Montacute House, an imposing Elizabethan mansion, near Yeovil in South Somerset.

Montacute House, an E shaped Elizabethan mansion house, is in South Somerset 4 miles west of Yeovil on the edge of the village from which it takes its name.  It is well signposted off the A3088 but patience is needed negotiating the narrow streets through the village.  The National Trust has provided ample and convenient car parking only a very short walk from the house.

Montacute was built using local hamstone for Sir Edward Phelips, who was descended from a local family of yeoman farmers.

The West Front of Montacute House.

Maxwell Fraser writes of Montacute in his Somerset (Great Western Railway Company, 1934): "Built between 1580 and 1601 to the plans of John Thorpe, the architect of Longleat, it is an extraordinarily imposing place which is now in the in the possession of the National Trust, and, in 1932, the Princess Royal formally handed the deeds to Viscount Esher who represented the Trust, on behalf of the purchasers."


Montacute House has statues of the Nine Worthies in niches on the piers of the Long Gallery on the upper eastern façade.  Five of the Nine Worthies are visible in this photo.

The house was occupied by the descendants of  Sir Edward until 1911 when financial difficulties made it necessary to let the house.  Lord Curzon of Kedleston, former Viceroy of India, took up residence in 1915 and was one of the last tenants before the National Trust acquired the house.



My visit took place during the second week of April when the tulips were in full bloom around the eastern garden.  The pavilions proved a handy shelter during a heavy shower but I was able to take some photos during a leisurely walk around the grounds.

Tulips in the border of the East Court of Montacute House.

The pretty village of Montacute, where many of the houses are built of hamstone, is well worth exploring.  The folly tower on St Michael's Hill on the western edge of the village looks interesting too.  It was erected by one of the Phelipses, and I plan to climb the hill one day to take in the view.