Longleat with its spectacular mixture of open parkland, lakes, woods and formal gardens Longleat's grounds are a delight to explore. Fringed by thousands of trees planted over more than four decades, the park underwent a major 're-fashioning' by 'Capability' Brown under the instruction of the 1st Marquess during the latter half off the 18th century. This work was continued by the 2nd Marquess who employed Humphry Repton to re-design Half Mile Lake which had originally been constructed as a canal by the 1st Viscount Weymouth. It is Humphry Repton who built the island where Longleat's Lowland Gorillas, Nico and Samba, now live. One of the most recognisable features within the park has to be Heaven's Gate. Designed by 'Capability' Brown, this gap in the beech trees offers magnificent views across Somerset. Surrounding the house itself are a series of more formal gardens and buildings including the mysterious Secret Garden and the beautiful Orangery (now used as the idyllic setting for weddings). Three more recent additions reflect the present Lord Bath's great affection for mazes and puzzles: the Love Labyrinth, the Sun Maze and the Lunar Labyrinth which are all situated within close vicinity to the House so that the seventh Marquess can see their unique designs from the privacy of his penthouse. Longleat is now home to no less than five mazes including the World's Longest Hedge Maze! The grounds also boasts many other attractions including a safari park and the lions of Longleat are know worldwide.

Longleat House holds one of the most important private book collections in Europe with over 40,000 books held within the seven libraries. The Red Library alone contains over 5,000 volumes many of which were collected in the 19th century by the 4th Marquess. It is the 4th Marquess who also commissioned John Dibblee Crace to design the spectacular, gilded ceiling in 1878 which is one of his most magnificent pieces of work being both heavily gilded and inset with trompe l'oeil panels on black linen. The Red Library gets its name from the colour of the embossed wall coverings although prior to being a library it was used as the family sitting-room. The Red Library is reputed to be haunted by the ghost of a mysterious man dressed in black.

Longleat House

Worlds Longest Hedge Maze

White Tiger

The magnificent State Dining Room has entertained many illustrious visitors including Queen Elizabeth II in 1980. Re-decorated in the 1870s and 80s by the renowned designer John Dibblee Crace, who introduced the ornate and heavily gilded ceiling framing paintings attributed to the School of Titian, it still retains many older features including the tooled Spanish leather that covers the walls and dates back to circa 1620. Among the many portraits contained within the State Dining Room is one of the notorious Isabella Rich, wife of Sir James Thynne, who is reputed to have danced naked on London Bridge and was eventually banished from the court of Charles I! It is alleged that this incident gave rise to the nursery rhyme 'London Bridge is Falling Down' as so many people gathered on the bridge to watch, it collapsed.

Dining Room

Originally known as the Long Gallery, the Saloon measures 90 feet in length and made the perfect venue for ladies during the 17th Century when poor weather prevented them from taking their exercise in the grounds! It is the largest reception room within the House and arguably the most impressive. Much of the decor was instigated by the 4th Marquess of Bath who was inspired by the sumptuous decor of the Renaissance palaces of Italy and commissioned John Dibblee Crace to design the fabulous ceiling and the massive, hooded fireplace with its virtually life-size marble sculptures which was copied from one in the Doge's Palace in Venice. The velvet-coloured walls are hung with a selection of fabulous tapestries, mostly Flemish, and dating back to the 17th century. Although much of the furniture in this room is French or Italian in style the suite of Regency seat furniture was made by an English firm called Morel and Hughes.

Saloon

Again designed by Crace, the State Drawing Room is dominated by the elaborate ceiling - this time inspired by one in the library of St Mark's Cathedral in Venice. The wall-coverings are made of 17th century Genoese velvet and were originally from a church in Italy. During their journey across 19th century Europe the gold thread, with which they were interlaced, mysteriously disappeared. One of the room's more unusual features is a Louis XVI style 'Drum' clock attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire with a mechanism by Lépine where the numbers rotate whilst the hand remains stationary! The most surprising item must be the carpet whose violent green tones clash somewhat with the rich reds and golds of the room. The carpet has remained however as it was dyed green by the 5th Marchioness of Bath as a surprise for her husband because she wanted to "bring the grass into the House". Needless to say the carpet was consigned to the attics of the House and only re-laid much later in Longleat's history.

Drawing Room

The Prince of Wales Bedroom is so called because of the large portrait of Henry, Prince of Wales which is attributed to the painter Robert Peake the Elder. The bed is an impressive six feet eight inches wide and hung with elaborately embroidered Italian silk curtains and canopy.

Prince of Wales Bedroom

The majority of the dresses on display in the Dress Corridor belonged to the 4th Marchioness and were made in the second half of the 19th century. The coronation robes, as worn by the 7th Marquess of Bath's predecessors for the coronation of Edward VII in 1902, take centre stage in the display. Other notable dresses include an evening dress trimmed with silk violets, which was designed and worn by the 4th Marchioness as a compliment to her daughter-in-law, Violet, when she was presented at Court and a blue dress which again, was worn by the 4th Marchioness - a painting of the 4th Marchioness wearing it can be found in the Breakfast Room downstairs. The Dress Corridor also contains a fine collection of 18th and 19th century porcelain including Dresden, Worcester and Crown Derby and exquisite clothing including the most dainty of hats and shoes.

Robes