Longleat

Longleat House
The façade of Longleat House
Type	Prodigy house
Location	Wiltshire, England
Coordinates	51°11′09″N 2°16′27″W / 51.1857°N 2.2743°W / 51.1857; -2.2743
Built	1568–1580
Architect	Robert Smythson
Architectural style(s)	Elizabethan
Owner	Marquess of Bath
Website	longleat.co.uk/longleat-house
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	Longleat House
Designated	11 September 1968
Reference no.	1364361
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	Stables at Longleat House
Designated	11 September 1968
Reference no.	1200342
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	Orangery With Walled Garden to Rear at Longleat House
Designated	11 September 1968
Reference no.	1036392
Listed Building – Grade I
Official name	Boathouse and Covered Bridge at Longleat House
Designated	11 September 1968
Reference no.	1200450
National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens
Official name	Longleat
Designated	1 September 1987
Reference no.	1000439
Location of Longleat House in Wiltshire

Longleat is a stately home about 4 miles (7 km) west of Warminster in Wiltshire, England. A leading and early example of the Elizabethan prodigy house, it is a Grade I listed building and the seat of the Marquesses of Bath.

Longleat is set in 1,000 acres (400 ha) of parkland landscaped by Capability Brown, along with 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) of let farmland and 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) of woodland, which includes a Center Parcs holiday village.^[1] It was the first stately home to open to the public, and the Longleat estate has the first safari park outside Africa and other attractions including a hedge maze.

The house was built by Sir John Thynne and designed mainly by Robert Smythson, after Longleat Priory was destroyed by fire in 1567. It took 12 years to complete and is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of Elizabethan architecture in Britain. It continues to be the seat of the Thynn family, who have held the title of Marquess of Bath since 1789; the eighth and present Marquess is Ceawlin Thynn.