Set within 900 acres of Capability Brown landscaped parkland, Longleat House is widely regarded as one of the best examples of high Elizabethan architecture in Britain and one of the most beautiful stately homes open to the public. It was the present Marquess of Bath’s father, the 6th Marquess, who first perceived that a house of this magnitude and splendour could become a major tourist attraction and, in 1949, opened Longleat House to the public on a fully commercial basis – it was the first stately home to do so!