Calne - Bowood House & Gardens

Set in a large park with old trees, terraced gardens and borders designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown, Bowood House (8mi/13km west of Avebury), seat of the Marquis of Landsdowne, has several interesting features. Inside the house is the laboratory where Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen in 1774 and where in 1779 Jan Ingenhouse discovered photosynthesis.

Classical sculptures, porcelain and 18th century English paintings, including some by Reynolds and Gainsborough, can be seen in the galleries together with a number of curiosities such as the Albanian costume in which Lord Byron was painted in 1814.
The gardens include a landscaped park with lake, an arboretum a pinetum, a Doric temple and a cascading waterfall. There is also a large display of rhododendrons and roses.