URPoint Details
Wheelchair access to some areas of the House and Gardens; best to phone in advance
Dating back to Anglo-Saxon times, the estate belongs to the Royal family and then became part of the dower of the queens of England and in 1582 was sold to Thomas Smythe. He built an attractive Cotswold house with gables and mullioned windows, much of which remains today.
In 1777 the house was bought by Paul Methuen and Capability Brown although at the time known as a landscape gardener was commissioned to make alterations and add a picture gallery.
The house contains some fine furniture by Chippendale, Adam, Johnson and Cobb, but it the paintings that most visitors come to see. There are many masters including some by Correggio, Van Dyck, Rubens and portraits by Reynolds and George Romney.
The gardens were laid out by Humphry Repton.
- Type:
- Landmark