Althorp Princess Diana's Childhood Home & Burial Site

Table Of Content

• How do you get to the estate?
• Princess Diana's grave is off-limits.
• William Poyntz of Midgham and his Dog Amber
• Earl Spencer's wife opens up about life at Princess Diana's family's stately home
• Inside Althorp House, the historic and luxurious country house where Princess Diana grew up
• Getting to Althorp House and Estate
• Althorp House and Estate today

Althorp House is located in Northamptonshire following minor roads off the A4500, with the entrance to the free visitor carpark at the West Gate. Northampton train station is 5 miles away, from which a taxi or Stagecoach number 96 can take you to the house, whose nearest bus stop is Althorp, East Lodge. There you are required to use the interactive gate panel, after which the estate minibus will take you directly to the house.

How do you get to the estate?

A regular service is offered from London Euston and Birmingham International. Upon arrival at either station, visitors use a taxi to complete the journey to Althorp House. Althorp is home to two festivals which take place at the start and finish of the house opening period. The Food & Drink Festival in May celebrates the best producers and suppliers in and around Northamptonshire and is full of fun and flavour for all the family. The annual Althorp Literary Festival takes place in October, and it is a unique celebration of the written word with a stellar line up of authors and celebrities. The aim is to promote a thriving rural environment, which makes a positive contribution to the local economy.

Princess Diana's grave is off-limits.

The Picture Gallery stretches for 115 feet (35 m) on the first floor of the west wing, and is one of the best remaining examples of the original Tudor oak woodwork and ambiance in the mansion. It has an extensive collection of portraits, including Anthony van Dyck's War and Peace, a John de Critz portrait of James I, a Mary Beale portrait of Charles II, and many others. Some £2 million was spent on redecorating the palace in the 1980s, during which time most of the religious paintings of Althorp were sold off. The grand hall entrance to the house, Wootton Hall,[c] was cited by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as "the noblest Georgian room in the county". Althorp is mentioned as a small hamlet in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Olletorp", and by 1377 it had become a village with a population of more than fifty people. By 1505 there were no longer any tenants living there, and in 1508, John Spencer purchased Althorp estate with the funds generated from his family's sheep-rearing business.

William Poyntz of Midgham and his Dog Amber

The house at Althorp was a "classically beautiful" red brick Tudor building, but its appearance was radically altered, starting in 1788, when the architect Henry Holland was commissioned to make extensive changes. Mathematical tiles were added to the exterior, encasing the brick, and four Corinthian pilasters were added to the front. The grand hall entrance to the house, Wootton Hall,[lower-alpha 3] was cited by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as "the noblest Georgian room in the county". The great dining room in the east wing extension of the house was added in 1877 to designs by John Macvicar Anderson, its walls hung with faded, red damask silk. Numerous fireplaces and furnishings were brought to Althorp from Spencer House in London during the Blitz for safekeeping and still remain.

The post shows various photos of the interiors of Althorp, including the dining room set for a meal with silver candlesticks and flowers, a gallery filled with portraits and a sitting room complete with gilt ceiling and portraits on the walls. The Saloon and Spencer Gallery is arguably one of the most striking features of the house. The grand, central, hallway was once an open courtyard where visitors to the house would arrive and dismount their horses. With miles of quaint rolling countryside, it’s no surprise that Althorp Estate is also a hot spot for wildlife. From Tim the resident peacock to the black fallows and red stags found in its deer park, Althorp is home to a number of rare animal friends. In fact, in 2019, the estate introduced the exhibition, "Animals of Althorp," which takes guests on a tour of Althorp's lesser-known residents.

Althorp, Princess Diana's childhood home, is excavated to uncover secrets of a Roman villa in the grounds - Tatler

Althorp, Princess Diana's childhood home, is excavated to uncover secrets of a Roman villa in the grounds.

Posted: Mon, 22 May 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Earl Spencer's wife opens up about life at Princess Diana's family's stately home

Hundreds of the most beautiful historic houses, castles, and gardens across Britain offer our members free entry. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. He remains adamant that the auction is required simply to fund the upkeep of the house. LONDON (CBS) Princess Diana would have reached the grand age of 49 last week had she survived the fateful 1997 car crash that claimed her life.

Inside Althorp House, the historic and luxurious country house where Princess Diana grew up

Her life has often been compared to that of her ancestor Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales who too grew up at Althorp. Althorp has been the home of the Spencers, the late Princess Diana's family, for more than 500 years. It's currently the home of Princess Diana's brother, the 9th Earl Spencer and also the site of the Princess's grave.

On the press, Spencer said, "They basically invent a sort of family, and then there's the naughty sister or whatever, you know, the tricky brother." "And I'm not sure how much it would really be suitable for a Sunday morning audience! But it basically involves mutilation before death, and being hanged until you're unconscious but not dead, and being tortured in the most horrific ways." But it's a pretty nice place to "pass through." Each and every room is ridiculously beautiful, with furniture that often pre-dates the American colonies.

The gallery also features portraits of King Charles I, who ruled from 1625 until his execution in 1649. Princess Diana spent part of her childhood at Althorp House in Northamptonshire, England. Since her death in 1997, the ancestral home of the Spencer family also serves as her final resting place. The current Earl has done much to raise the profile of the house, including launching the successful Althorp Literary Festival, which attracts speakers such as politician Paddy Ashdown, baker Prue Leith and historian Dan Jones.

Althorp was built in 1508 by Sir John and has been the family seat of the Spencers for 19 generations. The entire property covers 13,000 acres of Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, and Norfolk countryside—a parcel just slightly smaller than the size of Manhattan. Visitors likely know the late Princess of Wales was laid to rest on Althorp's grounds.

Over the next few centuries, the Spencers amassed an impressive collection of art for their home, including Van Dyck's War and Peace, a John de Critz portrait of King James I and works by Lely. The 2nd Earl Spencer, George John, was a keen bibliophile, and collected over 100,000 books for his library, which became one of the largest in Europe. It was sadly sold off in the 19th century by the 5th Earl Spencer (dubbed 'the Red Earl' for his dramatic auburn beard) due to increasing debts. It has been held by the prominent aristocratic Spencer family for more than 500 years, and has been owned by Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer since 1992. It was also the home of Lady Diana Spencer (later Princess of Wales) from her parents' divorce until her marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles III).