Longleat

A drawing of Longleat in the early 18th century by Leonard Knyff. The formal garden was typical of the period, but like most gardens of its type in England, it was largely removed in the second half of the 18th century, when informal landscape gardens were the fashion.

Longleat in 1880

Longleat is a country house in Wiltshire, England. It is set in over 900 acres (3.6 km²) of parkland, landscaped by Capability Brown, with 8,000 acres (32 km²) of woods and farmland. It was the first stately home to open to the public, and also claims the first safari park outside Africa.

Built by Sir John Thynne, and designed mainly by Robert Smythson, after the original priory was destroyed by fire in 1567, it took 12 years to complete and is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Elizabethan architecture in Britain. Currently occupied by the 7th Marquess of Bath, a direct descendant.

Longleat's safari park is home to many rare species of animal, such as Bongos, a decorated subspecies of antelope. The monkey park is particularly great and they have a tendency to pull apart vehicles as they drive through. The British television show Animal Park is filmed here.

The Bollywood film Mohabbatein was filmed out here. Longleat was the location of the Gurukul School in the movie.

External links

• Longleat homepage
• Longleat - garden review