Burghley House Sculpture (3)

Sculpture in the grounds of Burghley House, Lincs.



Burghley was built for Sir William Cecil, later 1st Baron Burghley, who was Lord High Treasurer to Queen Elizabeth I, between 1558 and 1587 and modeled on the privy lodgings of Richmond Palace.

It was subsequently the residence of his descendants, the Earls and Marquesses of Exeter, and since 1961 is owned by a charitable trust established by the family.

Lady Victoria Leatham, a daughter of the 6th Marquess and a well-known antiques expert and television personality ran the House as a Director of the Trust from 1982 to 2007. She has been succeeded by her daughter Miranda Rock.

The house is one of the principal examples of 16th-century English Elizabethan architecture and also has a suite of rooms remodeled in the baroque style, with carvings by Grinling Gibbons.

The main part of the house has 35 major rooms on the ground and first floors. There are more than 80 lesser rooms and numerous halls, corridors, bathrooms and service areas.

In the 17th century, the open loggias around the ground floor were enclosed. Although the house was built in the letter E in honour of Queen Elizabeth, it is now missing its north-west wing. During the period of the 9th Earl's ownership, and under the guidance of "Capability" Brown, the south front was raised to alter the roof line, and the north-west wing was demolished to allow better views of the new parkland.