North Wiltshire’s Grade I Gems

Discover two private and contrasting houses hidden away in beautiful north Wiltshire with lunch at the historic Sign of the Angel Inn in Lacock.

Visit Corsham Court, owned by the same family for eight generations with gardens and grounds laid out by 'Capability' Brown, representing his most important commission after Blenheim Palace, and notable for its magnificent State rooms and fine art collection. Brown's remit was to integrate the proposed Gallery with the Elizabethan ground plan, thereby preserving the character of the Elizabethan South Front. When Paul Methuen died in 1795, part of his original collection remained at the family house in London. In his will, he requested that his son and heir should bring all the remaining pictures, chinaware and books to Corsham. This necessitated further alterations. Humphry Repton was known to the Methuens through his advocacy of Brown's work. Repton introduced John Nash, who had craved aristocratic patronage, to the family. Paul Cobb Methuen had been impressed by Horace Walpole's Strawberry Hill gothic style and directed Nash to adopt similar lines for the reconstruction of the North Front. 

Later discover Bewley Court, a late-14th century manor house which was restored and extended in the 1920s to designs by Harold Brakspear. It was the home of interior designer Oliver Ford until his death in 1992. Among its many original features are an unusual enclosed staircase from the original upper end of the hall with a moulded Tudor arched inner doorway and studded plank doors. The east front is 15th century with 18th century mullion windows, flanking a fine corbelled side-wall stack with circular shaft, dated from the 14th century. Other notable features are a three bay great hall with raised two tier cruck trusses on carved brattished corbels and a Tudor-arched fireplace.

Tickets £72 including a two-course lunch with tea and coffee at the Sign of the Angel Inn. Lunch options to be made available to attendees in September