Charlecote Park
Anne Hathaways Cottage Bath (feature) Bibury Bourton-on-the-Water Broadway Burford Town Charlecote Park Cheltenham Chipping Campden Cotswolds Farm Park Cotswold Wildlife Park Coughton Court Hidcote Manor Gardens Jephson Gardens Leamington Painswick Garden Ragley Hall Stow-on-the-Wold Stratford Butterfly Farm Stratford-upon-Avon Sudeley Castle The Slaughters Upton House Warwick	The thumbnails below are linked to larger pictures Charlecote is an expansive and imposing house overlooking the River Avon, which seems to sum up the very essence of Tudor England. Charlecote has been the home of the Lucy family for over 800 years and was built by Sir Thomas Lucy in the 1550's. The house as seen today looks Elizabethan but is largely Victorian. In 1823 George Hammond Lucy inherited the house and after removing the changes made by successive generations set about recreating the house in the original style. The general outline of the Elizabethan house remains. The house has an imposing history including strong associations with Queen Elizabeth who was entertained here for two nights in 1572, Shakespeare supposedly departed for fame and fortune in London after being punished by Sir Thomas Lucy for poaching deer in his park. Bachelor George Lucy (1714 to 1786) employed Capability Brown to lay out the park much as we see it today and introduced the Jacob sheep. The rich early Victorian interior contains quality items of furniture, fine works of art and also many important objects from Beckford's Fonthill Abbey. Outside the balustraded formal garden opens onto a fine deer park in the Victorian style. The Victorian outbuildings including the kitchen, scullery, laundry, brewhouse and coach house with Victorian carriages are all open to visitors. The gardens on display include the parterres, the sensory garden, herbaceous borders and beautifully manicured lawns. Charlecote Park is located off the B4085, 5 miles east of Stratford-upon-Avon. *Link to official site for viewing Visitor Information*