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By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the wealthy families would leave London and escape to their country bolthole in pursuit of a calmer lifestyle. Some of these include Newstead Abbey which was granted to Sir John Byron of Colwick on 26th May 1540, allowing for its conversion into a country home. It would then stay in the Byron family for many generations, in which time several additions and alterations were made.
A country house furnished with furniture finds from another country house
The Gothic Revival style takes influence from Medieval Europe and was designed as a country home. Architects believed the asymmetrical design and ornamentation complemented the nature of rural America. Townhouses can be built to mimic other architecture styles, like Italianate and Greek Revival, while maintaining the condensed, vertical floor plan.
The Enduring Appeal of the English Stately Home: from Medieval Castles to Downton Abbey
While many country houses are open to the public and derive income through that means, they remain homes, in some cases inhabited by the descendants of their original owners. An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country. From Elizabethan times, large country houses have been built to house aristocratic families and there are fine examples of each style available for LTR guests to stay in or visit. Longleat is obviously one of the great Elizabethan homes and Hatfield a lovely example of the later Jacobean style. The great Scots architects, the Adams brothers also made their mark in England with Georgian homes like Kenwood House, Kedleston and Luton Hoo which was later altered by Sir Robert Smirke.
What to look out for when you visit a stately home
Some had already sold off their assets in auctions and others were selling up completely. Since the turn of the century, it is believed around 1200 country homes were demolished in England alone, reflecting the end of an era for many. During the Second World War many of the country’s stately homes were requisitioned, to host everything from schools to military headquarters, from convalescent hospitals to war supply depots. For example, Chatsworth House became home to the girls of Penrhos College, their school having itself been requisitioned by the Ministry of Food. The Air Ministry requisitioned Hughenden Manor where one hundred people worked on the production of detailed maps for the Airforce.
This 300-Year-Old English Country House With a Noble Past Is Updated for a Comfortable, Modern Life - Robb Report
This 300-Year-Old English Country House With a Noble Past Is Updated for a Comfortable, Modern Life.
Posted: Fri, 27 Oct 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Working with architect Nicholas Johnston, Getty added a library addition that looked “as if it had been there before,” as Johnston told AD when the property was featured in the March 1998 issue. While the library was at the center of the project, the entire home had to be furnished to Getty’s liking too. A number of designers worked on the space, including Christopher Gibbs on the new wing and the reorganization of the old rooms, and David Mlinaric, Hugh Henry, and Jane Rainey on other rooms. Pictured above, a guest bedroom’s wall covering was fashioned after a photo of a patterned wallpaper at the aforementioned Chatsworth Estate.
Shingle Style
While country houses are not as big or require various maids or an army of staff, a country home may need large numbers to have staff available for the master and his family around the clock. One of the finest and grandest Georgian houses in England and it stands in 87 acres of gardens and grounds with a deer park and lake. Built in 1725 with the longest façade in the UK, a suite of grand State Rooms and 50 acres of private gardens, there is plenty to see and do. Beningbrough Hall is a large Georgian manor house about 8 miles North West of York. Entry to the house and gardens is free to National Trust members, or Houses, Castle and Gardens cards but otherwise is £10 per adult and £5 per child.
I’ve watched the Netflix series “Bridgerton” and all the Downton Abbey shows and have vicariously enjoyed seeing some of England’s grandest manor houses standing in for the various stately homes found in the show. It was during the second half of the reign of Elizabeth I, and under her successor, James I, that the first architect-designed mansions, thought of today as epitomising the English country house, began to make their appearance. Burghley House, Longleat House, and Hatfield House are among the best-known examples of the showy prodigy house, often built with the intention of attracting the monarch to visit. The Palladian style, in various forms, interrupted briefly by baroque, was to predominate until the second half of the 18th century when, influenced by ancient Greek styles, it gradually evolved into the neoclassicism championed by such architects as Robert Adam. Look out for different rooms used to store various kinds of food in the days before fridges.– The ice house — in the days before fridges and freezers, most stately homes had an ‘ice house’ in the garden. These look a little like grass-covered igloos on the surface, and these structures cover a deep, concrete-lined pit in which ice would be kept frozen.
What to expect when visiting English stately homes?

Nowadays, after extensive remodelling, it has an eclectic style and is considered a Gothic country house with a Victorian interior. Entry cost is free to National Trust members, or £10 for an Adult and £5 for a Child. It includes entry not only to the manor house but also to the expansive grounds.
For almost 300 years of the Spencer and Spencer Stanhope family expanding and improving the Hall and grounds, funded by great wealth made in the local iron industry. Now an impressive and elegant building, Cannon Hall stands in 70 acres of historic parkland looking towards the village of Cawthorne to the west of Barnsley, South Yorkshire. At the end of the Second World War, requisitioned homes were often returned in a dilapidated state and owners were facing a bleak choice.
Other terms used in the names of houses to describe their origin or importance include palace, castle, court, hall, mansion, park, house, manor, and place. His daughter, Elizabeth I, and his great-grandnephew, James I, would later continue the trend. Architects were commissioned to design mansions that would eventually become the typical design of a country house.
The history of the English stately home offers a fascinating insight into the social interactions and conventions which played out in some of the grandest mansions across the country. These imposing estates would have played host to a number of historically significant events, celebrations, parties and gatherings, turning them into social hubs. Actor Jane Seymour found her English country house in Avon while shooting on location. “We had one day’s filming, and by evening David and I had fallen in love with the place,” Seymour said of her and then husband David Flynn’s immediate appreciation for the home to AD in the January 1991 issue of the magazine.
Inside the Enchanting Home Where the Madness of 'Saltburn' All Goes Down - Architectural Digest
Inside the Enchanting Home Where the Madness of 'Saltburn' All Goes Down.
Posted: Mon, 20 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The exterior of Burghley House largely retains its Elizabethan appearance, but most of the interiors date from remodellings before 1800. The house is open to the public and exhibits a circuit of grand and richly furnished state apartments. Many country estates are part of an English national charity organization like English Heritage or National Trust.
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