Ugbrooke House & Gardens

Ugbrooke House has a fascinating history covering 900 years, originally featuring in the Domesday book of 1086, and today it remains the private home of the Clifford family. It exhibits a variety of alterations made over the centuries, particularly the alterations made by Robert Adam when he and Capability Brown were commissioned by the 4th Lord Clifford to remodel the house, grounds and garden in the mid 18th century.

As one of the earliest examples of Adam’s “toy fort” style, the house has had a thoroughly varied past, journeying through periods of stately grandeur and desperate, troughs of disrepair. Requisitioned as a school during the Second World War, then serving as a refuge for the Polish Army, the house was subsequently relegated to a grain store. However, it was rescued in 1957 by the 13th Lord and Lady Clifford who painstakingly restored it back into a family home.

The Chapel is claimed to be the oldest Catholic Parish Church in the south west of England. Originally an Anglican Chapel, it was rededicated in 1673 when the 1st Lord Clifford became a Catholic. Mass has been continuously said here since 1673 and continues to this day, held every Sunday morning at 8.45am.

The dominant landscape at Ugbrooke has always been the Park, designed by preeminent landscape gardener, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown. Known for his remodelling of some of the best known country house estates, to create serene, natural environments. Brown’s proposals for Ugbrooke were made during the latter years of his career, with his draft drawings depicting the plan for Ugbrooke now hanging inside the house.

INCLUSIVE COACH FARE & ENTRY INCLUDING GUIDED TOUR OF HOUSE:

£53 ADULT, £51 SENIOR, £38 CHILD