Montacute House

The village of Montacute is an extremely picturesque place, with its ham stone cottages, quaint inns and country gardens. When travelling through the village you may suddenly be drawn to a pair of impressive gates and a long, well-maintained drive. And at the end of this drive proudly sits a stunning house.

This is Montacute House, built by Sir Edward Phelips, a wealthy lawyer and member of Elizabeth 1st’s parliament, which was completed in 1601. The house was built in 1598 and inhabited by the Phelips family until 1911 when it was rented out, and put up for sale in 1929, and was then acquired by The National Trust in 1931.

The house was built in an English Renaissance style, this grade 1 listed building is one of the few houses to have remained virtually unchanged since Elizabethan times. The east front of the property is home to large mullioned windows, giving the impression that the whole facade is made of glass. Whereas the opposite side of the house, the west front was removed from nearby Clifton Maybank House and re-erected at Montacute in 1786

The gardens surrounding the house are ever changing, filling the house with scent in summer and providing an atmospheric backdrop for a winter walk. Montacute House is one of the very few houses in England to have retained its setting within a compartmented garden, and in the summer months, each compartment offers you something special and individual.

Maintained by The National Trust, the house is open to the public from March to October, every year, whilst the gardens, shop and cafe are open all year.

So, whether you’re visiting with your family or a loved one you will be left with lasting memories and a desire to soon return.