Page 85 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Europe

ENGLAND  83

Great Hall VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
The hall’s magnificent
ceiling, painted by Sir James Practical Information
Thornhill in 1716, shows Woodstock, Oxfordshire.
Marlborough presenting Tel 0800-849 6500.
his plan for the Battle of Palace & Gardens: Open mid-
Blenheim to Britannia. Feb–Dec 10:30am-5:30pm daily.
& 8 7 limited. Park: Open
9am–6pm (or dusk) daily.
∑ blenheimpalace.com
Transport
£ Oxford, then bus.

Other Notable
Stately Homes
Burghley House:
Lincolnshire. Tel 01780-752 451.
Open mid-Mar–Oct: 11am–5pm
daily. & 0 7 Built by Queen
Elizabeth I’s adviser, William Cecil,
1st Lord Burghley (1520–98).
Entrance Castle Howard:
Yorkshire. Tel 01653-648 333.
Open mid-Mar–Oct, end
Nov–mid-Dec: daily. & 0 8
7 Baroque mansion (1699–
1712) by John Vanbrugh and
Nicholas Hawksmoor.
Chatsworth House:
Derbyshire. Tel 01246-582 204.
Open 11am–5:30pm daily.
& = 0 7 limited.
Splendid Baroque palace built
in 1687–1707 by the 4th Earl
of Devonshire.
Hardwick Hall:
Derbyshire. Tel 01246-850 430.
. Saloon Open Apr–Oct: Wed–Sun. &
The murals and painted = 0 7 limited. Fine Tudor
ceiling of the state dining mansion begun in 1591 by
room are by French artist Bess of Hardwick, Countess
Louis Laguerre (1663–1721). of Shrewsbury.
The room is used once a
year on Christmas Day. Transport
Burghley House: £ Stamford
Castle Howard: £ York, then bus
Chatsworth House and Hardwick
Hall: £ Chesterfield.

Eighteenth-century Gardens
Styles of gardening in Britain expanded alongside archi tecture and other
fashions. The 18th century brought a taste for large-scale “natural” landscapes,
characterized by woods, lakes, and a seeming lack of boundaries. The pioneer
of this new style was the famous landscape designer Lancelot (Capability)
Brown (1715–83). His nickname came from his habit of telling clients that
their land had “great capabilities.” In 1764, he re-landscaped the grounds of
Blenheim Palace, creating the magnificent, huge lake. Today, his reputation
Capability Brown is controversial, because in creating his idyllic landscapes he swept away
(1715–83) many of the beautiful formal gardens previously in vogue.

For hotels and restaurants see pp104–6 and pp107–9

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