Stourhead

History

The mansion was built between 1721 and 1725 for the banker Henry Hoare I, to designs by the architect Colen Campbell. His son, Henry Hoare II, later known as 'the Magnificent', spent decades from 1741 developing the surrounding gardens, drawing on the classical landscape paintings of artists such as Claude Lorrain. Sir Henry Hoare, sixth baronet, gave the estate to the National Trust in 1946.

Architecture

The house is a Grade I listed Neo-Palladian mansion designed by Colen Campbell, one of the leading exponents of the style in early 18th-century England, with a restrained classical facade and a portico added later in the century.

Worth knowing

Alfred's Tower, a brick folly completed in the late 1770s, marks the traditional site associated with King Alfred and also commemorates the accession of George III.

Gardens & grounds

The garden is arranged as a circuit walk around a man-made lake, with views composed to resemble classical paintings and planting that gives strong seasonal colour, particularly from the rhododendrons in late spring.