Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A wet evening at Cowley Lock
.
The building was an early Robert Adam restoration in 1762 of a 1547 house and has mag-
nificent interior decoration, furniture and paintings. The 81ha of landscaping by Capability
Brown includes an 1820 great conservatory by Charles Fowler with glass dome covering
280m
2
and free-flying birds inside, the London Butterfly House, a heritage motor museum,
art centre, needlework centre, aquatic centre, one of the largest garden centres in the London
area, a rose garden and 200 rare tree species. It is London's only ducal residence and has been
the Duke of Northumberland's London base for over four centuries. The current duke's fam-
ily were involved with Inland Waterways Association campaigning and running a working
fleet on the canal in the 1950s. The grounds include a three-span, very early, wrought-iron
bridge of 1790 over an ornamental pond, similar in profile to, but of different materials from,
one built in 1812 by the Duke of Northumberland on his estate in Anwick. The venue was
used for filming
The Madness of King George
and
Gosford Park
.
