Longleat facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Longleat House
The façade of Longleat House
Type	Prodigy house
Location	Wiltshire, England
Built	1568–1580
Architect	Robert Smythson
Architectural style(s)	Elizabethan
Owner	Marquess of Bath
Website	longleat.co.uk/longleat-house
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name: Longleat House
Designated	11 September 1968
Reference no.	1364361
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name: Stables at Longleat House
Designated	11 September 1968
Reference no.	1200342
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name: Orangery With Walled Garden to Rear at Longleat House
Designated	11 September 1968
Reference no.	1036392
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name: Boathouse and Covered Bridge at Longleat House
Designated	11 September 1968
Reference no.	1200450
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
Official name: Longleat
Designated	1 September 1987
Reference no.	1000439
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Longleat is a very old and grand house in Wiltshire, England. It's about 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) west of a town called Warminster. This amazing building is a great example of an Elizabethan "prodigy house." These were huge, fancy homes built to show off wealth and power.

Longleat is a Grade I listed building, which means it's super important historically. It's also the main home of the Marquess of Bath family. The house sits in a huge park of 1,000 acres (about 4 square kilometers). This park was designed by a famous landscape artist named Capability Brown. The wider Longleat estate also includes forests and farmland.

Longleat was the very first stately home in Britain to open its doors to the public. It also has the first safari park outside of Africa! Plus, there are other fun things to see, like a giant hedge maze. Sir John Thynne built the house between 1568 and 1580. It was designed mostly by Robert Smythson. The Thynne family has lived there ever since. The current owner is Ceawlin Thynn.

History of Longleat House

Longleat was once an Augustinian priory. A priory is like a monastery where monks or nuns live. The name "Longleat" comes from an old word, "leat," which means a man-made water channel. This channel might have supplied a watermill.

Building the House

Sir John Thynne bought the land for Longleat in 1541 for £53. He was a builder who had worked on other important buildings. In April 1567, the original house burned down. A new, much grander house was finished by 1580. Many people helped design it, but Sir John Thynne did most of the work himself. His family, the Thynnes, have owned Longleat ever since the 1500s.

Changes Over Time

Over the years, different members of the Thynne family made changes to Longleat.

• Thomas Thynne, 1st Viscount Weymouth (1640–1714) started the house's huge book collection. He also added fancy gardens, canals, and fountains.
• Capability Brown was hired by Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath (1734–1796). Brown changed the formal gardens into the beautiful, natural-looking park you see today.
• Later, Jeffry Wyatville updated parts of the house. He added grand galleries and a large staircase. He also built other buildings like the Orangery.
• John Thynne, 4th Marquess of Bath (1831–1896) loved Italian art. He hired John Dibblee Crace to decorate the inside of the house in an Italian Renaissance style.

Longleat During Wars and Opening to the Public

During World War I, Longleat House was used as a temporary hospital. In World War II, it became a school for daughters of army officers. An American hospital was also built on the grounds.

After World War II, Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath (1905–1992) faced high taxes. To keep Longleat going, he made a big decision: he opened the house to the public. This was in 1949, making it the first stately home in Britain to do so. The famous Longleat Safari Park opened in 1966.

Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath (1932–2020) was an artist. He loved mazes and created several on the property, including the famous hedge maze. His son, Ceawlin Thynn, 8th Marquess of Bath, inherited Longleat in 2020.

Interesting Facts and Media

In 1995, a very valuable painting by Titian was stolen from Longleat. Luckily, it was found seven years later in 2002. A funny copy of a painting from the TV show 'Allo 'Allo! also hangs in the house.

Longleat House has been used as a location for many films and TV shows.

• The movie Libel (1959) was filmed there.
• Several episodes of the science-fiction show Doctor Who were filmed at Longleat. For 30 years, there was even a Doctor Who Exhibition on the grounds!
• The Indian Hindi film Mohabbatein (2000) also used Longleat as a setting.

Exploring Longleat House

When you visit Longleat House, you can take a tour through many amazing rooms.

• The Elizabethan Great Hall has a minstrels' gallery, where musicians would play.
• The Lower East Corridor was once for servants. Now it shows off beautiful furniture and paintings. You can also see visitor books signed by famous people like Elizabeth II and George VI.
• The Red Library holds many of the house's 40,000 books.
• The Bathroom has a very old, lead-lined bathtub. It also has the first flush toilet installed in the house!
• The State Dining Room features a fancy porcelain centerpiece on the table.
• The State Drawing Room was designed by the famous decorator John Crace.
• The Music Room has old instruments, including a barrel organ.
• The Prince of Wales Bedroom is named after a large painting of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales.

Important Buildings and Gardens

Longleat House was named a Grade I listed building in 1968. This means it's a very important historical site. The beautiful gardens and parkland were also listed as Grade I in 1987. Other important buildings on the Longleat Estate that are also Grade I listed include:

• The stables
• The orangery (a special greenhouse for orange trees)
• The boathouse and a bridge over the lake

Visitor Attractions at Longleat

Longleat maze

Longleat is famous for its amazing attractions, especially the safari park and the hedge maze.

Longleat Safari Park

The Longleat Safari Park opened in 1966. It was the first drive-through safari park outside of Africa! It's home to over 500 animals. You can see animals like:

• Rothschild's giraffes
• Grant's zebras
• Rhesus monkeys
• Rhinos
• African lions
• Amur tigers
• Grey wolves

Recently, cheetahs, koalas, and spotted hyenas have also joined the park. In 2011, four lion cubs were born. Disney even named two of them Simba and Nala!

The house, park, and attractions are usually open from mid-February to early November each year. The Longleat estate is about 9,800 acres (almost 40 square kilometers). It's one of Britain's top tourist spots. Its success has encouraged other large landowners to open their historic properties to the public. Longleat also leases some land to Center Parcs for their Longleat Forest holiday village.

The Longleat Hedge Maze

The Longleat hedge maze is thought to be the longest in the world! It has 1.69 miles (2.72 kilometers) of pathways. The maze was designed by Greg Bright. More than 16,000 English yew trees form the walls of the maze. In the center, there's a tower, and there are six raised footbridges to help you find your way.

Longleat Woods

Longleat Woods is a large area of forest in Somerset. It covers about 249.9 hectares (617.5 acres). This area is a special biological Site of Special Scientific Interest. This means it's protected because of its important plants and animals.

Longleat Forest is also where you'll find Center Parcs Longleat Forest. This is a popular holiday resort where families can stay and enjoy nature.

Gallery

• 

  A View of Longleat by Jan Siberechts, 1675

• 

  Drawing of Longleat from the early 18th century by Leonard Knyff

• 

  View towards Longleat House

See also

In Spanish: Longleat House para niños