Wilton House facts for kids

The east front of Wilton House. This part shows what's left of the original Tudor mansion.

Wilton House is a famous English country house located in Wilton, near Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. For over 400 years, it has been the family home of the Earls of Pembroke. The house was built on the land where a medieval abbey, called Wilton Abbey, once stood. After King Henry VIII closed down the monasteries, he gave Wilton Abbey and its lands to William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke. Some people believe that Shakespeare's play As You Like It was first performed here. The house was also a hub for writers thanks to Mary Sidney, wife of the first Earl.

The house you see today is a Grade I listed building. Most of it was rebuilt after a big fire in 1647. However, a small part of the original house built for William Herbert still stands. Some changes were also made in the early 1800s and early 1900s. Wilton House is surrounded by beautiful gardens and a park, which are also Grade I listed. Even though it's still a family home, the house and its grounds are open for visitors during the summer.

The First Wilton House: Tudor Times

The south front of Wilton House, designed in a classic Italian style.

William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, came from an important family in Wales. He was a favorite of King Henry VIII. After serving as a soldier for King Francis I of France, Herbert was given a special award. In 1538, he married Anne Parr. Anne was the sister of Catherine Parr, who later became one of King Henry VIII's queens.

After King Henry VIII closed down the monasteries, he gave Wilton Abbey and its lands to William Herbert. This gift showed how important Herbert was at court. The first grants of land were given in 1542. They included the abbey site and nearby lands. These were given to "William Herbert, Esquire and Anne his wife for the term of their lives." Later, King Edward VI gave the lands to Herbert and his wife, saying it was for them and their male children.

Herbert built the first Wilton House between 1544 and 1563. It was likely built on the same spot as the old abbey.

The first page of As You Like It from Shakespeare's First Folio. This play might have been performed at Wilton House.

The "Wilton Circle" was a group of important English poets in the 1500s. They were led by Mary Sidney and met at Wilton House. Mary Sidney made Wilton a "paradise for poets." Famous writers like Edmund Spenser and Samuel Daniel were part of this group.

They are known as "the most important and influential literary circle in English history." Mary Sidney herself was called a "patroness of the muses" because she supported so many artists.

Mary Sidney was a key figure in literature from Wilton House in the 1500s.

Holbein's Influence on Wilton House

For a long time, people have said that Hans Holbein the Younger helped design the abbey as a rectangular house. This house forms the main part of the current Wilton House. Holbein died in 1543, so any designs he made would have been done very quickly.

However, a highly decorated entrance porch from the new mansion is still called the "Holbein Porch." This porch was moved from the house around 1800 and became a garden pavilion. It's a great example of how older Gothic and new Renaissance styles were mixed.

No matter who the architect was, a grand mansion was built. It was an early "prodigy house" for a Tudor courtier. Today, only one other part of the Tudor mansion remains. This is the large tower in the middle of the east side. It has a central arch and three floors of oriel windows above. It looks a bit like the entrance at Hampton Court. Today, it is flanked by two wings in a Georgian style, each with an Italian-style pavilion tower.

Royal Visit in 1603

An old picture of Wilton House from around 1880.

The Tudor house built by William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, in 1551 lasted for 80 years. In November and December 1603, King James, Queen Anne of Denmark, and Prince Henry stayed at Wilton. They were avoiding the plague in London.

During their stay, they met with two ambassadors from Venice. The King's Men, a famous acting group, entertained the court at Wilton. They were paid for a play on December 2nd. It is believed they performed As You Like It.

Inigo Jones and the South Front

When the 4th Earl took over in 1630, he decided to tear down the southern wing. He wanted to build new, grand rooms there. This is when the second famous name connected to Wilton House appears: Inigo Jones.

The south front of the house is built in a simple Palladian style. At the time, it was called the "Italian Style." It is made of local stone and looks very English today. While the rest of the house has three equal floors, the south front has a lower ground floor. Three small porches stick out on this level, providing balconies for the windows above.

The next floor is the "piano nobile," which means the main floor. In the center is a large, double-height Venetian window. Above it are the Pembroke family's stone arms. This window is surrounded by four tall sash windows on each side. The ends of the facade have special stone decorations that make the single-bay wings look like they stick out. These windows have pointed tops.

Above this floor is a smaller, almost mezzanine floor. Its small windows line up with the larger ones below. This makes the main floor look even more important. A balustrade hides the roofline. Each end of the facade has a one-story, pointed tower that looks like a Palladian pavilion. At the time, this style was very new.

Who Designed What?

It can be hard to know who designed which parts of the house. People have wondered how much Inigo Jones was truly involved. Queen Henrietta Maria, who often visited Wilton, asked Jones about his work there. In 1635, Jones was busy working for the Queen, finishing the Queen's House at Greenwich.

It seems Jones was too busy with his royal clients. He may have only provided a few sketches for Wilton House. He then gave the job to his assistant, Isaac de Caus, a French landscape gardener.

A document found in the 1960s confirmed that de Caus was the architect. It also showed that the original plan for the south facade was supposed to be more than twice as long. What we see today was meant to be just one of two identical wings. These wings would have been connected by a central entrance with six Corinthian columns. The whole design was to include a huge garden called a parterre, measuring 1,000 feet by 400 feet. This garden was actually built and lasted for over 100 years. However, the second wing was never built. This might have been because of the 4th Earl's disagreement with King Charles I, the start of the Civil War, or simply a lack of money.

It was only after this that Inigo Jones might have taken a stronger role in his original ideas. Seeing de Caus's completed wing standing alone, it was thought to be too plain. De Caus's original plan had a low roof and no special architectural endings for the wings. The changes to the completed wing included a balustrade to hide the roofline and Italian-style pavilion towers at each end. The main focus became the large, double-height Venetian window. This south front is considered an amazing example of Palladian architecture in Britain. Many believe that Inigo Jones himself made the final changes to de Caus's work.

The Fire and Rebuilding

A few years after the new south wing was finished in 1647, a fire damaged it. How serious the fire was is still debated. Some historians believe it wasn't as bad as some records suggest. What is certain is that Inigo Jones, now working with another architect named John Webb (who was his nephew), returned to Wilton.

Because it's unclear how much the fire damaged the house's structure, the only work that can be definitely linked to Jones and Webb is the redesign of the inside of the seven state rooms. These rooms are on the main floor of the south wing. Even here, people question how much Jones was involved. It seems he might have given advice from afar, with Webb doing the actual work.

The State Rooms: Grand Spaces for Important Guests

Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke, with his second wife, Lady Anne Clifford, and his family. This painting is by Anthony van Dyck (1634–35).

The seven state rooms inside the south front of Wilton House are as grand as those in any other great house in Britain. State rooms in English country houses were designed for visiting members of the royal family. They usually take up an entire side of a house. There are almost always an odd number of rooms. The largest and most lavish room, like the famous Double Cube Room at Wilton, is in the center. Smaller, but still grand, rooms lead off from the central room to each side. They end at the state bedrooms, which are at each end of the facade.

The central salon was a place for the honored guest's court to gather. The smaller rooms between the central room and the state bedrooms were only for the person staying in that bedroom. They would have been used for private meetings, relaxing, and getting dressed. These rooms were not for public use.

In most English houses today, the original purpose of these rooms has been lost. They have often become just a series of living rooms. This is true at both Wilton House and Blenheim Palace. This happened because, over time, people preferred the comfort of a warmer, more private bedroom with its own bathroom. By the Edwardian Period, large house parties used the state rooms for playing cards, dancing, talking, and having fun.

The amazing state rooms at Wilton, designed by Inigo Jones and his partners, include:

• The Single Cube Room: This room is a perfect cube, 30 ft long (9 m), wide, and high. It has gilded (gold-colored) and white pine wood panels. These panels are carved from the lower wall (dado) to the ceiling edge (cornice). The white marble fireplace was designed by Inigo Jones himself. The ceiling has a painting on canvas by the Italian artist Cavalier D'Arpino. It shows Daedalus and Icarus. This room is thought to be the only one that survived the 1647 fire. So, it's the only remaining interior designed by Jones and De Caus.

The Double Cube Room in 1904, showing its grand size and decorations.

• The Double Cube Room: This is the grandest room in the house. It is 60 ft long (18 m), 30 ft wide (9 m), and 30 ft high (9 m). Inigo Jones and Webb created it around 1653. The white pine walls are decorated with large gold leaf designs of leaves and fruit. The gold and red velvet furniture matches the paintings by Anthony van Dyck of King Charles I's family and the Earl of Pembroke's family. Between the windows are mirrors by Thomas Chippendale and tables by William Kent. The ceiling, painted by Thomas de Critz, tells the story of Perseus.
• The Great Anteroom: Before changes in 1801, a grand staircase led from this room to the courtyard. This was the main entrance to the state apartments. Here, you can see one of Wilton's most valuable treasures: a portrait of his mother by Rembrandt.
• The Colonnade Room: This used to be the state bedroom. The four gilded columns at one end of the room would have made the now-missing state bed look very important. Today, it has 18th-century furniture by William Kent. The room has paintings by Joshua Reynolds and a ceiling painted with flowers, monkeys, and urns from the 1700s.

Other interesting rooms include:

• The Corner Room: The ceiling in this room, showing the conversion of Saint Paul, was painted by Luca Giordano. The walls are covered in red fabric and have small paintings by artists like Peter Paul Rubens and Andrea del Sarto.
• The Little Ante Room: The white marble fireplace in this room, with black marble parts, was almost certainly designed by Inigo Jones. The ceiling panels were painted by Lorenzo Sabbatini (1530–1577), so they are much older than this part of the house. There are also paintings by Van Dyck and Teniers.
• The Hunting Room: This room is not open to the public. The Herbert family uses it as a private living room. It is a square room with white wood panels and gold decorations. The best part of the room is a set of panels showing hunting scenes by Edward Pierce, painted around 1653. These panels are built into the walls.

Inigo Jones was a friend of the Herbert family. It is said that the 3rd Earl, father of the builder of the south front, paid for Jones to study in Italy. Jones studied the works of Palladio and other Italian masters. There are designs for gilded doors and panels at Wilton with Jones's notes on them. It seems likely that Jones first sketched some ideas for de Caus. After the fire, he might have sent more ideas through Webb for fixing up the house and its decorations. Fireplaces and decorations can be designed from far away. The exact truth of Jones's work will probably never be fully known.

In 1705, after another fire, the 8th Earl rebuilt some of the oldest parts of the house. He made rooms to show off his newly bought Arundel marbles. These marbles form the basis of Wilton's sculpture collection today. After this, Wilton House remained mostly unchanged for almost a hundred years.

19th Century Changes by James Wyatt

Jones and de Caus's south front and the Palladian bridge (1736–37), shown around 1820.

The 11th Earl (1759–1827) asked James Wyatt in 1801 to update the house. He wanted more space for paintings and sculptures. Wyatt was the last of the three well-known architects to work at Wilton. His work was very well documented, but also very debated. His changes took eleven years to finish.

James Wyatt often used the neo-classical style. But at Wilton, for reasons only known to him and the Earl, he used the Gothic style. Since the early 1900s, many experts have criticized his work at Wilton. One negative change was that he removed the Holbein porch, making it just a garden decoration. He replaced it with a new entrance and courtyard.

This new entrance courtyard was entered through an "arc de triumph." This arch had been built by Sir William Chambers around 1755 as an entrance to Wilton's park. The courtyard was bordered by the house on one side. Wings with fake doors and windows extended to form the court. The repositioned arch, topped by a copy of the life-size statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback, led into it. While it looks nice as an entrance to a country house, it gives the feeling of a hunting estate in Northern France or Germany.

James Wyatt's Gothic revival cloisters display the 8th Earl of Pembroke's collection of statues.

The original Great Hall of the Tudor house, the chapel, and the staircase to the state apartments were all removed at this time. A new Gothic staircase and hall were created, looking like something from Camelot. The Tudor tower, which is the last part of William Herbert's original house, was mostly untouched. Only two "medieval" statues were added at ground level.

However, Wyatt did create one huge improvement: the cloisters. This two-story gallery was built around all four sides of the inner courtyard. It gave the house much-needed hallways to connect the rooms. It also provided a wonderful gallery to display the Pembroke family's collection of classical sculptures. Wyatt died before finishing the work. He and Lord Pembroke had also argued about the designs. Wyatt's nephew, Sir Jeffry Wyatville, completed the final touches. Today, nearly 200 years later, Wyatt's changes don't seem as out of place as they did to architectural experts in the 1960s. Whether Wyatt's work is as good as the south front and the Tudor tower is something for future generations to decide.

Other Interesting Rooms

Wilton is not the biggest house in England. Compared to places like Blenheim Palace or Chatsworth, it's quite modest. However, besides the amazing state rooms, several other rooms are worth mentioning:

• The Front Hall: Redesigned by Wyatt, you enter the cloisters from this room through two Gothic arches. The room has statues, including a large statue of William Shakespeare designed by William Kent in 1743. It honors a story that Shakespeare came to Wilton and performed one of his plays in the courtyard.
• The Upper Cloisters: Designed by Wyatt but finished around 1824 by Wyatville in the Gothic style. They hold classical sculptures and interesting items. These include a lock of Queen Elizabeth I's hair and Napoleon I's dispatch box. There are also paintings by the Brueghel brothers.
• The Staircase: Designed by Wyatt, it replaced the old state staircase. This grand staircase is lined with family portraits by Lely. You can also see a portrait of Catherine Woronzow, the wife of the 11th Earl. Her Russian sleigh is displayed in the cloisters.
• The Smoking Rooms: These rooms are in the wing linked to the south front, attributed to Inigo Jones and John Webb. The decorative edges and doors are thought to be by Jones. The larger of the two rooms has fifty-five gouache paintings of horses, painted in 1755. The room has a complete set of furniture, including a desk, cabinets, and bookcases, made for the room by Thomas Chippendale.
• The Library: A large room filled with books, over 20 yards long. It has views of a formal garden and a path leading to the 'Holbein' porch. This is a private room and not shown to the public.
• The Breakfast Room: A small, low-ceilinged private room on the ground floor of the south front. In the 1700s, this was the house's only bathroom. It was more like an indoor swimming pool, with a heated sunken pool. The room was decorated in the Pompeian style with Corinthian columns. Around 1815, the Russian Countess of Pembroke changed it into a breakfast room. Today, it has Chinese-designed wallpaper, which is an exact copy of the original 1815 decoration. The 18th-century furniture, made to look like bamboo in a Gothic style, gives this private dining room a unique Asian feel.

Buildings and Grounds Around Wilton House

Entrance Arch and Lodges

The north entrance to the house and the courtyard inside were created by Wyatt around 1801. The main feature is a stone arch, designed around 1758–62 by Sir William Chambers. It was originally a garden feature and has a lead statue of Marcus Aurelius on horseback. The arch has Corinthian columns at each corner and a decorative top. The inner arch has Doric columns and 18th-century iron gates. On each side, Wyatt added a single-story lodge made of stone, with a balustrade on top. The whole structure is Grade I listed.

Old Stables

Washern Grange, south of the house, is said to be a rebuilt stable block from the 1630s. It includes a 14th-century barn that likely belonged to the abbey. Now several homes, this brick and stone complex is Grade I listed. Washern was once a village that became part of Wilton House's grounds.

Gardens and Park

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  Wilton House seen through trees.

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  The beautiful gardens at Wilton estate.

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  Trees in the large estate grounds.

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  A footbridge over a small creek in the park.

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  The famous Palladian bridge.

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  A fountain and arch in the gardens.

Wilton House is famous for its gardens. Isaac de Caus started designing them in 1632. He created one of the first French "parterres" (formal gardens with paths and flowerbeds) seen in England. An engraving of his design made it very popular after the royal Restoration in 1660, when grand gardens became popular again. The original gardens included a grotto (a cave-like feature) and water displays.

The Palladian Bridge

After the formal parterre garden was replaced by grass, the Palladian Bridge was built. This bridge (1736–37, Grade I listed) crosses the small River Nadder, about 90 meters south of the house. It was designed by the 9th Earl with architect Roger Morris.

Stairs with balustrades on each side lead through an arch with a pointed top into an open pavilion. The central part of the bridge has a high roof supported by five Ionic columns. The design was partly based on a design by Palladio for the Rialto Bridge in Venice, which was not chosen.

A copy of the bridge was built at the popular garden of Stowe in Buckinghamshire. Three more copies were built at Prior Park (Bath), Hagley (Worcestershire), and Amesbury Abbey. Empress Catherine the Great even ordered another copy, called the Marble Bridge, for her park in Tsarskoye Selo.

Lost Village

The park includes an area where much of the village of Fugglestone used to be. This village was cleared away, including the site of a medieval hospital for people with leprosy called the Hospital of St Giles.

New Garden Features

In the late 1900s, the 17th Earl created a garden in Wyatt's entrance courtyard. He did this to remember his father, the 16th Earl. This garden is surrounded by rows of trees and has flowering plants around a central fountain. It has made the courtyard look much softer and more inviting.

In 1987, the park and gardens were listed as Grade I on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special historic interest.

Wilton House Today

The house was officially recognized as a Grade I listed building in 1951. Since that year, the house and gardens have been open to the public, usually during the summer months.

In 1964, architectural historian Sir John Summerson described Wilton: "...the bridge is the object which attracts the visitor before he has become aware of the Jonesian facade. He approaches the bridge and, from its steps, turns to see the facade. He passes through and across the bridge, turns again and becomes aware of the bridge, the river, the lawn and the façade as one picture in deep recession. ... Standing here he may reflect upon the way in which a scene so classical, so deliberate, so complete, has been accomplished not by the decisions of one mind at one time but by a combination of accident, selection, genius and the tides of taste."

As of 2012, the current earl, William Herbert, 18th Earl of Pembroke, and his family live in the house. In 2006, Herbert told The New York Times Magazine that the Wilton estate has about 140 employees. Its 14,000 acres are divided into 14 farms. One farm is run by the estate, and the others are rented to farmers. There are also more than 200 homes on the estate. Even though the house is open to the public, Herbert and his wife live privately in about one-third of the house. Salisbury Racecourse and South Wilts Golf Course are also part of the 14,000-acre estate.

Wilton House in Movies and TV

Wilton House has been used as a filming location for many movies and TV shows, including:

• Romance with a Double Bass (1974)
• Barry Lyndon (1975)
• Sense and Sensibility (1995)
• The Music Lovers
• The Bounty (1984)
• Treasure Houses of Britain (1985)
• Blackadder II
• The Madness of King George (1994)
• Mrs Brown (1997)
• Pride & Prejudice (2005)
• The Young Victoria (2009)
• Outlander
• Tomb Raider (2018)
• The Crown
• Emma (2020)
• Bridgerton

Images for kids

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  The east front of Wilton, photographed by Queen Alexandra around 1907. The central tower is all that remains of the Tudor house.

See also

In Spanish: Wilton House para niños