Description

Selena Scott is your personal guide, taking you on an intimate, private tour of five of Britain’s very finest stately homes – Burghley, Chatsworth, Blenheim Palace, Holkham Hall and Boughton House. Packed with gorgeous treasures, graceful gardens, fascinating history and breathtaking architecture this is a positive feast for those who appreciate our true national heritage.

Scott visits Burghley House, a 16th-century mansion built by Queen Elizabeth I’s Lord High Treasurer, Sir William Cecil, which today holds many treasures that have accumulated over the years, such as Oriental ceramics and Italian masterpieces from the 1600s. Next is Chatsworth House, which was originally built by Bess of Hardwick, is currently occupied by Peregrine Cavendish, 12th Duke of Devonshire, and has been lived in by his family since 1549. Then she visits Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and home to his ancestors for generations after being funded by an Act of Parliament for John Churchill, First Duke of Marlborough, to show the nation’s gratitude for his victory in the Battle of Blenheim.

Scott then looks at Holkham Hall which was designed by architect William Kent for Thomas Coke, First Earl of Leicester. The Palladian style mansion houses Coke’s extensive collection of Italian artwork and literature and has remained within his family to the present day. Finally, Scott finishes up at Boughton House, a mansion currently owned by Richard Scott, Tenth Duke of Buccleuch, and which holds a collection of treasures including paintings by van Dyck.

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