Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 210. Chapters: Stowe House, 10 Downing Street, Chatsworth House, Crewe Hall, Blenheim Palace, Brympton d'Evercy, Belton House, Basildon Park, Cliveden, Heaton Park, Bruce Castle, Tabley House, West Wycombe Park, Lyme Park, Sutton Place, Surrey, Montacute House, Adlington Hall, Wilton House, Holkham Hall, Somerhill House, Gawsworth Old Hall, Wentworth Woodhouse, Hensol Castle, Clevedon Court, Sir John Soane's Museum, Boston Manor, Oakwell Hall, Lytes Cary, Handel House Museum, Croome Court, Syon House, Peckforton Castle, Wollaton Hall, Mentmore Towers, Kiplin Hall, Tatton Hall, Westonbirt House, Churche's Mansion, Chatham House, Berry Pomeroy Castle, Osborne House, Townhouse, Kedleston Hall, The Tower House, Haddon Hall, Compton Wynyates, Little Moreton Hall. Excerpt: Stowe House is a Grade I listed country house located in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of Stowe School, an independent school. The gardens (known as Stowe Landscape Gardens), a significant example of the English garden style, along with part of the Park, passed into the ownership of The National Trust in 1989 and are open to the public. The house is open to the public during the school holidays, and there is usually a daily guided tour during term time. The parkland surrounding the gardens is open 365 days a year and access is free. The Temple family fortune was based on sheep farming, they were first recorded as such at Witney in Oxfordshire. Later from 1546 they had been renting a sheep farm in Burton Dassett in Warwickshire. The Stowe estate was leased from 1571 by Peter Temple, his son John Temple bought the manor & estate of Stowe in 1589 and it became the home of the Temple family. In the late 17th century, the house was completely rebuilt by Sir Richard Temple, 3rd Baronet, (c.1683) on the present site. This house is now the core of the mansion known today. The old medieval stronghold was located near Stowe parish church that is about 100 yards to the south-east of the current house. Having been redesigned subsequently over the years, the whole front is now 916 feet (279 m) in length and can be seen as you approach from the direction of Buckingham. A long, straight driveway ran from Buckingham all the way to the front of the house, passing through a 60-foot (18 m) Corinthian arch on the brow of the hill on the way. The driveway approach to the house is still in use today, although it no longer runs through the arch. British and foreign aristocrats & royalty frequently stayed at the house throughout the 18th & 19th centuries. In 1725 The 3rd Earl of Carlisle and his wife stayed for a fortnight. The 1730s & 1740s saw visits by Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk, and The 1st Earl of Bath; Frederick, Prince of Wales, along with other friends