Wilton House (Wilton)
Wilton House is a very historic stately home at Wilton in Wiltshire.
The gates of the house are on the outskirts of what is now a small town.
The house was built on the site of Wilton Abbey, founded by Alfred the Great in 871. This was given by Henry VIII at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1544 to Sir William Herbert, who had married Anne Parr, sister of Catherine Parr, the king`s sixth wife. It has been the ancestral home of the Earls of Pembroke ever since.
Some of the building dates back to the Elizabethan period, including the Clock Tower, which survived a fire in 1647.
The 17th century rebuilding, in the Palladian style, was undertaken by Inigo Jones and John Webb, and includes the famous Single and Double Cube Rooms.
James Wyatt made further alterations, including cloisters, from 1801.
Wilton House contains one of the finest art collections in Europe, including works by van Dyck, Rubens, Reynolds and Breughel, Greek and Italian statuary and relics of Elizabeth I lock of hair), Napoleon (despatch case) and Florence Nightingale (sash).
The house is set in magnificent landscaped parkland, bordered by the River Nadder, over which is the Palladian bridge.