Lydiard House is a manor

Manor house

A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...

 located in Lydiard Park at Lydiard Tregoze

Lydiard Tregoze

Lydiard Tregoze is a small village and civil parish on the western edge of Swindon in the County of Wiltshire, in the south west of England. It has in the past been spelt as Liddiard Tregooze and in other ways.-History:...

, Swindon

Swindon

Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...

, Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

. The house and surrounding land was originally owned by the Viscount Bolingbroke

Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke

Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically despite his atheism. In 1715 he supported the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 which sought to overthrow the...

 who owned the house for several centuries until the cost of caring for the house proved too high, and they were forced to sell. The house is now owned by Swindon Borough Council

Swindon (borough)

The Borough of Swindon is a local government authority in South West England. It is centred on the town of Swindon and forms part of the ceremonial county of Wiltshire...

 who remodelled it and opened it up as a museum for the public. The surrounding garden Lydiard Park is also owned by the Council and has been opened as a public park.

The architecture of the buildings appears to be Palladian

Palladian architecture

Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...

.

External links

• Lydiard Park — Swindon Council's guide to Lydiard House & Park and the Lydiard Park restoration project.