Top 10 Best Country Homes in England

there's nothing like a good country home and in england were absolutely spoiled for choice from modest country getaways to gargantuan castles and palaces to something in england to suit every taste but whilst most of us could only dream about calling such magnificent houses home we're fortunate that nowadays a lot of these places are open to the public in this video i'm counting down 10 of what i consider to be the grandest and most magnificent country houses in england from one of the most iconic houses to ever grace our tv screens to one of the largest privately owned country houses in england here is my list of top 10 most magnificent stately homes to visit in england kicking things off is the spectacular harewood house situated close to leeds in west yorkshire i've visited harwood a number of times over the past years and it never fails to impress built between 1759 and 1771 by edwin lacelle's first baron harewood harwood house has a bit of a dubious past the la cells were wealthy plantation and slave owners whom having accrued a magnificent wealth invested it in the construction of harewood designed by the celebrated architect john carr the house is certainly pleasing on the eye and it sits within one of the most beautiful landscapes in england the interiors too are utterly magnificent with robert adam working his usual magic in fact these are recognized as some of his finest interiors and the luxurious long gallery is certainly a sight to behold what makes hairword so impressive is its beautiful design the exterior of the house is done in the palladian style and unlike most other georgian period houses in england that might appear quite similar herod has a certain panache about it and is one of my favorite examples of english palladianism next up is the imposing hardwick hall i actually only visited hardwick for the first time in 2020 and to say that i was blown away would be an understatement built as a prodigy house this means hard week was built with the sole intention of showing off and was designed to showcase its owners magnificent wealth and influence the house was built by bess of hardwick whom having married no fewer than four times amassed a ginormous wealth second only to that of queen elizabeth of course she required a house worthy of her status and completed in 1597 hardwick left no one in any doubt about its provenance built to the rules of symmetry and said to contain more glass than wall the national trust's hardwick hall is one of the finest examples of elizabethan architecture in england the hall is indeed very striking and you may recognize it as malfoy manor in harry potter hardwick's tapestry hung interiors are equally as impressive again clearly designed to impress the interiors are literally fit for royalty with the spectacular long gallery serving as the largest surviving elizabethan long gallery in england the internal spaces at hardwick are so vast that they absolutely have to be seen to be believed hadwick hall is perhaps the grandest prodigy house in england and was home to one of england's greatest women it truly is a house worthy of recognition high clear castle is likely most recognizable as a home of the crawley family in the hit tv series downton abbey although dalton is set in yorkshire this architecturally spectacular house is actually situated in hampshire and sits within a stunning 1 000 acre estate the high clear estate has a long history dating back to anglo-saxon times the house we see today however was built in 1679 when it was purchased by robert sawyer attorney general to charles ii and also great grandfather to the current earl of carnarvon high clear however owns its current striking appearance to sir john barry the architect responsible for designing the houses of parliament who in 1842 transformed the house into the spectacular castle we know and loved today the castle is particularly beautiful and like many other great houses features a stunning landscape designed by the legendary landscape gardener lancelot capability brown the grounds feature no fewer than 6 18th century follies and temples and the 1 000 acre parkland has grade 1 listed status long leet house is a beautiful elizabethan period home situated near to warminster in the southwest of england this stunning prodigy house is another historic home purported to be one of the finest examples of elizabethan architecture and is the seat of the marquis of bath built by sir john thin between 1568 and 1580 longleat was the first of the so-called prodigy houses to be built in england and allegedly the first to be built with the sole intention of wooing mnemonic it's a spectacularly beautiful country home and its architect robert smithson was one of the most celebrated architects of the time the house is quite exceptional and is set within 900 acres of beautiful capability brown landscaped parkland longleat is famous for being the first stately home to open to the public and also home to the first safari park outside of africa amazingly longleaf has remained in the hands of the same family since its inception nearly 450 years ago and today is home to the seventh marquis of bath lime is an absolutely glorious country house and park nestled on the edge of the peak district in cheshire lime was home to the ancient lee family for over 550 years with the current house being constructed in the mid 16th century by piers lay although piecemeal modifications were made in the 17th century it was in 1725 that the house underwent a massive transformation that resulted in the splendid neoclassical palladian masterpiece we see today lime is a wonderfully beautiful house combining its tudor car with georgian palladian architecture and stunning 19th century interiors as if this wasn't enough the house is further complemented by its surrounding merlins and formal gardens lime is a truly magnificent house and you might recognize it from the bbc's 1995 tv adaptation of pride and prejudice lime stands in as mr darcy's pemberley estate testament to its incredible reputation now in the care of the national trust lime is one of the most impressive houses in the trust portfolio in a very popular tourist destination like hardwick hall burley house is a stunning example of an elizabethan prodigy house built for and largely designed by william cecil lord high treasurer to queen elizabeth this incredible structure is one of the finest 16th century houses in existence today situated in stamford and lincolnshire construction of this spectacular house was begun in 1555 with the erection of the east range it took around 32 years for building work to be fully concluded however with the north front not being completed until 1587. like so many other great prodigy houses burley was designed to impress and with cecil being one of the most powerful cartiers in the land absolutely no expense was spared on this spectacular home furthermore with hopes of one day housing mnemonic herself burley was certainly grand enough and large enough to entice the queen and her enormous entourage the scale of burley is also quite amazing featuring 35 major rooms and 80 smaller ones this enormous palace of a house is like nothing else of this period architecturally spectacular in featuring decorative chimneys that dominate the skyline burley is one of the most magnificent country houses in england no top list would be complete without the inclusion of the mighty blenan palace situated in oxfordshire blenheim is the historic seat of the dukes of marlborough with the estate being gifted to the first duke john churchill following his military success in the war of the spanish succession the palace has remained in the hands of the dukes of marlborough ever since and was significantly the childhood home of british prime minister sir winston churchill built between 1705 and 1722 blenheim is the only non-royal house in the uk to bear the title palace and also enjoys unesco world heritage site status like castle howard blenheim was designed by architects john van bra and nicholas horksmer and serves as one of the finest examples of baroque architecture anywhere in england in addition to the colossal house blenheim also features 2 000 acres of parkland designed by capability brown and 90 acres of spectacular formal gardens it's no wonder blenheim is so popular with visitors and it serves as one of the most popular tourist destinations in britain hi guys so we're just about to explore my top three most magnificent stately homes in england but before we do i've got a quick favor to ask if you enjoy what i'm doing and you want to see more videos like this then please do hit that subscribe button and also give this video a thumbs up if you enjoy it i don't get paid to do this so your support is incredibly valuable to me and it means that i can keep making these videos anyway on with the top three nestled in the derbyshire dale sits one of england's grandest and most famous homes likely recognized as the home of mr darcy in 2005's film adaptation of pride and prejudice chatsworth sird is the seat of the duke of devonshire and has been the home of the cavendish family since bess of hardwick and her husband william cavendish purchased the estate in 1549. cavendish was best second husband and had amassed a small fortune as a commissioner for the disillusion of the monasteries having purchased the number of properties together in bessie's home county of derbyshire it was chatsworth where they chose to construct a magnificent elizabethan home little of this remains today however with the house being completely remodeled in 1707 by the first duke and further expanded and modernized by the sixth duke in the late 18th century the result is one of the most opulent and easily recognizable homes in the world in one of the uk's most visited tourist attractions one of the reasons why visitors keep coming back is the magnificent interiors the painted hall for example is one of the most exquisite indoor spaces and the magnificent library is recognized as containing the largest private collection of books anywhere in the uk the grounds too are absolutely exquisite with key features being a monumental victorian rock garden and a magnificent 300 year old cascade chatsworth is truly breathtaking and is well worth its status as one of the uk's most spectacular stately homes castle howard is one of the largest grandest and most iconic stately homes in the uk situated in the hawaiian hills in rydale in north yorkshire this colossal stately home has been in the hands of the howard family for over 300 years built for charles howard the third earl of carlisle the house was dramatist john van bra's first ever commission and largely constructed in the baroque style with construction beginning in 1699 the bulk of the house was completed in just 10 years that said it took around 100 years for the house to be considered finished castle howard sits at the heart of a 9 000 acre estate which in addition to the house comprises parkland farmland temples monuments and mock castle walls the estate is vast indeed and truly extraordinary castle howard is particularly iconic as it serves as the home of sebastian flight in the film and tv adaptations of brideshead more recently however the house featured is the country home of the duke of hastings in the popular netflix production bridgeton what makes castle howard so spectacular is its extravagant architecture and opulent interiors the great hall for example serves as one of the most elaborate and magnificent indoor spaces anywhere in the uk and is truly a sight to behold castle howard is my personal favorite country home in the uk and is vested only in terms of size by my number one entry coming in at number one is the gargantuan wentworth wood house situated in rotherham in south yorkshire and currently undergoing a multi-million pound restoration wentworth woodhouse is one of the largest houses in europe and features the longest facade of any house in england largely built by thomas watson wentworth the first marquis of rockingham this incredible structure replaced an earlier jacobean house that had served as the historic seat of the earl of stafford thomas had inherited the wentworth estate and fortune from his father who had in turn inherited it from his maternal uncle william wentworth the second earl of stafford this was something that had been bitterly resented by the earl's cousin thomas wentworth who had fully expected to inherit the family fortune and titles when the earl died childless in 1695. thomas watson went with then found himself in possession of the mighty wentworth woodhouse and not to be outdone by his jealous wentworth cousins who were busy at work creating a nearby wentworth castle set about creating the most magnificent house england had ever seen built in two campaigns the baroque styled west range took place between 1725 and 1735. the paint had yet to dry on this however before thomas turned his eye to the erection of an even larger and grander east range built in the more fashionable palladian style this new range was completed in around 1750 and was considered the first great palladian house in england the interiors of wentworth woodhouse are considered some of the finest georgian period interiors anywhere in the country and it is reckoned that the house has around 365 rooms the standout piece has to be the breathtaking marble saloon featured not so long back in the downton abbey movie wentworth is truly colossal in every sense and when its restoration is complete will likely serve as one of the finest country houses open to the public anywhere in the world the prospects of bringing this fantastic home back to life is truly exciting and i can't wait to see the results there you go guys that was my top 10 list of most magnificent stately homes in england you may agree or you may disagree with my list that's absolutely fine please leave me a comment let me know what you think is the most magnificent stately home in england i really hope that you've enjoyed this video if you have please support me by giving it a thumbs up and also please don't forget to subscribe your support is incredibly valuable to me and it means that i can keep making these videos thanks so much for watching and stay safe you

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Id: LjfuclH8H68

Length: 15min 2sec (902 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 28 2021