Bowood House

Bowood House is a grand Georgian country house in Wiltshire, standing on a 2,000-acre estate near the village of Derry Hill. The house was designed by Robert Adam and set within gardens shaped by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. Part of the original building was demolished in 1956, leaving the remaining wing open to visitors today. The estate has belonged to the Fitzmaurice family for over 250 years, now represented by the ninth Marquess of Lansdowne. Among its notable guests were Benjamin Franklin and Mirabeau, a leader of the French Revolution. The house also served as the laboratory where Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen in 1774. The estate carries layers of history from different centuries. The first house was built around 1725 on the site of a hunting lodge, later enlarged by the first Earl of Shelburne. William Petty, the second Earl, became Prime Minister and commissioned Robert Adam to create lavish interiors and an orangery. During the World Wars, the house housed a Red Cross hospital and later a school and RAF base. The Adam dining room was removed and now stands in London’s Lloyd’s building. A mausoleum in the park, designed by Adam, is Grade I listed. Visitors walk through rooms filled with paintings and sculpture, including Priestley’s laboratory. Outside, a sinuous lake covers the remains of Manning’s Hill village, rediscovered by divers in 2007. The gardens feature rhododendron walks in May and June, carpets of spring bulbs, and a cascade added by Charles Hamilton in the 1780s. An adventure playground, waterfall and Italianate terraces provide further interest. The landscape blends formal gardens with mature trees and a pinetum of rare conifers.