Ickworth was built to a very unusual plan with a great oval rotunda and curved corridors leading to two wings. The rotunda is a hundred feet high and the whole building is 200 yards in length.
Ickworth was built to house the art collection of Frederick Augustus Hervey, Bishop of Derry. He became the 4th Earl of Bristol in succession to his brother in 1779. The Earl Bishop was a great traveller and collector and he intended that one wing should contain pictures and the other sculpture.
The rotunda was to be used as living quarters. Work began on the house in 1794 but the 4th Earl died in Italy in 1803 and did not see its completion.
The house was finished 27 years later by his son who changed the internal arrangements.
The East Wing became his residence and the rooms in the rotunda were furnished for entertaining.
Many members of the Hervey family, before and after the 4th Earl, were great collectors and Ickworth is a superb showcase for these magnificent collections.
The paintings include works by Velasquez, Titian, Gainsborough, Lawrence and Kauffmann. There is splendid porcelain and furniture and the collection of silver is one of the finest in the country.
The house was accepted by the Treasury in payment of death duties and was given to the National Trust in 1956.
The house stands in an Italianate garden in a setting of magnificent beeches, cypresses and cedars.
The park was designed by 'Capability' Brown. There is a deer enclosure and several woodland walks.
