Boughton House

If  you  are  lucky  enough  to  be  here  on  the  right  day  this  together  with Grimsthorpe would be my first choice of local ‘statelies’. It is more lived in than many others and one might quite easily see a half finished jigsaw on a fabulous Boulle secretaire! In addition to the wonderful collection of pictures, furniture, clocks, tapestries, etc., two features stick in my mind when I think of Boughton:

– the marvellous old Buccleuch retainers who act as guardians of the family treasures and the incredible state of repair of carpets, curtains and chair covers – many of them in use – on and off – over the past 300 years.

– The current Duke has recently completed an all new official guide book to the house and collections.

– The Grand Etang, the long forgotten lake which once dominated the principal approach to the house, was re-dug and filled with clear spring water in which the magnificent north front of the house is magically reflected for the first time in two centuries. Recently a key location in the film ‘Napoleon’.