In a fabulously good bit of timing, we’re in Oxfordshire when both the house and grounds of Buscot Park happen to be open. Despite it being a National Trust property, Buscot Park is still very much home to Lord Faringdon and his family.
The house was built in the 1780s and subsequently purchased in 1889 by Lord Faringdon’s great grandfather. It was he who became the first Lord Faringdon in 1919, and he who extended the house, built the stunning water garden and laid the foundations for the superb art collection we see today.
Built on by successive generations, the Faringdon Collection includes portraits by Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Rossetti, the very beautiful series by Burne-Jones, The Legend of Briar Rose, and Chippendale furniture. It’s a musuem worthy collection, all the more interesting in that at Buscot Park, it forms the backdrop of day to day life.
Being a private home, photography is not allowed in the house, which is a shame – the rooms are glorious, richly decorated and themed, made all the more lovely for the artwork on display. I’ve resorted to the publicly available photos online to give you a glimpse.
There’s the Egyptian themed entry hall:
The Green Room, featuring some of the many pieces in the Faringdon Collection:
The dining room:
My favourite room, the Grand Saloon, featuring the complete Briar Rose series.
The grounds are equally impressive. It’s clear that whenever a design brief was issued, it included a strict note on symmetry. Walks fan through meticulously planned pathways revealing secret treasures along their way.
An Egyptian themed path leads to an obelisk Jubilee sundial:
The stunning Italianate Peto water park leads into a lake:
While the Four Seasons walled garden is guarded on both sides by terracotta warriors,
its stepped entrance a testament to the endless patience of a hedge trimming team.
The walled garden is spectacular – a blend of fruit and vegetable plantings amongst a riot of flowers, centred by water feature and a wisteria arbor.
Produce from the garden is used in the tearoom, presumably once the stables.
It a garden I could lose myself in, for days on end. I’m so glad we had the opportunity to see it.
Miss Baci Travels 