Buscot Park

Buscot Park was built between 1780 and 1783 for Edward Loveden Townsend. In 1859 his great-grandson sold the estate to an Australian tycoon, Robert Tertius Campbell. He died in 1887 after spending a fortune turning Buscot into a model agricultural estate. In 1889 Buscot was sold to a highly successful business financier, Alexander Henderson, later the 1st Lord Faringdon and his descendants continue to live here. At Buscot Park you will find exquisite gardens, including the spectacular Water Garden designed by Harold Peto for the 1st Lord Faringdon at the beginning of the 20thC and the Four Seasons Walled Garden created by the present Lord Faringdon at the end of the century. You can wander through woodland walks, rest awhile in the circular Swinging Garden and perhaps catch a glimpse of some of the many species of birds which breed on the estate. The fine late-18thC house is home to The Faringdon Collection, a treasure trove of art and design. Begun by Sir Alexander Henderson, later the 1st Lord Faringdon, and exclusively added to by his grandson, Gavin, the 2nd Lord, the collection contains an extraordinary array of pictures, furniture and objets d’art. Old Master paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens and Murillo mingle with Victorian pictures by Leighton, Rossetti Watts and Burne-Jones, including the latter’s famous ‘Briar Rose’ series illustrating the story of Sleeping Beauty. Furniture by designers such as Robert Adams and Thomas Hope provide splendid display settings for both period and contemporary ceramics, sculpture and objets d’art. Unlike most country house collections, the Faringdon Collection is not frozen in time. The present Lord Faringdon continues to acquire new works of art both antique and modern. He has also recently restored the small purpose-built theatre which is regularly used for concerts, recitals, plays and corporate hospitality.