Boughton: The House, its People and its Collections (The Buccleuch Houses)

Boughton: The House, its People and its Collections (The Buccleuch Houses)

In this sumptuous portrait of the house known as ‘the English Versailles’, the Duke of Buccleuch sets the scene with a history of his ancestors, the Montagus of Boughton, who acquired the manor in Northamptonshire in the reign of Henry VIII. Ralph, 1st Duke of Montagu (1638–1709), Charles II’s envoy to Louis XIV, transformed Boughton into a palatial homage to French culture. His son John, the 2nd Duke, was noted for planting long avenues, a love of heraldry, a fondness for practical jokes and the ancient lion he nursed in one of the courtyards. The book showcases Boughton’s magnificent painted ceilings, tapestries and Sèvres porcelain. The celebrated art collection also includes striking portraits of Elizabeth I, Charles II and his son the Duke of Monmouth, another Buccleuch ancestor. Van Dyck’s friends and contemporaries cluster in the Drawing Room in dozen of grisailles. Most eye-catching of all is the portrait of Shakespeare’s muses, the Early and Countess of Southampton. A grand tour takes in the French-inspired façade, the formal State Rooms and the Tudor Great Hall, with their painted ceilings, flamboyant French furniture and the oldest dated carpet in Europe – before moving to the park, with its avenues of soaring limes, network of lakes, and dramatic new sunken pool. Table of Contents THE EARLY MONTAGUS OF BOUGHTON: THE DAWN OF A DYNASTY 6 The 1st Sir Edward Montagu The 2nd Sir Edward Montagu Edward, 1st Lord Montagu Edward, 2nd Lord Montagu The Hon. Edward Montagu and Elizabeth, Lady Harvey THE DUKES OF MONTAGU: POWER AND INFLUENCE Ralph, 1st Duke of Montagu John, 2nd Duke of Montagu Lady Mary Montagu, Duchess of Montagu, and George, 3rd Duke of Montagu John, Marquis of Montherme THE SCOTTISH CONNECTION Lady Elizabeth Montagu marries Henry, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch Boughton reawakens The family album ----------------------------------------------------- THE GRAND TOUR THE NORTH FRONT: DUKE RALPH'S VISION The Staircase Hall, the State Rooms, the Northwest Pavilion, the ‘Unfinished Wing’ THE TUDOR MANOR: THE HEART OF THE HOUSE The Great Hall, the Egyptian Hall and the Little Hall THE WEST FRONT: DUKE JOHN'S LEGACY The Loggia, the Boudoir and the Boudoir Lobby, the South Passage, the Morning Room, the Rainbow Room, the Drawing Room, the Library, the Flower Gallery and the Nursery THE SOUTH SIDE: THE QUIET CORNER The White Drawing Room, the Chinese Staircase, the Audit Room and the Sèvres porcelain collection BEHIND THE SCENES: THE WORKING HOUSE The Old Kitchen, the Armoury, the Attics, the Dower House and Stables THE ARCHIVES The Montagu Music Collection The Huguenots at Boughton BEYOND THE HOUSE The Boughton landscape 208 The Montagu Monuments 220 Timeline and bibliography 228 "Boughton is not as well known as other British great houses. Typically described as having an illustrious history stretching back to the Tudors, Boughton's heavily French character—mansard roofs and dormer windows—has more in common, perhaps, with Versailles than a stately English pile. Buccleuch (Richard, Duke of Buccleuch) is Boughton's owner, and he has produced similar volumes on his other properties, Drumlanrig and Bowhill, both in Scotland. The present book is sumptuous, including beautiful color illustrations of the house and grounds and the building’s numerous artistic treasures. But the text supplementing the visuals is brief. The first section surveys the duke’s family, distinguished certainly, but not as historically significant as, say, the Cecil or Churchill clans. Following this is a visual tour of the state rooms, the great hall, the kitchen, armory, stables, and even the attics—all of which show off this lovely house to great advantage. But the supplementary material—information on Boughton’s historic documents collection, an index of artists associated with the estate, and a general index—is minimal and does not include a bibliography. This attractive book will be of most interest to English country house enthusiasts and specialists of British architecture and art. Summing Up: Optional. Researchers, faculty, general readers." W. S. Rodner, emeritus, Tidewater Community College, CHOICE May 2023 Vol. 60 No. 9 Richard, 10th Duke of Buccleuch and 12th Duke of Queensberry, is responsible for his family’s historic art collections and houses, including Drumlanrig Castle and Bowhill in Scotland and Boughton House in Northamptonshire. Author of books about each of them, he works widely in the heritage field and was for ten years President of the National Trust for Scotland. He is currently a trustee of the Royal Collection Trust and President of the Georgian Group. During a photographic career spanning more than thirty-five years, Fritz von der Schulenburg has achieved international acclaim, capturing on camera some of the most beautiful and inspirational locations in the world. His photographs have been published in numerous magazines, such as The World of Interiors, Architectural Digest, House & Ga