Built in the 1750s for Admiral Boscawen, hero of the Battle of Louisburg, the house contains the earliest recorded decorations by Robert Adam in an English country house – whose ceilings here appropriately feature nautical motifs. On display is the Cobbe Collection, the world's largest group of keyboard instruments associated with famous composers such as Purcell, J. C. Bach, Chopin, Mahler and Elgar. Hatchlands is set in a beautiful 174-hectare (430-acre) park designed by Repton, with a variety of waymarked walks offering vistas of open parkland and views of the house. The woodlands are a haven for wildlife and there is a stunning wood, which is carpeted with bluebells from April to May.
