FEW of England’s great country estates can boast a provenance as illustrious as that of the late Lord Weinstock’s Bowden Park near Lacock, Wiltshire, on the market with Savills (07967 555511) at a guide price of £35 million for the 1,450-acre domain as a whole, or £25m for the Grade I-listed, Georgian main house with stabling and outbuildings set in 639 acres of gardens, parkland, woods and farmland.
The original house at Bowden Park was built for George Johnson, whose father, William, moved in the early 1600s to Wiltshire, where he took a lease on Bowden Park. George’s success as a lawyer and politician enabled the Johnsons to buy the freehold from the Earl of Westmoreland in 1662. Then the estate was valued at £800, although, according to the historian John Aubrey, Johnson trebled its value through skilful husbandry and land management.
In 1751, Bowden Park was sold to wealthy landowner Ezekiel Dickinson of Monks Park, Corsham, who had the house rebuilt for his son, Barnard, before it later passed to the Dickinson Harmer family. The Classical 18th-century stone house was designed and built-in 1796 by James Wyatt, the most fashionable country-house architect of his day. In 1849, the estate was acquired by Capt John Neilson Gladstone, elder brother of four-times Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone. To celebrate the birth of a son in 1856, John Gladstone had St Anne’s Church built at the top of Bowden Hill. Known as ‘the church in the clouds’, it looks out across the county of Wiltshire, a mile to the east of the National Trust village of Lacock. Gladstone also extended the main house in about 1850.
This story is from the October 07, 2020 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 07, 2020 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Every picture tells a story
As the National Gallery prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary in May, Carla Passino delves into the fascinating history of 10 of its paintings, from artistic triumphs to ugly ducklings and a clever fake
Flying between extremes
Revisiting the Norfolk of his childhood bright, but not as early as planned on an April morning, John Lewis-Stempel is entranced by the wildlife of the Broads and spots a crane so large it renders his binoculars redundant Illustration by Michael Frith
Satan on six legs
The prowling embodiment of Beelzebub, the Devil's coach horse beetle could absolve you of all your sins, says Ian Morton
Sometimes, less is more
FASHIONS in gardening come and go like those on the catwalk, they simply take a lot longer doing so: sometimes decades.
Dropping down to Derwentwater
The gardens of High Moss, Portinscale, Cumbria The home of Peter and Christine Hughes Non Morris visits a much-loved, Historically fascinating Arts-andCrafts garden, which has been imaginatively brought back to life
A Georgian legacy
Down in Wiltshire and Somerset, two country houses and estates have been well tended by their owners
Processions, proclamations and punishment
The wayside crosses that were once beacons in the British landscape have seldom survived the forces of Nature and iconoclasm. Lucien de Guise follows a trail of destruction
A sparkling collection
Guided by the nose of wine expert Harry Eyres, the COUNTRY LIFE team tasted some of England's finest sparkling wines and found elegance and finesse, with notes of hedgerows and seaside air, to compete with any fizz from across the Channel-surely, this is what we should be drinking now Qu
Hampering after summer
Lifting the lid on a sturdy hamper to find cold ham and ginger beer is a summer joy. Julie Harding meets the wicker weavers who make the dream come true
Life's a picnic
With picnic season fast approaching, it's time to elevate your alfresco feast to Michelin-star levels of deliciousness. Here, Paul Henderson asks a selection of the finest chefs to open up their picnic baskets and share some of their top tips for culinary success