Basildon Park

Over het museum

Basildon Park was built between 1777 and 1783 for Sir Francis Sykes, who had made a large fortune in the service of the East India Company in Bengal. The house, designed in the Palladian style and faced with Bath stone, stands above the Thames valley in a landscaped park. In 1838 it was bought by James Morrison, who was said to be the wealthiest commoner in Britain, and he kept a famous art collection there.

The house declined in the twentieth century and was requisitioned for military use in both world wars. By the 1950s it was nearly a ruin and faced demolition. Lord and Lady Iliffe bought it, restored it and furnished it with fine furniture, Old Master paintings and objects rescued from other houses that could not be saved. Among the rooms they created are the red-felt Octagon Drawing Room and a room with painted panels in the style of the Angkor Wat temples.

In 1978 the Iliffes gave the house, the estate and much of the collection to the National Trust, although they stayed on in the South Pavilion for the rest of their lives. The Trust later added a Shell Room, inspired by a lost grotto on the estate, and acquired part of the Chinese dinner service that Sykes commissioned in the 1760s. It also marks the estate's links with India, for example by celebrating Diwali. Today the showrooms are on the first floor, and the grounds include a restored formal garden, a rose garden and about 160 hectares (400 acres) of parkland.

Hoogtepunten

• Palladian mansion of 1777 to 1783 built of Bath stone
• Octagon Drawing Room and the Angkor Wat room
• Shell Room created by the National Trust
• Formal garden with the rose garden and terrace balustrade
• 400-acre parkland with four waymarked walks
• Remains of Second World War Nissen huts in the park

Vaste collectie

• The mansion showrooms – Rooms on the first floor with fine furniture, Old Master paintings and decorative schemes created by Lord and Lady Iliffe.
• Shell Room – A room created by the National Trust to display shells collected around the world, inspired by a lost grotto on the estate.

Opgericht

1770

Beheerder

National Trust

Toegangsprijzen & kortingen

Prices are shown without Gift Aid; with Gift Aid the adult ticket is £22, the child ticket £11 and the family ticket £55. National Trust members enter free.

Toegankelijkheid

• Deels rolstoeltoegankelijk
• Lift: geen informatie
• Aangepast toilet
• Gehandicaptenparkeerplaats
• Hulphonden welkom
• Tastmodellen / voelbare objecten: geen informatie
• Rondleidingen in gebarentaal: geen informatie
• Informatie in eenvoudige taal: geen informatie
• Audiodescriptie: geen informatie

The house showrooms are on the first floor and are reached by a stone staircase of 22 steps; a stair-climber for wheelchair users can be booked with seven days' notice. It is a 400-yard walk uphill from the car park to the house, and a visitor buggy runs from the stableyard to the mansion depending on volunteer availability. Paths in the garden and park are uneven, with gravel, slopes, cobbles and tree roots, and can be muddy; cattle graze in the park. Disabled parking is 20 yards from the ticket office. Accessible toilets are in the stableyard and near the mansion. Wheelchairs can be borrowed, one for the garden and one for the house. The shop and tea-room have level or ramped access, there are accessible picnic benches, and an induction loop and large print guides are available.

Kinderen & gezin

Erg geschikt voor kinderen & gezinnen

• Gezinsrondleidingen & workshops
• Kinderwagenvriendelijk
• Verschoonruimte
• Speeltuin / speelhoek

Families can use a ball run, a wild play walk and seasonal trails with storytelling in the school holidays; the autumn trail suits preschoolers and young children. The gardens suit buggies, but the park has uneven ground. Baby-changing facilities are in the accessible toilets in the stableyard, and the tea-room offers children's meal deals.

Bereikbaarheid & parkeren

The park is 7 miles north-west of Reading on the west side of the A329. Leave the M4 at junction 12 and follow the signs for Beale Park and Pangbourne, then the signs for Basildon Park. Use the main entrance from the A329 when using a satnav. Walking from the stations is not advised because the route follows a busy road and takes about 45 minutes.

Service & horeca

• Café
• Museumwinkel

The tea-room is on the ground floor of the mansion and serves hot meals, sandwiches, cakes and cream teas. The Toolshed kiosk in the stableyard usually opens at weekends and in school holidays. The shop is in the stableyard with a second-hand bookshop, and a plant shop stands outside it. Covered picnic huts are near the stableyard.

Evenementen & zaalverhuur

Het museum heeft hierover geen informatie gepubliceerd.

Je bezoek plannen