Corsham Court facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Corsham Court |
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South front of Corsham Court
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| Location | Corsham, Wiltshire, England |
| Built | 1582 |
| Built for | Thomas Smythe |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Designated | 20 December 1960 |
| Reference no. | 1022004 |
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Corsham Court is a beautiful old country house in Wiltshire, England. It's famous for its amazing art collection and its huge park, which was designed by a very famous landscape architect named Capability Brown. The house is located in the town of Corsham, about 3 miles (5 km) west of Chippenham.
Today, Corsham Court is still the home of the Methuen family. The current owner is James Methuen-Campbell, who is the eighth generation of his family to live there.
Contents
A Look Back: Early History of Corsham Court
Corsham was once a royal estate, meaning it belonged to the kings and queens of England. It's even said that Ethelred the Unready, an old Saxon king, lived there! After William the Conqueror took over England, the estate continued to be passed down through the royal family.
For a while, it was given to the Queens of England as part of their "dower" (property they received when they married the king). This is why it was sometimes called Corsham Reginae, which means "Corsham of the Queen." Two of King Henry VIII's wives, Catherine of Aragon and Katherine Parr, lived there.
Later, during the time of Queen Elizabeth I, the estate left the royal family. The house you see today was built in 1582 by a man named Customer Smythe. In the mid-1600s, the owner was a military leader for the Parliament during the English Civil War. His wife, Lady Margaret Hungerford, built the Hungerford Almshouses in the town.
Around 1700, a grand archway was built at the south entrance of the house. It's made of large stone blocks and has big ball decorations on top.
The Methuen Family and Their Changes
The Methuen family bought Corsham Court in 1745. It has been their family home ever since.
Capability Brown's Big Plans
In the 1760s, a famous landscape designer named Capability Brown was hired to make big changes to the house and its park. He kept some of the original Elizabethan parts of the house, like the stables. He also made the house much deeper and added new wings. These new parts included the Picture Gallery, where the family's art collection is displayed, and a new library and kitchens. The Picture Gallery is very grand, with a special ceiling.
Capability Brown also designed the beautiful park. He used a clever trick called a "ha-ha" (a sunken fence) to separate the house from the park. This way, the view from the house wasn't blocked by fences. He planned to make the fish ponds into a large lake and built a special Gothic Bath House, which you can still see today. He also created a "Great Walk" that stretched for a mile through groups of trees. Brown planted trees around the park to hide roads and fields, making the view look like a peaceful, natural painting.
More Changes by Famous Architects
Later, in 1795, another famous landscape designer, Humphry Repton, helped finish the park, including the lake that Brown had planned. Repton worked with John Nash, a well-known architect. Nash redesigned the north side of the house in a "Strawberry Hill Gothic" style, which was very popular at the time. He also changed the inside of the house, adding a grand hall and a library. However, much of Nash's work had to be replaced later because he used wood that wasn't properly dried!
The park also has a "folly" ruin, which is a fake ruin built to look old and interesting. It was built by Nash around 1797 and includes some old medieval stones.
Corsham Court and its Bath House are considered "Grade I listed" buildings. This means they are very important historic buildings and are protected. The park is also listed as a historic garden.
Corsham Court and the Arts
Bath Academy of Art
After their original buildings were destroyed during World War II, the Bath Academy of Art (which is now part of Bath Spa University) moved to Corsham Court in 1946. This happened because Paul Ayshford Methuen, 4th Baron Methuen, who lived at Corsham Court, was a painter himself and invited them. Many famous British artists taught at the academy while it was at Corsham, including Kenneth Armitage and Terry Frost.
In 2008, Bath Spa University returned to Corsham Court. They now use it for art research and for students studying for their Masters and Doctorates in art and design.
Corsham Court on the Big Screen
Corsham Court has been used as a filming location for several movies!
- Some parts of Stanley Kubrick's 1975 film Barry Lyndon were filmed there.
- In 1993, the house was a location for the movie The Remains of the Day.
Images for kids
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The Sham Ruin
