Things to see inside Stourhead House

A view of the Entrance Hall, its walls covered in portraits, at Stourhead, Wiltshire — Entrance Hall at Stourhead | © National Trust Images / Dennis Gilbert

Built and modified by different generations of the Hoare family, Stourhead House is an 18th century Palladian-style villa that forms the centrepiece of the garden. Within its walls, there's a significant collection of furniture, designed by Chippendale the Younger, along with artwork collected by Henry Hoare II and Sir Richard Colt Hoare during their Grand Tours around the world.

Stourhead celebrates 300 years

The house at Stourhead was declared to be ‘habitable’ by Good Henry Hoare 300 years ago - in the spring of 1724. Since that time, it has been home to many remarkable people. In this anniversary year, there will be a focus on the women who turned the house into a home - exploring how they, and other female artists and creatives, influenced the house and collection as we know it today.

Making a house into a home

Visitors will be able to explore a new exhibition focusing on the lives of the women who lived at Stourhead and the female makers and creators who helped turn the grand Country House into a home. On display you will find personal mementos, diary passages and replica dresses that have been carefully recreated based on historical photographs and portraits. Other stories will be told through the eyes of women, such as Jane Benson, Lady Augusta, and Alda, Lady Hoare, who have played a part in Stourhead’s history.

A replica dress for Lady Alda Hoare stands in the Library at Stourhead as part of the '300 years of Stourhead as a home' exhibition. — A replica dress for Lady Alda Hoare stands in the Library at Stourhead | © National Trust/Petra Mirosevic-Sorgo

Stourhead collection highlights

Inside the house is a significant collection of furniture, artwork, and heritage pieces collected by the Hoare family during their time at Stourhead. Here are just a few of the things you can expect to see.

Conservator April Johnson looks over at the fine oil painting 'Penelope and Euriclea' by Angelica Kauffman displayed inside the picture gallery, Stourhead, Wiltshire — Conservator surveying 'Penelope and Euriclea', Stourhead | © National Trust/Petra Mirosevic-Sorgo

The return of Penelope and Euriclea

Angelica Kauffman’s fine oil painting, Penelope and Euriclea, has finally returned to Stourhead after 140 years. Thanks to the generous support of a National Trust fund (set up by the late Simon Sainsbury) and a member of the Hoare family, the conservation charity was able to place a winning bid for the painting at auction. The painting will feature in a wider exploration of Kauffman’s work during 2024.

The Pope's Cabinet

The Pope’s Cabinet was made in Rome in around 1585, probably for the ‘Iron’ Pope, Sixtus V. It's the most significant example of Italian pietre dure cabinet-making in Britain. Pietre dure, meaning ‘hard rocks’ in Italian, is the technique of inlaying pieces of highly polished coloured stones to create a decorative image. The cabinet at Stourhead is the finest surviving piece of its kind and date.

The lunette window at Stourhead in Wiltshire — The Library lunette | © National Trust Images/John Hammond

The Library lunette

The lunette window is a main feature of the Library. The vibrant image was created by painting two panes of very thin crown glass on both sides using glass paint and transparent enamel. The two panes were then held together in the surrounding frame by putty. The window was created by glass artist Francis Eginton and is signed by him in the lower left pane of the central section: 'Frs. Eginton 1803'.

Axminster carpet at Stourhead, Wiltshire — The carpet cost £36,000 to repair | © National Trust Images/John Hammond

The Axminster carpet

The carpet in the Saloon was made by the world-famous Axminster carpet company in the 19th century, and is the oldest original carpet in the house. It was rescued by servants from a fire that destroyed the central part of the house in 1902, and cut to fit the Saloon’s layout – the excess pieces have been found neatly folded underneath. The carpet weighs approximately 300kg.

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Family exploring the garden at Stourhead, Wiltshire

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