Stourhead, in Wiltshire, is one of the most beautiful landscape gardens in the world: a great lake surrounded by woods, overlooked by a Pantheon, classical temples, a grotto and a Palladian bridge, arranged as if in a painting. Created in the 18th century by a banker who loved Italy, the garden tells of a journey inspired by Virgil's Aeneid and the paintings of Claude Lorrain. Beside it stands the Palladian house of the Hoare family. Everything belongs to the National Trust.
History
The Hoare family founded in London one of the oldest private banks in England, still in business. In 1717 Henry Hoare I bought the Stourton estate and built a Palladian-style house, one of the first in England. But it was his son, Henry Hoare II, known as "the Magnificent", who created the garden from 1741. Like many young aristocrats of the time, he had made the Grand Tour of Italy, and he wanted to recreate in the English countryside the idealised landscapes of the Roman Campagna he had seen in the paintings of Claude Lorrain and Poussin. He had a stream dammed to create the lake and built temples and monuments around it, along a route that evokes the journey of Aeneas. In 1946 the family gave the estate to the National Trust.
- 1717Henry Hoare I buys the Stourton estate
- c. 1725The Palladian house is completed
- 1741Henry Hoare II begins creating the garden
- 1754The Pantheon is completed
- 1772King Alfred's Tower is built
- 1946Stourhead passes to the National Trust
What to see
The garden
The walk around the lake, about three kilometres long, reveals a new view at every bend. Along the way are the Temple of Flora, the Grotto, a cave with the statue of a sleeping nymph and one of a river god, the Pantheon, inspired by the one in Rome, with classical statues inside, the Temple of Apollo on a hill, which offers the widest view, and the Palladian bridge. In spring rhododendrons and azaleas bloom, and in autumn maples and beeches colour the lake red and gold. The Temple of Apollo appeared in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, in the scene of Mr Darcy's first declaration of love.
The house
The house, partly rebuilt after a fire in 1902, contains furniture by the celebrated cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale the Younger, paintings, a library and a picture gallery collected by the family, including works by Italian painters bought during the Grand Tour.
King Alfred's Tower
A few kilometres away, in the woods, rises King Alfred's Tower, a triangular brick tower about 50 metres high, built in 1772 at the spot where, according to tradition, King Alfred gathered his army against the Vikings in 878. At certain times you can climb to the top.
Practical information
The garden is open all year round; the house has seasonal opening times. In the village of Stourton, at the entrance, there is a historic pub, the Spread Eagle Inn, a restaurant and a plant shop. Opening times and prices are on the National Trust website.
Getting there
- By train: to Gillingham (Dorset) or Bruton, then a taxi (about 15 minutes).
- By car: near Mere, off the A303, the road that passes Stonehenge; parking at the visitor centre.
- By air: Bristol Airport is about an hour away.
Nearby
- Stonehenge and Salisbury Cathedral, about 40 minutes away.
- Bath, with its Roman baths and Georgian architecture.
- The small town of Frome and the village of Bruton, with art galleries and restaurants.
Tips
- How long: at least half a day; a full day with the house and the tower.
- When to go: May for the rhododendrons, October for the autumn colours.
- A tip: walk around the lake anticlockwise, as Henry Hoare intended, to discover the temples in the order in which the "journey" was meant to unfold.