The gardens and park at Stowe are Grade I listed, designed by some of the most famous artists, designers, architects and gardeners which include Capability Brown, William Kent, Sir John Vanbrugh, James Gibbs and Charles Bridgeman to name a few. Stowe is considered the birthplace of the eighteenth-century landscape garden movement, a fashion that inspired garden design internationally. Over 40 monuments and temples reveal political and moral messages desired to be portrayed by the Temple-Grenville family.

After years of exuberance, the family who were once said to be richer than the king, fell into debt, selling many of treasures of the house and gardens in auctions to recoup their losses. After the final decline of the family fortune, the estate was put up for sale in in 1921 and sold again in 1922 to the founders of Stowe School. Thankfully, this saved this special place from demolition that many other historical sites suffered subsequently in the turbulent years of the world wars and house building projects in the twentieth century.

In 1989 Stowe School gifted the National Trust the gardens, park and monuments, recognising they needed significant care and restoration. Since then, the Trust had worked tirelessly to restore Stowe back to its former glory. Phases of restoration from the initial needs of The Temple of Concord and Victory, Lord Cobhams Pillar, The Conduit House and lakes then moved into additional pieces of work such as opening the original visitors entrance, the New Inn whist currently the Landscape Programme has set about returning copies of lost statues and monuments that once dressed the gardens like a theatre set to once again tell the stories intended by Stowes creators.

The future

Whilst so much funding has helped us restore and conserve this wonderful site, there is still so much to do. On the horizon were looking to support our local community, increasing our access to all and provide a place where everyone can escape the modern pressures and stresses of life in urban environments. Stowe is centrally situated between four large urban areas Aylesbury, Milton Keynes, Northampton and Banbury. Weve been welcoming schools, charities and community groups to the gardens with visits and projects to support their education, health and wellbeing from these local areas.

An example of this is the introduction of our Community Group Pass. This offers free entry throughout the year for groups in Bucks, Northants and Oxon who are meeting a social need. Were also working in partnership with organisations such as Active Bucks to run Photography walks with free entry and Buckinghamshire Mind to provide gentle introductory running courses in the garden free of charge.

We host the COBB group every two weeks in our community room where a group of visually impaired and blind members come together to create crafts and socialise as part of Bucks Vision. Youll also regularly see volunteers from Olympus Care Homes visiting our Farmhouse Garden where they can get active and involved in caring for the garden, growing vegetables and taking a break from the norm. These are just a few of the many projects we are undertaking to support the local community.