Stourhead () is a 1,072-hectare (2,650-acre) estate at the source of the River Stour in the southwest of the English county of Wiltshire, extending into Somerset.

The estate is about northwest of the town of Mere and includes a Grade I listed 18th-century Neo-Palladian mansion, the village of Stourton, one of the most famous gardens in the English landscape garden style, farmland, and woodland. Stourhead has been part-owned by the National Trust since 1946.

House

The Stourton family had lived at the Stourhead estate for 500 years until they sold it to Sir Thomas Meres in 1714. His son, John Meres, sold it in 1717 to Henry Hoare, son of wealthy banker Sir Richard Hoare. The original manor house was demolished and a new house, one of the first of its kind, was designed by Colen Campbell and built by Nathaniel Ireson between 1721 and 1725.

Over the next 200 years, the Hoare family collected many heirlooms, including a large library and art collection. In 1902, the house was gutted by fire but many of the heirlooms were saved, and the house was rebuilt in a nearly identical style.

The last Hoare family member to own the property, Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, 6th Baronet, gave the house and gardens to the National Trust in 1946, one year before his death. His son and sole heir, Captain Henry Colt Arthur "Harry" Hoare, of the Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry, had died of wounds received at the Battle of Mughar Ridge on 13 November 1917 during World War I.

Art collection

Henry Hoare's art collection is displayed at Stourhead; his acquisitions are featured in the Palladian mansion's 'Painted Alcove' or Italian Room. Hoare's collection includes many hand-coloured prints – in some cases, coloured with such skill that they were mistaken for oil paintings. These prints are engravings of the works of the Italian masters (for example Daniele da Volterra, and Carlo Maratta) and the hand-colouring is attributed to a "Mr. Studio", thought to be Giacomo Van Lint, the son of Flemish painter Hendrik van Lint (possibly in collaboration with his father).

Other buildings

Although the main design for the estate at Stourhead was the work of Colen Campbell, other architects were involved in its evolution through the years. William Benson, Henry Hoare's brother-in-law, was in part responsible for the building of the estate in 1719. Francis Cartwright, a master builder and architect, who was established as a "competent provincial designer in the Palladian manner", worked on Stourhead between 1749 and 1755. Cartwright was a known carver, presumably of materials such as wood and stone, and it is assumed that his contribution to Stourhead was in this capacity. Nathaniel Ireson is the master builder credited for much of the work on the Estate: it is this work that established his career, in 1720.

The original estate remained intact, though changes and additions were made over time. Henry Flitcroft built three temples and a tower on the property: the Temple of Ceres was added in 1744, followed by the Temple of Hercules in 1754 and the Temple of Apollo in 1765; that same year he designed Alfred's Tower, which was not built until 1772. During the ownership of Sir Richard Colt Hoare, the mason and surveyor John Carter added an ornamental cottage to the grounds (1806) and the architect William Wilkins created a Grecian style lodge (1816).

Gardens and monuments

The lake at Stourhead is artificially created. Following a path around the lake is meant to evoke a journey similar to that of Aeneas's descent into the underworld. In addition to Greek mythology, the layout is evocative of the "genius of the place", a concept expounded by Alexander Pope. Buildings and monuments are erected in remembrance of family and local history. Henry Hoare was a collector of art; one of his pieces was Claude Lorrain's Aeneas at Delos, which is thought to have inspired the pictorial design of the gardens. designed by Flitcroft entices the visitor over, but once reached, views from the opposite shore of the lake beckon. The use of the sunken path allows the landscape to continue on into neighbouring landscapes, allowing the viewer to contemplate all the surrounding panorama. The Pantheon was thought to be the most important visual feature of the gardens. It appears in many pieces of artwork owned by Hoare, depicting Aeneas's travels. The plantings in the garden were arranged in a manner that would evoke different moods, drawing visitors through realms of thought.

The gardens were designed by Henry Hoare II and laid out between 1741 and 1780 in a classical 18th-century design set around a large lake, achieved by damming a small stream. The inspiration behind their creation were the painters Claude Lorrain, Poussin, and, in particular, Gaspard Dughet, who painted Utopian-type views of Italian landscapes. An early feature, predating the lake, is the Temple of Flora (1744–46) which now contains a replica of the Borghese Vase modelled in Coade stone dating from 1770 to 1771. Lakeside features include the five-arched Palladian Bridge at the eastern extremity of the lake; the Rockwork Bridge over the road to the south of the lake; and to the west the grotto and the Gothic Cottage summerhouse.

Also in the garden are a number of temples inspired by scenes of the Grand Tour of Europe. On one hill overlooking the gardens stand an obelisk of 1839 and King Alfred's Tower, a 50-metre-tall, brick folly designed by Henry Flitcroft in 1772; on another hill the temple of Apollo provides a vantage point to survey the rhododendrons, water, cascades and temples. The large medieval Bristol High Cross was moved from Bristol to the gardens.

Sir Richard Hoare, 2nd Baronet, the grandson of Henry Hoare II, inherited Stourhead in 1783. and the removal of several features that were not in keeping with the classical and gothic styles (including a Turkish Tent). He also considerably enhanced the planting – the Temple of Apollo rises from a wooded slope that was planted in Colt Hoare's time. With the antiquarian passion of the times, he had 400 ancient burial mounds dug up to inform his pioneering History of Ancient Wiltshire.

The gardens were listed Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest in 1987.

In typography

The National Trust's corporate font, designed by Paul Barnes, is based on an inscription in the grotto, created around 1748. The inscription was destroyed in error around 1960 and a replica was made from photographs.

The Temple of Apollo is featured in Joe Wright's 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice as the site of the proposal scene between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.

<gallery>

File:S7300180.JPG|View taken from the Grotto, of the lake in autumn colours

File:Stourhead Garden View from Above.JPG|Stourhead's lake and foliage as seen from a high hill vantage point

File:Stourhead House - geograph.org.uk - 31721.jpg|Stourhead House

File:Stourhead05.jpg|The Temple of Apollo high on a hill overlooking the gardens, based on a circular temple at Baalbec

File:Stourhead 2022-05-03a.jpg|Gatehouse

File:Temple of Flora-geograph-2911386.jpg|The Temple of Flora 1744–46 by Henry Flitcroft

File:Jardins de Stourhead - Stourhead House.JPG|Entrance front

File:Stourhead 2022-05-03l.jpg|Library

File:Stourhead garden.jpg|Bridge 1762 and Pantheon

File:Stourhead Pantheon.jpg|The Pantheon 1753–54 by Henry Flitcroft

File:Stourhead, Pantheon, interior.jpg|interior Pantheon

File:Stourhead, male statue in Pantheon, view toward roof.jpg|Statue in Pantheon

File:Stourhead - Pont pal·ladià.JPG|Temple of Flora and Bridge

File:Stourhead Grotto Cave.jpg|View from Grotto

File:Statue in the grotto at Stourhead - geograph.org.uk - 1557607.jpg|River God in Grotto

File:Sleeping Nymph, Stourhead.jpg|Sleeping nymph statue in the Grotto

File:Grotto motto, Stourhead park (9313913818).jpg|Grotto text, a quotation from Pope

File:Temple of Apollo, Stourhead - geograph.org.uk - 371744.jpg|Temple of Apollo 1757, by Henry Flitcroft

File:The lake at Stourhead - geograph.org.uk - 26526.jpg|The Lake

File:Stourhead Gardens in the spring - geograph.org.uk - 65797.jpg|Rhododendrons in flower

File:Stourhead, The Temple of Apollo - geograph.org.uk - 211701.jpg|Temple of Apollo from the lake

File:King Alfred's Tower view from west.jpg|King Alfred's Tower by Henry Flitcroft

File:Stourhead, Watch Cottage.jpg|Gothic Cottage altered 1806

File:Stourhead 05 (4652484149).jpg|St Peter's Pump 15th century, relocated from Bristol to Stourhead 1766

File:The Boathouse - geograph.org.uk - 437236.jpg|Boathouse

File:The Convent - geograph.org.uk - 886196.jpg|The Convent c.1765

File:The Obelisk at Stourhead - geograph.org.uk - 963383.jpg|The Obelisk 1839–40

File:Stourton, Bristol High Cross - geograph.org.uk - 484538.jpg|Bristol High Cross 1373 relocated to Stourhead 1764

File:Stourhead lake in midsummer - panoramio.jpg|The Lake

</gallery>

References

;Notes

;Bibliography

  • Stourhead – National Trust
  • Stourhead (Western) Estate
  • Stourhead entry from The DiCamillo Companion to British & Irish Country Houses
  • Wikidata list of paintings on view at Stourhead