Bowood House is home to the Marquis and Marchioness of Lansdowne and surrounded by 2,000 acres of Grade I listed ‘Capability’ Brown parkland. Begun c1720. It was purchased by the 2nd Earl of Shelburne in 1754 and completed soon afterwards.
Interesting rooms include Robert Adam’s library; the Laboratory where Dr Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen in 1774; and the Chapel that is still used for family services.
On display within the numerous Exhibition rooms we enjoyed collections of family heirlooms and works of art built up over 250 years. These include Georgian costumes; Victoriana, Queen Victoria’s wedding chair, Indiana, Napoleon’s death mask and superb collections of water-colours, miniatures and jewellery.
Before visiting the house we enjoyed a guided tour of the private gardens and the Italian inspired terrace gardens and the herbaceous border.
We were so fortunate with the weather. From the photos you can see that we were blessed with a bright sunny, but not too warm, day. However the rains descended about 10 minutes after we were safely seated in the coach for our return journey.
