One of our favourite houses to visit in the stunning Somerset countryside!

Montacute House was built by Sir Edward Phelips in the late 16th-century from local hamstone sourced from Ham Hill.

This masterpiece of Elizabethan Renaissance architecture and design was built to impress Queen Elizabeth I.

Today, it still makes a striking statement.


The house

The first-floor rooms are beautiful decorated with period furniture and paintings by Gainsborough and Reynolds.

Upstairs, the windows in the grand Library are one of the highlights. These windows showcase the stained-glass coat of arms of the Phelips family.


Last but not least.

Head for the top-floor Elizabethan Long Gallery! With 52 metres the longest of its kind in England.

The gallery houses over 60 Tudor and Elizabethan portraits on loan from the National Portrait Gallery.


The garden

The formal gardens are famous for their bulbous hedges, but the estate’s three hundred acres of parkland are even more impressive.

Especially when walking along the west drive. The view towards the house is absolutely magnificent.


Images by Cool Places Britain
Walking

There are a couple of waymarked walks through the parkland which is managed by the National Trust.

The 1-mile Avenue Walk runs parallel to the south of the parkland, towards Odcombe Lodge, where you can enjoy the shade of the Oak Avenue.

A more strenuous 4-mile walk will take you through the park, along Ladies’ Walk and up St Michael’s Hill.

It is a steep pull to the summit, but the reward is magnificent views in all directions across Somerset.

Our favourite is a wonderful 6-mile circular towards Ham Hill.

This trail will lead you through the stunning and ancient South Somerset countryside.



Cool Places to Explore: Ham Hill | Tintinhull House | East Lambrook Manor Gardens | Barrington Court | Cadbury Castle.

Cool Places to Eat: The Phelip Arms | The King Arms Inn | The Barrington Boar | The Lord Poulett Arms.