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Bedfordshire

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  • Trip start
    May 22, 2026
    Andrew's TravelsBedfordshireTraveler
    View of Wrest Park Mansion from the Garden
    Inside the mansion; a clever design of door frame size is "reflected" in one mirror at the endThe LibrarySitting RoomA Ceiling1The StairwellThe one furnished roomView of the Mansion from the fountain (close to the site of the original house)View of the Mansion over the Long Water, from the Archer Pavilion

    Wrest Park 1; the Mansion House

    May 22 in England ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Wrest Park is a country estate located in Silsoe, Bedfordshire. It comprises Wrest Park Mansion, a grade I listed country house, and Wrest Park Gardens and Woodland (also grade I listed).

    Between the 13th and 20th centuries it was occupied by the de Grey family; the original house was demolished in the 1830's, and the current mansion was built by Thomas de Grey, 2nd Earl de Grey, also in the 1830's, in a Louis XV style that is unique in England. Wrest Park was used as a military hospital during WW I; it was eventually purchased by Sun Insurance (who moved from offices in London to Wrest Park during WW II, building 12 huts and converting stables to house 300 employees. After the war, it became a centre for modern agricultural engineering research. English Heritage took over the house and gardens in 2006 and began a 20-year restoration project.

    We visit the house, seeing what we are able to (see captions on photos for details).    Read more

  • Andrew's TravelsBedfordshireTraveler
    Wyven Statue; a wyvern was the emblem of the de Grey family
    French Parterre in front of the MansionStatues beyond the fountain, the site of the original houseThe OrangeryThe Bath HouseEvergreen GardenBowling Green HouseDuchess's Square and West Half HouseMithraic AltarStatue of animal nearbyArcher PavilionDog's CemeteryCapability Brown ColumnGreco-Roman AltarsChinese TempleStatue of Diana and her dogLadies PondView down the Long Water back to Archer PavilionPetit Trianon; a playhouse, also known as the Wendy HouseSculpture Gallery inside the Dairy; original statues from the Gardens are housed hereGarden outside the Visitor Centre

    Wrest Park 2; the Gardens and Woodland

    May 22 in England ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Wrest Park Gardens are formal gardens surrounding the mansion and include a number of other buildings, monuments, and statues; the park also has woodland on either side. The Gardens are divided by a wide gravel central walk, continued as a long canal that leads to a Baroque pavilion banqueting house designed by Thomas Archer and completed in 1711. 

    We have a very enjoyable and interesting walk around the gardens; see captions on photos for details - they are presented in an ant-clockwise direction from and back to the house.    Read more

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