Two new guided tours at Boughton House, the Great Hall tour and the State Room tour, will showcase the estate in Kettering, Northamptonshire, which is home to the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch.
The Great Hall tour will takes visitors on an hour-long journey through The Buccleuch Art Collection, focusing on the house’s paintings, tapestry, porcelain and textiles, and will culminate in the Great Hall.
The Buccleuch Art Collection brings together paintings by El Greco, Van Dyck and Gainsborough, French furniture by cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle, Sèvres porcelain, Mortlake tapestries and 16th century rugs from the Middle East.
The Great Hall is Boughton House’s largest and most imposing room. Artwork includes a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I as a young princess, as well as portraits of Ralph, first Duke of Montagu and his first wife Elizabeth Wriothsley.
Tickets for the Great Hall tour also provide access to Boughton’s armoury, a collection of swords pistols and armour, as well as the summer music exhibition, which will be open ready for the August public opening.
The State Room tour, meanwhile, explores the five state rooms of Boughton House, each one again adorned with tapestries, paintings and impressive furniture, including the Boughton state bed in the third state room. The state rooms of Boughton House led King William III to commission the State Rooms in Hampton Court Palace.
The tour can be booked on its own or as part of a package of tours.
Also available is the Books, Beds and Beyond tour, which lets groups catch a glimpse of the servants quarters, china store and the library.
Boughton House and Gardens is open to the public over Easter weekend from 26th to 28th March and throughout August. Pre-booked group tours are available throughout the year.
For more information call 01536-515731, e-mail info@boughtonhouse.co.uk or visit www.boughtonhouse.co.uk.
