One of the most significant restoration projects of the era: Stowe House

The Historic Houses Foundation is not afraid to get involved in some of the most significant restoration projects of the era, as its grant aid to the Stowe House Preservation Trust demonstrates.

Britain’s Political Palace

The renewal of the great Palladian palace at Stowe, a political powerhouse in the 18th century as home to the powerful Temple-Grenville family, has been one of the most extraordinary restoration projects of the 21st century. In all, the project swallowed up over £26 million, raised from innumerable institutions in the UK and abroad; the Historic Houses Foundation’s contribution was relatively small but we are proud to have been able to provide funding for three crucial elements of the work.

Britain’s grandest school library

In 2007, a grant to the relatively new Stowe House Preservation Trust, helped with the restoration of one of Stowe’s most complete surviving interiors. The Large Library, still the student’s library for Stowe School, was formed by the Marquess of Buckingham from two smaller rooms to house his considerable collection of books. Cleaning of the ceiling revealed its original gilding which was restored with the hand application of 30,000 sheets of 23.5 carat gold leaf.

Egypt in Buckinghamshire

A second grant in 2010, contributed to the restoration of the Egyptian Hall.  This room was conceived by the Marquess of Buckingham in the early 1800s as a wet-weather entrance hall for guests alighting from a new porte cochere. It was the earliest Egyptian revival room in the UK, modelled on the Temple of Dendera, and featuring murals taken from drawings made on Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt in 1798.  The work was completed in 2019.

A classical entrance hall

Eight years later, a third Historic Houses Foundation grant helped with the restoration of one of baroque architect William Kent’s finest surviving interiors, the North Hall. This room was designed for Viscount Cobham in the 1730s to provide an impressive entrance for his guests. The restoration of the ceiling revealed the original scheme featuring a bellicose Viscount Cobham in a classical setting, a reflection of both his politics and his proudest achievements as one of the key family members who created the great 18th century palace of Stowe.

The completion of the restoration of Stowe House in 2023 has given back to Britain not just one of the most remarkable Palladian houses in the land but a living vibrant place still home to nearly 900 school pupils. Visitors to the restored State Rooms will be able to appreciate the style of Stowe in its heyday, relive the spectacular rise and decline of one of the country’s great political dynasties and see a historic building that has adapted to a dynamic new role in the 21st century.