Boughton House

Boughton House is a country house about 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of Kettering off the A422 road near Geddington in Northamptonshire, England. Residing in an estate of 11,000 acres, it is one of the seats of the Duke of Buccleuch, and famed for its beauty, its collections, and the fact it has survived virtually unchanged since the eighteenth century. While possessing a medieval core, its exterior evokes an opulent French chateau, causing it to be termed The English Versailles.

The magnificence of the collections at Boughton is explained by the ducal family surname Montagu-Douglas-Scott, which reflects the union of three great families and their estates through marriage: Montagu, the Dukes of Montagu; Douglas, the Dukes of Queensberry; and Scott, the Dukes of Buccleuch.

Boughton contains a comprehensive collection of furniture, tapestries, porcelain and carpets. The art collection includes paintings by artists, including The Adoration of the Shepherds by El Greco, Thomas Gainsborough’s portrait of Mary Montagu, grisailles and portraits by Van Dyck, and Breaking Cover by John Wootton.

Once a servants' hall, located next to the kitchen, the armoury is now home to what many experts regard as one of the finest privately held armouries in the country. It is an historic collection that owes much to John, 2nd Duke of Montagu (1670–1749).

Boughton House is a venue for events, weddings, corporate activities and organised groups. The House also opens on specific dates for guided tours.

The original house was a monastic building but Sir Edward Montagu, Lord Chief Justice to King Henry VIII, purchased it in 1528 just prior to the Dissolution of the Monasteries and began to convert it into a mansion. Most of the present building is the work of Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu (d.1709) who inherited the house in 1683.

...
Wikipedia