Bradford - Corsham Court

Built in 1582 this fine Elizabethan country house (9mi/13km to the northeast of Bradford-on-Avon) was purchased by Paul Methuen in the mid 18th century and subsequently handsomely reappointed. Alterations were made to both house and gardens by a series of celebrated architects - Lancelot "Capability" Brown in about 1760, John Nash in about 1800, and Thomas Bellamy between 1845 and 1849.

Its rooms provide a superb setting for a collection of 150 or so priceless objets d'art - paintings, statues, bronzes and furniture. They include works by Lippi, Fra Bartolommeo, Caravaggio, Tintoretto, Veronese, Rubens, van Dike, Lely, Reynolds and Romney, also décor and furniture by Adam, Chippendale and Thomas Johnson.