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  Location of Longford Castle in Wiltshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Longford Castle is a Grade I listed country house on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is the seat of the Earl of Radnor [1] and an example of the Elizabethan prodigy house.
In 1573 Thomas Gorges acquired the manor (at the time written "Langford"), which was originally owned by the Servington (or Cervington) family. [2] Prior to this the existing mansion house had been damaged by fire. In c.1576 Thomas Gorges married Helena Snakenborg, the Swedish born dowager Marchioness of Northampton and Lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth. They rebuilt the Longford property as a triangular Swedish pattern castle on the banks of the River Avon. The building work became very expensive due to problems with the subsoil. Sir Thomas Gorges, who was now governor of Hurst Castle, persuaded his wife to beg of the Queen a shipwreck he knew from the defeated Spanish Armada. The gift was granted and the gold and silver retrieved from the shipwreck funded the completion of the castle [2] under the final supervision of John Thorpe in 1591. The family lived in the castle for several years before its final completion.
In September 1603 the royal family came on progress nearby and Roger Wilbraham described Longford as, "a faire new house of stone, a triangle with three great towers at each end, wherein are his favourite chambers, & he hath the fairest garden and green walks". [3] The main building had several floors and was triangular with a round tower in each corner; the three towers representing the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. There was a chapel, kitchen department, several boudoirs and sitting rooms, as well as bedrooms. Fresh cold water was pumped to various floors and there were water closets operating with rainwater. A park, fruit garden and kitchen garden were attached.
In 1717 Longford Castle became the Bouverie home, purchased by Sir Edward des Bouverie from the Coleraines. It is said that Sir Edward saw and fell in love with the castle in the valley as he rode past, having enough money in his saddle bags to effect the purchase there and then. [2] Subsequent generations of the family beautified the interior of the castle and surrounding park; by 1773 the castle was surrounded by a formal park, laid out with avenues and rides. [4] Landscaping advice was sought from Lancelot Brown around 1777. [4]
However, Jacob, 2nd Earl of Radnor (1749–1828), employed James Wyatt to change Longford from a reasonably modest chateau into a hexagonal palace "to the despair of future generations". [2] He destroyed one of the Elizabethan towers and replaced it with a larger one of his own design, added two more towers and linked them to each other. In 1832 the 3rd Earl created a new formal garden to the south of the castle, in 17th-century style. [4]
The palace concept was not finished: it was Jacob, 4th Earl of Radnor (1815–1889), who oversaw the last significant changes to the castle architecture, undertaken by Anthony Salvin. These included the formation of a second courtyard, the doming over of the central courtyard, the addition of a square tower, and alterations to the formal garden. [4]
The castle is Grade I listed [5] and is within Odstock parish. The formal garden, pleasure grounds and park extend into neighbouring parishes and are listed Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens. [4]
The castle is the seat of William Pleydell-Bouverie, 9th Earl of Radnor. [6] The castle, art collection and gardens are open to the public on select days each year, and guided tours may be booked through the National Gallery. [7]
Odstock is a village and civil parish 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the village of Nunton with its nearby hamlet of Bodenham. The parish is in the valley of the River Ebble, which joins the Hampshire Avon near Bodenham.
Lyme Park is a large estate south of Disley, Cheshire, England, managed by the National Trust and consisting of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens and a deer park in the Peak District National Park. The house is the largest in Cheshire, and is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.
Earl of Radnor, of the County of Radnor, is a title which has been created twice. It was first created in the Peerage of England in 1679 for John Robartes, 2nd Baron Robartes, a notable political figure of the reign of Charles II. The earldom was created for a second time in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1765 for William Bouverie, 2nd Viscount Folkestone.
Wimpole Estate is a large estate containing Wimpole Hall, a country house located within the civil parish of Wimpole, Cambridgeshire, England, about 8+1⁄2 miles southwest of Cambridge. The house, begun in 1640, and its 3,000 acres (12 km2) of parkland and farmland are owned by the National Trust. The estate is regularly open to the public and received over 335,000 visitors in 2019. Wimpole is the largest house in Cambridgeshire.
Powis Castle is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country house near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales. The seat of the Herbert family, earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the former having been described as "the most important", and the latter "the most magnificent", in the country. The castle and gardens are under the care of the National Trust. Powis Castle is a Grade I listed building, while its gardens have their own Grade I listing on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
Weston Park is a country house in Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire, England, set in more than 1,000 acres (400 ha) of park landscaped by Capability Brown. The park is located 10 miles (16 km) north-west of Wolverhampton, and 8 miles (13 km) east of Telford, close to the border with Shropshire. The 17th-century Hall is a Grade I listed building and several other features of the estate, such as the Orangery and the Stable block, are separately listed as Grade II.
Delapré Abbey is a neo-classical mansion in Northampton, in Northamptonshire, England.
Edward Pleydell-Bouverie PC, FRS, styled The Honourable from 1828, was a British Liberal politician. He was a member of Lord Palmerston's first administration as Paymaster General and Vice-President of the Board of Trade in 1855 and as President of the Poor Law Board between 1855 and 1858.
Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 8th Earl of Radnor was a British nobleman. He was the son of William Pleydell-Bouverie, 7th Earl of Radnor and Helena Olivia Adeane.
William Pleydell-Bouverie, 5th Earl of Radnor PC, styled Viscount Folkestone from 1869 to 1889, was a British Conservative politician. He served as Treasurer of the Household under Lord Salisbury between 1885 and 1886 and again between 1886 and 1891.
Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor FRS FSA, styled Hon. Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie from 1761 to 1765 and Viscount Folkestone from 1765 to 1776, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1771 to 1776 when he succeeded to the peerage as Earl of Radnor.
Jacob Bouverie, 1st Viscount Folkestone was an English politician, known as Sir Jacob Bouverie, 3rd Baronet from 1737 to 1747.
Kirby Hall is a Grade I listed Elizabethan country house, located near Gretton, Northamptonshire, England. The nearest main town is Corby. One of the great Elizabethan houses of England, Kirby Hall was built in 1570 for Sir Humphrey Stafford of Blatherwick. In 1575, Sir Christopher Hatton of Holdenby purchased the property,Hatton was Lord Chancellor to Queen Elizabeth I. It is a leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. Construction on the building began in 1570, based on the designs in French architectural pattern books and expanded in the Classical style over the course of the following decades. The house is now in a semi-ruined state with many parts roof-less although the Great Hall and state rooms remain intact. The gardens, with their elaborate "cutwork" design, complete with statues and urns, have been recently restored. Anne of Denmark stayed at Kirby on 9 August 1605 while her husband King James I stayed at Rockingham Castle.
Britford is a village and civil parish beside the River Avon about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-east of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The village is just off the A338 Salisbury-Bournemouth road. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 592.
Alderbury is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the south of the county around 3 miles (5 km) southeast of Salisbury.
Sir Thomas Gorges of Longford Castle in Wiltshire, was a courtier and Groom of the Chamber to Queen Elizabeth I. Via his great-grandmother Lady Anne Howard, a daughter of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, he was a second cousin of both Queens Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, the second and fifth wives of King Henry VIII. In 1586 he was elected as a Member of Parliament for Downton in Wiltshire.
Nunton is a small village and former civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) south-east of Salisbury, which has been part of Odstock parish since 1934. The former parish included the small village of Bodenham, 0.6 miles (0.97 km) to the east.
Castle Ashby, often Castle Ashby House is a country house at Castle Ashby, Northamptonshire, England. It is one of the seats of the Marquess of Northampton. The house, church, formal gardens and landscaped park are Grade I listed.
Coleshill House was a country house in England, near the village of Coleshill, in the Vale of White Horse. Historically, the house was in Berkshire but since boundary changes in 1974 its site is in Oxfordshire.
Hon. Philip Bouverie-Pusey was an English heir and landowner.
Media related to Longford Castle at Wikimedia Commons
