The House and Garden Today
Away and unseen from the house Kent's garden extends past classical temples, follies and statuary representing the spirit of that era, dying gladiators, a horse being savaged by a lion and other statues depicting similar themes. Paths lead through woods where the abundant water from the Cherwell is fully utilised: small rills lead to larger ponds and formal pools, classical statuary of Roman gods and mythological creatures are skilfully positioned to catch the eye as one progresses from a cascade to the cold bath and on to the next temple or arcade, each set in its own valley or glade, a succession of picturesque tableaux.
Among the most revealing and thought-provoking of the follies is a grotto with a small cascade with the inscription: In Front of this Stone lie the Remains of Ringwood an otter-hound of extraordinary Sagacity: this shows that while the English squire who created this garden attempted to achieve Arcadia, his interests and loves remained hunting and hounds.
A separate garden closer to the house evokes the spirit of the Tudor and Stuart eras of English gardening. Box-edged beds and borders of old roses and herbaceous plants are surrounded by walls of ancient red brick; here an historic circular dovecote still retains its doves and close by through a small gate is the parish church where generations of Cottrell-Dormers are buried. One memorial in the church commemorates three sons of the family killed in combat in the First World War.
The house and grounds have been used as filming locations for productions including ITV's Lewis (episode The Dead of Winter).
Rousham House is still the home of the Cottrell-Dormer family.
Read more about this topic: Rousham House
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