Beautiful Britain - Stowe House

Himself was in England for most of September on a business trip. He was able to do some sightseeing and took lots of photos, some of which I plan on sharing over the next few weeks.

Stowe House is a Grade I listed country house with gorgeous gardens. Stowe School (established 1922/23) is located within the building so access can be limited on occasion, however the grounds are open all year round. The grounds, follies and monuments were acquired by the National Trust in 1989.
The house was the county seat for the Temple family, later known as the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos. Like many of the great families things progressed well then went into a decline through overspending. Thankfully the Stowe House Preservation Trust was created to take on the mammoth task of preserving this gorgeous house and its surroundings. Renovations are ongoing so expect to see scaffolding.

South Side of Stowe which looks out onto the beautiful gardens, follies and monuments.

Temple of British Worthies.

Inside the domed roof of the Pebble Alcove

Gothic Temple.

If you want to learn more about the architectural history of the house go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_-DFSyxBdc

John did not have enough time to go inside when he was there but if you go to http://www.stowe.co.uk/house/ you can see some gorgeous photographs.
http://www.wmf.org.uk/projects/view/stowe/history for a potted history of the Temple family.
http://faculty.bsc.edu/jtatter/monutour.html for map, photographs and potted histories of the monuments and follies.

The National Trust is really good about publishing informative guide books about their properties. John came home with "Stowe Landscape Guide. A Comprehensive Guide." Very interesting.