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Longford, Wiltshire
Longford Castle is a Grade I listed country house on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is the seat of the Earl of Radnor and an example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. History In 1573 Thomas Gorges acquired the manor (at the time written "Langford"), which was originally owned by the Servington (or Cervington) family.Jacob Radnor, ''A Huguenot Family 1536–1889'' Prior to this the existing mansion house had been damaged by fire. In c.1576 Thomas Gorges married Helena Snakenborg, the Swedish-born dowager Marchioness of Northampton and Lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth. They rebuilt the Longford property as a triangular Swedish pattern castle on the banks of the River Avon. The building work became very expensive due to problems with the subsoil. Sir Thomas Gorges, who was now governor of Hurst Castle, persuaded his wife to beg of the Queen a shipwreck he knew from the defeated Spanish Armada. The gift was granted and the gold and si ...
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Prodigy House
Prodigy houses are large and showy English country houses built by courtiers and other wealthy families, either "noble palaces of an awesome scale" or "proud, ambitious heaps" according to taste. The prodigy houses stretch over the periods of Tudor architecture, Tudor, Elizabethan architecture, Elizabethan, and Jacobean architecture, though the term may be restricted to a core period of roughly 1570 to 1620. Many of the grandest were built with a view to housing Elizabeth I and her large retinue as they made their annual royal progress around her realm. Many are therefore close to major roads, often in the English Midlands. The term originates with the architectural historian Sir John Summerson, and has been generally adopted. He called them "... the most daring of all English buildings." The houses fall within the broad style of Renaissance architecture, but represent a distinctive English take on the style, mainly reliant on books for their knowledge of developments o ...
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Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom she attended. Although she may either have received a Retainer agreement, retainer or may not have received compensation for the service she rendered, a lady-in-waiting was considered more of a personal assistant, secretary, courtier, or Lady's companion, companion to her Mistress (form of address), mistress than a domestic worker, servant. In some other parts of the world, the lady-in-waiting, often referred to as ''palace woman'', was in practice a servant or a slave rather than a high-ranking woman, but still had about the same tasks, functioning as companion and secretary to her mistress. In courts where polygamy was practiced, a court lady might have been formally available to ...
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National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current director of the National Gallery is Gabriele Finaldi. The National Gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Its collection belongs to the government on behalf of the British public, and entry to the main collection is free of charge. Unlike comparable museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed by nationalising an existing royal or princely art collection. It came into being when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein in 1824. After that initial purchase, the gallery was shaped mainly by its early directors, especially Charles Lock Eastlake, and by private donations, which now account for two-third ...
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Odstock
Odstock is a village and civil parish south of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The parish includes the village of Nunton with its nearby hamlet of Bodenham. The parish is in the valley of the River Ebble, which joins the Hampshire Avon near Bodenham. In the woods about Odstock are earthworks. The meaning of the name is probably "Odo's stockade". Odstock Down is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. History Fragmentary records from Saxon times indicate that the Ebble valley was a thriving area, the River Ebble also being known as the River Chalke. The Domesday Book in 1086 divided the Chalke Valley into eight manors, ''Chelke'' (Chalke), ''Eblesborne'' ( Ebbesbourne Wake), ''Fifehide'' ( Fifield Bavant), ''Cumbe'' ( Coombe Bissett), ''Humitone'' (Homington), ''Odestoche'' (Odstock), ''Stradford'' ( Stratford Tony) and ''Trow'' (circa Alvediston and Tollard Royal). Oliver Cromwell is said to have stayed in Odstock in a 17th-century house that was once an in ...
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Listed Building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Historic Environment Division of the Department for Communities in Northern Ireland. The classification schemes differ between England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland (see sections below). The term has also been used in the Republic of Ireland, where buildings are protected under the Planning and Development Act 2000, although the statutory term in Ireland is "Record of Protected Structures, protected structure". A listed building may not be demolished, extended, or altered without permission from the local planning authority, which typically consults the relevant central government agency. In England and Wales, a national amenity society must be notified of any work to ...
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Longford Castle
Longford Castle is a Grade I listed country house on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is the seat of the Earl of Radnor and an example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. History In 1573 Thomas Gorges acquired the manor (at the time written "Langford"), which was originally owned by the Servington (or Cervington) family.Jacob Radnor, ''A Huguenot Family 1536–1889'' Prior to this the existing mansion house had been damaged by fire. In c.1576 Thomas Gorges married Helena Snakenborg, the Swedish-born dowager Marchioness of Northampton and Lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth. They rebuilt the Longford property as a triangular Swedish pattern castle on the banks of the River Avon. The building work became very expensive due to problems with the subsoil. Sir Thomas Gorges, who was now governor of Hurst Castle, persuaded his wife to beg of the Queen a shipwreck he knew from the defeated Spanish Armada. The gift was granted and the gold an ...
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Capability Brown
Lancelot "Capability" Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783) was an English gardener and landscape architect, a notable figure in the history of the English landscape garden style. Unlike other architects including William Kent, he was a hands-on gardener and provided his clients with a full turnkey service, designing the gardens and park, and then managing their landscaping and planting. He is most famous for the landscaped parks of English country houses, many of which have survived reasonably intact. However, he also included in his plans "pleasure gardens" with flower gardens and the new shrubberies, usually placed where they would not obstruct the views across the park of and from the main facades of the house. Few of his plantings of "pleasure gardens" have survived later changes. He also submitted plans for much smaller urban projects, for example the college gardens along The Backs at Cambridge. Criticism of his style, both in ...
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Saddle Bag
A saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not known precisely when riders first began to use some sort of padding or protection, but a blanket attached by some form of surcingle or girth was probably the first "saddle", followed later by more elaborate padded designs. The solid saddle tree was a later invention, and though early stirrup designs predated the invention of the solid tree, the paired stirrup, which attached to the tree, was the last element of the saddle to reach the basic form that is still used today. Present-day saddles come in a wide variety of styles, each designed for a specific equestrianism discipline, and require careful fit to both the rider and the horse. Proper saddle care can extend the useful life of a saddle, often for decades. The saddle was a crucial step in t ...
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Edward Des Bouverie
Sir Edward des Bouverie, 2nd Baronet (1688 – 21 November 1736) was a British landowner and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1719 to 1734. In 1717 he inherited his title three years after its grant to his father, and his combined wealth enabled him to purchase Longford Castle in Wiltshire, which later became a home of his brother's most senior descendants and has been in the family for more than 300 years. Early life des Bouverie was born in 1688, the eldest son of London merchant Sir William des Bouverie and his second wife Anne Urry. The des Bouverie family was Huguenot and came to England in the 16th century settling at Canterbury. He trained as a merchant and was sent as an apprentice at the age of 12 to an uncle Sir Christopher des Bouverie at Aleppo.Lea, R. S. (1970"BOUVERIE, Sir Edward des, 2nd Bt. (c.1690–1736), of Longford Castle, in Britford, Wilts."''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715–1754'', edited by Romney Sedgwick For a t ...
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Roger Wilbraham
Sir Roger Wilbraham (4 November 1553 – 31 July 1616) was a prominent English lawyer who served as Solicitor-General for Ireland under Elizabeth I and was judged one of her few really competent Law Officers. He held a number of positions at court under James I, including Master of Requests and surveyor of the Court of Wards and Liveries. He bought an estate at Dorfold in the parish of Acton, near his birthplace of Nantwich in Cheshire, and he was active in charitable works locally, including founding two sets of almshouses for impoverished men. He also founded almshouses in Monken Hadley, Middlesex, where he is buried. Biography Roger Wilbraham was born in Nantwich, Cheshire in 1553, the second of four sons of Richard Wilbraham (1525–1611/12) and his first wife, Elizabeth (d. 1589/90), daughter of Thomas Maisterson.Hall, p. 437 The Wilbraham family was a junior branch of the Wilbrahams of Woodhey, who were prominent in Cheshire affairs from the 13th century onwards; Rog ...
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Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada (often known as Invincible Armada, or the Enterprise of England, ) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by Alonso de Guzmán, Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aristocrat without previous naval experience appointed by Philip II of Spain. His orders were to sail up the English Channel, join with the Duke of Parma in Flanders, and escort an invasion force that would land in England and overthrow Elizabeth I. Its purpose was to reinstate Catholicism in England, end support for the Dutch Republic, and prevent attacks by English and Dutch privateers against Spanish interests in the Americas. The Spanish were opposed by an English fleet based in Plymouth. Faster and more manoeuvrable than the larger Spanish galleons, its ships were able to attack the Armada as it sailed up the Channel. Several subordinates advised Medina Sidonia to anchor in the Solent and occupy the Isle of Wight, but he refused to deviate from his instructions to ...
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