Althorp

Althorp is a stately home and estate in West Northamptonshire, about 10 kilometres northwest of Northampton and roughly 120 kilometres northwest of London. It stands between the villages of Great Brington and Harlestone on an estate of about 5,300 hectares. The Spencer family has owned Althorp for more than five centuries, and it has been the home of Lady Diana Spencer until her marriage to the Prince of Wales. The house replaced an earlier building visited by Charles I and dates to 1688. The estate contains 28 listed buildings and structures, including a former falconry from 1613 and a stable block designed by Roger Morris in the early 1730s. Althorp became one of England’s prominent stately homes after John Spencer bought the estate in 1508. By the 18th century it was a major cultural hub, hosting parties that drew members of the ruling class. George John, the 2nd Earl Spencer, built one of Europe’s largest private libraries at Althorp, which grew to over 100,000 books by the 1830s. The Picture Gallery stretches for 35 metres on the first floor and holds an extensive collection of portraits, including works by Anthony van Dyck and Mary Beale. Much of the art collection was sold during hard times in the 19th and 20th centuries. Visitors find a grand red-brick house altered by Henry Holland starting in 1788, with mathematical tiles added to the exterior and a grand hall entrance cited by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as the noblest Georgian room in the county. The great dining room, added in 1877, has walls hung with faded red damask silk. The Round Oval lake contains a small island where Diana, Princess of Wales, is interred, and a Doric-style temple stands across the water. The grounds were laid out by André Le Nôtre in the 1660s, with further changes made in the late 18th century.