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Bowood House, home to Earl and
Countess of Shelburne was built around 1760. Part of the House was demolished in
1955, some of what remains is open to the public. The estate was inherited from,
Sir William Petty. Petty's widow became the Baroness Shelburne, and it was their
grandson who settled at Bowood, and their great-grandson who became the
1st.Marquis of Lansdowne. It was he, who befriended Joseph Priestly, the early
chemist who discovered oxygen at Bowood. Successive generations added to the
house, Sir Charles Cockerell designed the Chapel, Sir Charles Barry, architect
of the Houses of parliament, the Clock tower, the Italianate Tower and the
Golden Gates at the entrance. Outside, there are grounds landscaped by
Capability Brown,
with a Doric Temple, a pinetum and arboretum,
and a most
spectacular Cascade. |
