Stourhead, Pleasure Gardens c.1965
Photo ref: S741085
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Photo ref: S741085
Photo of Stourhead, Pleasure Gardens c.1965

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In 1741 Henry Hoare the Younger returned from the Grand Tour particularly impressed by what he had seen in Italy. He had become converted to the idea of 'educating' nature, using and modifying the natural contours to produce pleasing compositions. This was to lead him to create one of England's great gardens. Influenced by artists such as Claude and Poussin, Hoare set about creating their vision of an 'Arcadian' landscape. The lake was created in 1744, with the intention that a walk around its shores would be an allegory of Aeneas's voyage after the fall of Troy. To make his vision a reality, Hoare engaged the services of the architect Flitcroft to create a series of buildings, including the Pantheon, the Temple of Flora and the Temple of Apollo, inspired by the original at Baalbek in the Lebanon.

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A Selection of Memories from Stourhead

For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our website to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was, prompted by the photographs in our archive. Here are some from Stourhead

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The Medieval Treasure Bristol Gave Away. The Bristol Cross is one of the smaller architectural treasures of Britain - but it's one which Bristol's worthies were only too glad to give away. Today the Cross has pride of place at Stourhead, the world-famous 18th-century pleasure gardens which the banker Henry Hoare built near Mere in Wiltshire. This medieval masterpiece was set up in ...see more