Montacute House
Montacute House, the west front. The porch and screen linking the wings were added in the late 18th century making corridors and a new entrance façade.
Shown within Somerset
Building information
Town	Montacute
Country	England
Coordinates	50°57′09″N 2°42′58″W / 50.9524, -2.7160Coordinates: 50°57′09″N 2°42′58″W / 50.9524, -2.7160
Architect	? William Arnold
Client	Sir Edward Phelips
Completion date	c1598

Montacute House, situated in the South Somerset village of Montacute, is reputed to be one of the finest Elizabethan country houses in the United Kingdom, and has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building. Montacute is a small Village in Somerset, England, four miles west of Yeovil. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. William Arnold (architect (flourished 1595–1637 was an important master mason in Somerset, England. South Somerset is a local government district in Somerset, England. A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a Town or City. Montacute is a small Village in Somerset, England, four miles west of Yeovil. Romance and reality The Victorian era and the early twentieth century idealised the Elizabethan era The English country house is generally accepted as a large House or Mansion, once in the ownership of an individual who also usually owned another Great The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located English Heritage is a Non-departmental public body of the United Kingdom government ( Department for Culture Media and Sport) with a broad remit of A listed building in the United Kingdom is a building or other structure officially designated as being of special architectural historical or cultural significance ^[1] It was visited by 111,070 people in 2007. ^[2]

The three floored mansion, constructed of local Ham Hill stone, was built circa 1598 by Sir Edward Phelips, Master of the Rolls to Queen Elizabeth I. A mansion is a large dwelling House. The word itself derives (through Old French) from the Latin word mansus (the perfect passive participle Ham Hill is a Geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI Iron Age Hill fort, Roman site and Country park, to the The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the third most senior judge of England and Some suggest architect William Arnold is responsible for the design, though it’s yet to be substantiated. An architect is a licensed individual who leads a design team in the Planning and Design of buildings and participates in oversight of Building Construction William Arnold (architect (flourished 1595–1637 was an important master mason in Somerset, England. The house is distinguished by Dutch gables decorated with stone monkeys and other creatures. A Dutch gable or Flemish gable is a roof with a Parapet wall that roughly follows the line of the roof behind A monkey is any member of either the New World monkeys or Old World monkeys two of the three groupings of Simian Primates the third group being The many large, mullioned windows, an innovation of their day, give the appearance that the principal façade is built entirely of glass; a similar fenestration was employed at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. Hardwick Hall ( in Doe Lea, Derbyshire is one of the most significant Elizabethan Country houses in England. History The area that is now Derbyshire was first visited probably briefly by humans 200000 years ago during the Aveley Interglacial as evidenced by a Middle On the top floor, the windows of the gallery are interspaced by statues of the 'nine worthies' dressed in Roman costume. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Inside, two broad stone staircases give access to each floor; during wet weather, the Phelips children would lead their ponies up these stairs to ride in the long gallery.

The house, like many Elizabethan mansions, is built in an 'E' shape. On the ground floor was the great hall, kitchens and pantries, on the upper floors, retiring rooms for the family and honoured guests. A great hall was the main room of a royal Palace, a Nobleman 's Castle or a large Manor house in the Middle Ages, and For the Banana Yashimoto novel see Kitchen (novel A kitchen, is a room or part of a room (sometimes called "kitchen Family denotes a group of People affiliated by consanguinity affinity or co-residence Over the centuries, the layout and use of rooms changed: Elegant drawing and dining rooms evolved on the ground floor, on the first floor, a magnificent panelled library and bed rooms, including Lord Curzon's secret bath concealed in a wardrobe. A library is a collection of information sources resources and services and the structure in which it is housed it is organized for use and maintained by a public body an institution

As in all houses of the Elizabethan era, it had no corridors; the rooms led directly from one to another. This changed in the late 18th century when a façade from a nearby mansion at Clifton Maybank (which was being demolished) was used in a renovation of Montacute, thus providing the much needed corridor. Clifton Maybank is a hamlet in west Dorset, England. The village has a Population of 63 ( 2001) Now, with the new frontage in place, the house was virtually turned around: The 'Clifton-Maybank' façade becoming the front entrance of the house, and the impressive former front elevation now overlooking a grass lawn surrounded by flower borders, rather than the original entrance courtyard. A lawn is an area of recreational or amenity land planted with grass, and sometimes Clover and other plants which are maintained at a low even height A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also For alternative meanings of the word "court" see Court (disambiguation. The small pavilions that flanked the demolished gatehouse still remain, resembling twin summer-houses with their ogee shaped roofs. In Architecture a pavilion (from French, "pavillon" from Latin "papilio" has two main significations In modern usage a cottage is a dwelling typically in a rural or semi-rural location (although there are cottage-style dwellings in cities Ogee is a shape consisting of a concave arc flowing into a convex arc so forming an S-shaped curve with vertical ends

Perhaps the most notable feature of the house is the 189 feet (58 m) long^[3] third floor long gallery, spanning the entire top floor of the house. A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International Long gallery is an architectural term given to a long narrow room often with a high ceiling Originally used as an area for indoor exercise during inclement weather, today, it is used by the National Portrait Gallery to display part of their collection.

Montacute House. The east façade, the original front of the house. The long gallery runs the length of the top floor. Stone monkeys and other creatures are carved on the parapet and gables.

Living in the Montacute area since at least 1480, the Phelipses continued to reside in the mansion until the early 20th century, when the family fortune finally ran out. In 1915, the house was first let to George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, then to the Enos family, Americans famous for their pharmaceutical products. George Nathaniel Curzon 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC ( 11 January 1859 &ndash 20 March Finally in 1929, the house was sold to philanthropist Ernest Cook who presented it to the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and from that Society, it passed to the National Trust. Ernest Edward Cook ( 4 September 1865 – 14 March 1955) was an English Philanthropist and Businessman and grandson The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings ( SPAB) (sometimes known as Anti-Scrape) was founded by William Morris and Philip Webb in The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organization in England, Wales It was one of the Trust's first great houses.

The name "Montacute" is presumed to be derived from the Latin "Mons Acutus", referring to the small but still quite acute hill located to the west of the village. Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The house and village have often featured as locations for films. Several scenes of the 1995 film version of Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility were filmed at Montacute. Sense and Sensibility is a 1995 British Drama film directed by Ang Lee. Jane Austen (16 Sense and Sensibility is a Novel by the English novelist Jane Austen.

References

External links

Ground floor plan of Montacute House. North is to the right of the plan. To the south was the low storied base court, which contained extensive domestic offices.

• Montacute House information at the National Trust
• Montacute House Garden — information on garden history
• Photographs and Description
• Flickr photos tagged Montacute