queen on her annual progresses. Credit: Eleanor Scriven/Robert Harding World Imagery/Corbisīess of Hardwick was one of the most influential figures in Elizabethan times – she was second in wealth only to Queen Elizabeth I – and Hardwick Hall was one of her homes. Hardwick Hall, Derbyshire Hardwick Hall, more glass than wall. The house is famed for its art collection, which spans four centuries, but its state apartments, overhauled to accommodate a visit from King William III and Queen Mary II that never actually happened, are extraordinary. Eagle-eyed viewers may also remember it from another Knightley film, The Duchess.Ĭhatsworth has been the seat of the Dukes of Devonshire since 1549 and has passed through the hands of 16 generations of the Cavendish family. Chatsworth is known to many as Pemberley in the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley. Credit: Paul Barkerįew English estates draw such delight as this one in the heart of the Peak District. Chatsworth, Derbyshire The state apartments of Chatsworth House are extraordinary. However the earl’s death could be explained by blood poisoning from an infected mosquito bite. The earl died shortly after the discovery, leading to the story of the ‘Curse of Tutankhamun’. Highclere Castle became the focus of a media circus in 1922 when the 5th Earl discovered the Tomb of Tutankhamun. It was the current countess, Lady Carnarvon, a close friend of Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellowes, who saw the value in opening the house up to the period drama that has revived the estate’s fortunes.Īlthough Highclere has been in the hands of the Carnarvon family since 1679, (and its gardens were also designed by Capability Brown), the current house was remodelled in the Jacobean style in 1838 for the 3rd Earl of Carnarvon by Sir Charles Barry, the man who famously rebuilt the Palace of Westminster. The ‘real’ Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle, is the family seat of the Earls of Carnarvon. With news that a Downton Abbeyfilm is in the works , surely it’s time to revisit the glorious Berkshire ancestral home that has formed the backdrop to so many scenes of the Crawley family and their household. Highclere Castle, West Berkshire Highclere Castle is the ‘real’ Downton Abbey It’s small wonder UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1987. However, Blenheim’s 2,000 acres of gardens – one of the most exquisite works of 18th-century landscape architect Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown – are what really make it special. Designed by Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor, it includes many beautiful features, such as the painted ceiling in the Saloon. The house – the only non-royal or non-episcopal country house in England to be called a palace – is a masterpiece of English Baroque architecture.
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The future prime minister even chose to propose to Clementine Hozier here, by the Temple of Diana, in 1908. It was at Blenheim almost two centuries later that one of the duke’s descendants, Sir Winston Churchill, was born. Anne also awarded him £240,000 for his victory over the French in the War of the Spanish Succession. The palace was built on land gifted to Churchill by Queen Anne. We simply had to mention Blenheim, the sprawling Oxfordshire estate that was built for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough. So read on, enjoy, and start planning your next trip.
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Here are some of Britain’s best stately homes, from examples of architectural brilliance to places that hide unbelievable stories. Most of our stately homes have hosted kings and queens, prime ministers, actors and poets – all manner of illustrious guests. The number of heritage buildings still standing proudly across our land never fails to amaze us. Credit: Pixabay We’ve toured the British Isles to bring you 25 of Britain’s best stately homes, from the World Heritage Site of Blenheim Palace to the ‘real’ Downton Abbey, Highclere Castle…