Stourhead

Stourhead (/ˈstaʊərhɛd/) is a 1,072-hectare (2,650-acre) estate at the source of the River Stour in the southwest of the English county of Wiltshire, extending into Somerset.

The estate is about 4 km (2+1⁄2 mi) northwest of the town of Mere and includes a Grade I listed 18th-century Neo-Palladian mansion, the village of Stourton, one of the most famous gardens in the English landscape garden style, farmland, and woodland. Stourhead has been part-owned by the National Trust since 1946.

The Stourton family had lived at the Stourhead estate for 500 years until they sold it to Sir Thomas Meres in 1714. His son, John Meres, sold it in 1717 to Henry Hoare, son of wealthy banker Sir Richard Hoare. The original manor house was demolished and a new house, one of the first of its kind, was designed by Colen Campbell and built by Nathaniel Ireson between 1721 and 1725.

Over the next 200 years, the Hoare family collected many heirlooms, including a large library and art collection. In 1902, the house was gutted by fire but many of the heirlooms were saved, and the house was rebuilt in a nearly identical style.

The last Hoare family member to own the property, Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, 6th Baronet, gave the house and gardens to the National Trust in 1946, one year before his death. His son and sole heir, Captain Henry Colt Arthur "Harry" Hoare, of the Queen's Own Dorset Yeomanry, had died of wounds received at the Battle of Mughar Ridge on 13 November 1917 during World War I. The last Hoare family member to be born at the house was Edward Hoare on 11 October 1949.

The house was recorded as Grade I listed in 1966.

Henry Hoare's art collection is displayed at Stourhead; his acquisitions are featured in the Palladian mansion's 'Painted Alcove' or Italian Room. Hoare's collection includes many hand-coloured prints – in some cases, coloured with such skill that they were mistaken for oil paintings. These prints are engravings of the works of the Italian masters (for example Daniele da Volterra, and Carlo Maratta) and the hand-colouring is attributed to a "Mr. Studio", thought to be Giacomo Van Lint, the son of Flemish painter Hendrik van Lint (possibly in collaboration with his father).

Although the main design for the estate at Stourhead was the work of Colen Campbell, other architects were involved in its evolution through the years. William Benson, Henry Hoare's brother-in-law, was in part responsible for the building of the estate in 1719. Francis Cartwright, a master builder and architect, who was established as a "competent provincial designer in the Palladian manner", worked on Stourhead between 1749 and 1755. Cartwright was a known carver, presumably of materials such as wood and stone, and it is assumed that his contribution to Stourhead was in this capacity. Nathaniel Ireson is the master builder credited for much of the work on the Estate: it is this work that established his career, in 1720.