The magnificent landscaped garden in the Stourhead Estate in Wiltshire. This view
shows the Turf Bridge with the Pantheon in the distance. The garden is an idealisation of
classical Italian landscapes such as those by Claude Lorrain, Nicolas Poussin and Gaspard
Dughet and was largely created by Henry Hoare II who had seen the works of these great
artists on his Grand Tour. Henry inherited the estate from his father in 1741 and the garden
became his absorbing interest for the next forty years following the loss of both his wives.
Henry dammed the river Stour to create the lake at the heart of the garden and employed
the architect Henry Flitcroft to design the neo-classical buildings. Henry Hoare II died in
1785 but his descendants continued to live on the estate until 1947. The garden is
now in the care of the National Trust.