Cottesbrooke Hall
Encyclopedia
Cottesbrooke Hall and the Cottesbrooke estate in Northamptonshire
, England
is reputed to be the inspiration for Jane Austen
's Mansfield Park
, published 1814.
along the A5199 road
just 1 mile north of the village of Creaton
. The village of Cottesbrooke
is adjacent to the estate.
architecture located in a large parkland setting with wide views across the local countryside. The building was begun in 1702 and finished in 1713 by Sir John Langham and remains today largely unaltered. The original architect is uncertain. It is home to the Woolavington
Collection, one of the most extensive collections of sporting paintings in the world.
The Hall is set in the 18th century landscaped Cottesbrooke Park, and has fine furniture, the interior decoration, grounds and gardens. It was winner of the Historic Houses Association
/Christie's
'Garden of the Year' Award in 2000.
The building and grounds are open to the public from May to September only. The times are very limited and visitors should book in advance if requiring tours of the house. The best access route to the main visitor entrance is via the signposted turn east off the A5199 at Creaton.
hedges has four fine statues by Peter Scheemakers originally in the Temple of Ancient Virtue at Stowe
and bought in 1938. South of the house, which was originally the entrance façade, a new garden surrounded by wrought-iron railings was laid out in 1937 by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe in the form of a quadripartite parterre
, with topiary
shapes of common and golden yew disposed among lead statues, beds of ‘Iceberg’ roses, and tubs of agapanthus
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
is reputed to be the inspiration for Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park
Mansfield Park may mean:* Mansfield Park by Jane Austen* Mansfield Park , based on the novel, directed by Patricia Rozema, starring Frances O'Connor, Embeth Davidtz, and Sheila Gish in 1999...
, published 1814.
Location
The Hall and estate are appx 10 miles north of the town of NorthamptonNorthampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
along the A5199 road
A5199 road
The A5199 road is the direct road from Leicester to Northampton in England. It was formerly part of the A50 trunk road that ran from Bedfordshire to Lancashire...
just 1 mile north of the village of Creaton
Creaton
Creaton is a village and civil parish in the Daventry district of the shire county of Northamptonshire, England.-Location:The village is north west of the town of Northampton and south east of the city of Leicester, along the A5199, formerly the A50, trunk road...
. The village of Cottesbrooke
Cottesbrooke
Cottesbrooke is a village and civil parish in the Daventry district of Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 144 people.-Location:...
is adjacent to the estate.
Hall and estate
The Hall is a near-perfect example of Queen AnneQueen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
architecture located in a large parkland setting with wide views across the local countryside. The building was begun in 1702 and finished in 1713 by Sir John Langham and remains today largely unaltered. The original architect is uncertain. It is home to the Woolavington
Woolavington
Woolavington is a village and civil parish on the Somerset Levels in the English county of Somerset. It forms part of the District of Sedgemoor, and is north east of Bridgwater, south east of Burnham on Sea and west of Glastonbury...
Collection, one of the most extensive collections of sporting paintings in the world.
The Hall is set in the 18th century landscaped Cottesbrooke Park, and has fine furniture, the interior decoration, grounds and gardens. It was winner of the Historic Houses Association
Historic Houses Association
The Historic Houses Association, a not for profit organsiation, represents 1,500 privately owned historic country houses, castles and gardens throughout the UK. These are listed buildings or registered gardens, usually Grade I or II* and often outstanding....
/Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
'Garden of the Year' Award in 2000.
The building and grounds are open to the public from May to September only. The times are very limited and visitors should book in advance if requiring tours of the house. The best access route to the main visitor entrance is via the signposted turn east off the A5199 at Creaton.
Gardens
The gardens today are entirely 20th century. The architect Robert Weir Schultz, 1860–1951, designed a sunken courtyard garden with a pool and pergola, and a long paved terrace walk between mixed borders and overshadowed by old Lebanon cedars. A pair of 18th century gates lead to pleached limes and a statue of a gladiator. A statue walk with yewTaxus
Taxus is a genus of yews, small coniferous trees or shrubs in the yew family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 1-40 m, with trunk diameters of up to 4 m...
hedges has four fine statues by Peter Scheemakers originally in the Temple of Ancient Virtue at Stowe
Stowe House
Stowe House is a Grade I listed country house located in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school. The gardens , a significant example of the English Landscape Garden style, along with part of the Park, passed into the ownership of The National Trust...
and bought in 1938. South of the house, which was originally the entrance façade, a new garden surrounded by wrought-iron railings was laid out in 1937 by Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe in the form of a quadripartite parterre
Parterre
A parterre is a formal garden construction on a level surface consisting of planting beds, edged in stone or tightly clipped hedging, and gravel paths arranged to form a pleasing, usually symmetrical pattern. Parterres need not have any flowers at all...
, with topiary
Topiary
Topiary is the horticultural practice of training live perennial plants, by clipping the foliage and twigs of trees, shrubs and subshrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, perhaps geometric or fanciful; and the term also refers to plants which have been shaped in this way. It can be...
shapes of common and golden yew disposed among lead statues, beds of ‘Iceberg’ roses, and tubs of agapanthus
External links
- Cottesbrooke Hall & Gardens - official site