Stowe House & Gardens
In the eighteenth century, the powerful Temple-Grenvillle family chose to create an idyllic landscape filled with temples. Amidst these enchanting gardens (now cared for by the National Trust), they built the most lavish temple of all, Stowe House, famous during it’s eighteenth century heyday as an important artistic masterpiece.
In 1922, in the face of demolition, Stowe School saved the building from certain destruction. Unlike the loss and decline of many English country houses, Stowe House found a new and revived use for the twentieth and twenty-first century as a school for boys and latterly for girls. Store House Preservation Trust was established in 1997 to restore the House and share this special place with the world.
Stowe Gardens showcase gardening on the grandest scale. Picture perfect views, winding paths, lakeside walks and temples create a timeless landscape, reflecting the changing seasons. Full of hidden meaning, the gardens were created as unearthly paradise and still cast a spell today.
We will start our trip with a guided tour of Stowe House. Later our coach will whisk us off ready to start our visit to Stowe Gardens. At Stowe Gardens we will have a cafe or picnic lunch before touring the Gardens. Our very own Chorleywood U3A member, Gillian Pugh, whose father was Headmaster at Stowe, has very kindly volunteered to accompany us on the trip and lead us around the lovely gardens!
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