Courteenhall

About this place

Courteenhall House was built in 1792 by the architect Samuel Saxon for Sir William Wake, the 9th Baronet.

It stands near Northampton in Northamptonshire, its Georgian rooms largely unaltered since construction.

Humphrey Repton laid out the surrounding park, and the estate remains the Wake family's home today.

Historic Houses lists the property, though it opens only by private tour and charges an entrance fee.

History

Sir William Wake, 9th Baronet, commissioned the house in the early 1790s, and his descendants have kept Courteenhall in the family ever since. Sir Hereward Wake, the 14th Baronet, later planted the arboretum that now draws specialist visitors from bodies such as the International Dendrology Society and the Royal Forestry Society.

Architecture

The house was designed by Samuel Saxon in a restrained Georgian style and has kept almost all of its original internal features.

Worth knowing

The park was laid out by Humphrey Repton, and the arboretum planted later by Sir Hereward Wake is visited by the International Dendrology Society and the Royal Forestry Society for its rare specimens.

Gardens & grounds

The Repton-designed grounds and arboretum can be viewed in detail even though the house itself rarely opens.