Begun in 1731, the Elysian Fields became the most famous part of the Stowe gardens. They were based on the myth of Elysium, paradise for heroes of the Gods.

Lord Cobham added his own sprinkling of politicians, friends and relatives, turning the garden into the focal point of anti-government opposition in its day.

The millstream was divided into two. The Worthies river flowed through the lawns in sunlight, while the Alder river, dark and full of weed, represented the hellish River Styx. The Elysian Fields were both an attempt to work with nature and an attempt to make a moral point.

Main features of the Elysian Fields

The Temple of Ancient Virtue honoured four great Greek men: Socrates, Homer, Lycurgus and Epaminondas. They represented virtues apparently lacking in Lord Cobham's contemporaries. The Temple of Modern Virtue was deliberately constructed as a ruin just to the South.

The Temple of British Worthies was a shrine to great Britons (according to Lord Cobham), arranged in two groups of eight - those famous for their ideas and those famous for their actions. They include Shakespeare, Milton, Queen Elizabeth I, Alexander Pope and John Hampden

The Shell Bridge is a copy of the original, created from old drawings.

The Grotto was originally a banqueting house, which was buried, encased in fossils and broken glass and connected to a network of tunnels.

The Seasons Fountain honours the visit by the Prince of Wales to Stowe in 1805 and was created out of an old marble chimneypiece.  

The Grenville Column is a poignant memorial to the brother of Earl Temple, Captain Thomas Grenville, who died a hero fighting the French in 1747.

The Cook Monument was added in 1778, after Captain James Cook's discoveries in the South Pacific. The great globe has now been reinstated, based on an illustration of 1805.  

The Church of St Mary Dating from the 13th century, the church was retained by Lord Cobham but enveloped in a shroud of thick vegetation. Despite its isolation from the garden, it remains open for worship.