Stowe, one of the largest houses in the country, is surrounded by the most historically important of all English landscape gardens.
In the 16th century the Stowe estate came into the hands of the Temple family, whose wealth had been acquired through sheep farming.
Sir Richard Temple, the 3rd Baronet constructed a new house in 1678 - 83. In 1715 his son, created Viscount Cobham in 1718, married the heiress of a rich London brewer and used his new wealth to expand the garden to designs of Charles Bridgeman.
Between 1719 - 26 Lord Cobham engaged Sir John Vanbrugh to make additions to the house and design some of the garden buildings. Further additions were made to the house on the garden side in 1733 - 50. In the 1730s William Kent was commissioned to continue the eastward extension of the gardens and he created 'The Elysian Fields', an arcadian landscape with ornamental buildings.
This was one of the first 'natural' landscapes and initiated the style known as the 'English Garden'. Shortly before his death in 1749 Lord Cobham expanded the garden further to create the 'Grecian Valley'. He was probably aided in this by his head gardener, Lancelot 'Capability' Brown, who was just beginning his great career. Brown worked at Stowe for ten years and in 1744 was married at the little medieval church.
Lord Cobham was succeeded by his nephew, Sir Richard Grenville who became Lord Temple. He 'naturalised' Bridgeman's gardens to the west and then set about remodelling the interior and exterior of the house, the work being completed in 1777.
The new south front (and probably the north) was created by Thomas Pitt, Lord Camelford. He was greatly influenced by the neo-classical style but the design of the south front owes much to an earlier scheme produced by Robert Adam.
Lord Temple's nephew and successor became Marquess of Buckingham in 1784. He completed the interior decoration and then set about amassing a great collection of paintings and manuscripts. The family reached the height of their prestige when the Marquess's son was made Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. However, in 1848 the 2nd Duke fell massively into debt. This resulted in the great art collection being dispersed but fortunately lead to the house and garden remaining almost unchanged.
Further losses occurred after the agricultural depression of the late-19th century and in 1921 Lady Kinloss, the daughter of the 3rd Duke, sold the property as the site of a public school.
Stowe School still owns the building but in 1989 the gardens were given to the National Trust.
An approach to the house from Buckingham, culminating in a great triumphal arch, was laid out in the 1770s or 1780s but the present route is from the west to the north or entrance front. This is the massive main block dating from 1720 with a portico designed by Vanbrugh. From here curved colonnades, dating from the early 1770s, stretch away to conceal the service courtyards.
The visitor enters by the north portico into an interior now denuded of the original lavish furnishings. The interior is well maintained by Stowe School and all the main reception rooms are open to the public. The first room to be viewed is the neo-Palladian North Hall, dating from the 1730s, which has a coved ceiling embellished with 'grotesques' by Kent. From here the visitor passes into the state rooms on the south or garden front. The vast, mostly empty, rooms were decorated by the 1st Marquess of Buckingham in the neo-classical taste he acquired on his Grand Tour in 1774.
The Library of 1801 is still used for its original purpose. The Music Room was decorated in Pompeian-style by the Italian architect Vincenzo Valdre. The magnificent Saloon is the most impressive room at Stowe and is one of the finest neo-classical rooms in England. The room is elliptical with a domed roof, scagliola columns and a frieze depicting a Roman triumph. The Temple Room, the original drawing room, has a splendid plasterwork ceiling dating from 1776. The final room on the tour is the State Dining Room which was built as a gallery in 1740s and still has some of its neo-Palladian decoration.
On leaving the house the visitor passes through the vast Corinthian portico on the south front and descends the broad flight of stairs, created in 1754 by Borra, to the gardens. From here the whole of the imposing south front can be viewed; one of the most impressive, neo-classical facades in England.
The 325 acres of landscaped gardens have six lakes and contain many magnificent 18th century buildings. Pitt's Corinthian Arch can be seen on the horizon from the south front.
On a lawn to the west of the vista is Vanbrugh's Rotondo. Kent's Temple of Venus and Gibb's ruined Temple of Friendship are on the south side of the lake just inside the ha-ha. To the east are the Elysian Fields in a valley overlooked by the medieval church. The church is all that remains of a vanished village.
Further south is a Palladian bridge built in imitation of the bridge at Wilton. To the north and east of the Elysian Fields is the Grecian Valley with its splendid Temple of Concord.
2008 Stowe House: www.stowe.co.uk or tel: 01280 818166 for details of opendays and tours. Gardens & Park: 5 Mar-2 Nov:10:30-17:30 Wed-Sun; 8 Nov-31 Jan 09:10:30-16:00 Sat-Sun. Open Bank Holiday Mon. Last entry 1˝hr before close. Garden closed Sat 24 May
Tel: 01494 755568 (Garden ) 01280 818166 ( House ) Stowe School Website
