Stourhead (Wiltshire, England)
Henry Hoare II inherited Stourhead in 1717 when he was twenty. He built the mansion and set about creating the garden, first by making the lake. A circular path winds around the two-mile long lake, which is enhanced with classic temples. Hoare was a great patron of the arts and earned the nickname "Henry the Magnificent".
The creation of Stourhead could have been a solace for Hoare, whose first wife died less than a year after the married. His second wife also died young, after fifteen years of marriage. One of Hoare's daughters also died young.
The Temple of Flora -
The Bristol Cross once stood in the center of the town of Bristol for four centuries. Hoare obtained it from the city after it was declared a nuisance to traffic -
The great banks of rhododendrons and azaleas were not added to the landscape until a century after Hoare's death in 1785. They were added by the last owner of Stourhead (also named Henry Hoare) -
At a point about halfway around the lake, I stopped to sit on a bench and admire one of the many views. I heard something, turned, and saw a European robin sitting on the corner of the bench, just at my shoulder. They are quite tame. I saw them everywhere on the trip. So cute.
Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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