See and Do
Choose your experience
To marvel at the monumental scale of Stowe, first, you must discover where it began. Visit Stowe House throughout the year to see inside this Georgian pleasure palace and explore its’ ever-evolving history. You can purchase tickets for the House in advance online, or at the Stowe House visitor centre. The Stowe House Preservation Trust is an independent charity that restores, maintains and opens the house to visitors.
Top Five Things to See in the House
Recently returned to glory in 2023, this room once boasted white walls! Look a little closer and you’ll discover that they’re in fact decorated with wallpaper and not tapestries.
Designed to imitate the Parthenon in Rome, this domed room is the heart of the house. A remarkable frieze depicts a roman procession with over 280 plaster figures and 14 and animals.
There’s nothing quite like the atmosphere of a historic library. Thankfully, the original mahogany bookcases—with over 700 shelves, complete with their doors and brass grilles—remained in place despite many sales. Take a look along the gallery and see if you can spot the secret door!
Aptly named for the opulent silk damask lining the walls, this sumptuous room contains portraits of Temple-Grenville family members who reached for political highs and prime ministerial roles.
The entrace and reception to the house immedaitely sets the tone and demonstartes the families desire to make first impressions count when guests arrived. The ceiling is by the famed artist, architect and designer William Kent.
Tours
Choose from a Taster Tour lasting 20 minutes or the Full Story at 45 minutes with one of the friendly guides as they reveal fascinating stories of scandal, intrigue and debt of the Temple-Grenville family, their downfall and the resurrection of the building from the beginnings of Stowe School to the current restoration programme.
Choose Your Tour Time
A comprehensive history of Stowe, exploring four key periods in Stowe’s past through various stories of the people who have lived at Stowe. Your tour guide will delve into the fascinating history of the estate, exploring the creation of Stowe under Viscount Cobham, the extravagance and spending of the Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos, the rebirth of Stowe as a School and the restoration of Stowe today.
Tour duration: 45 minutes
Get the essential highlights of the house as our guide briefly explores the history of Stowe. On this tour you will see three of the historic State Rooms.
Tour duration: 20 minutes
Take Your Time
Explore the House at your own pace
If you enjoy the freedom of self-discovery, check the opening times for a day where you can explore at your own pace – these are usually during school holidays and various weekends. The thrill of turning the corner and being met by dazzling ceilings and vast rooms will take your breath away. You’ll be given a map when you arrive in our discovery centre to help you find your way around.
Book tickets
Museum
Wonder through the interactive museum displays, discovering house and garden history before heading through to the state rooms.
On days when you don’t have much time or perhaps the house is closed, our Visitor Centre will be open for you to pop in for a short while to see inside the museum at a discounted ticket rate.
The David Wynne Collection
Born in 1926, David Wynne attended Stowe School from 1939 to 1943, where he furthered a love of Nature instilled in him from an early age. David’s youthful vision of the world, surrounded by great architecture and even finer landscape, created his philosophy of being in touch with the essential and eternal questions of time, space, nature and even the essence of God. After wartime service in the Royal Navy, David returned to study at Trinity College, Cambridge, where his love of sculpture was encouraged and where he realised that in sculpture his talents, interests, indeed his being, lay.
In a long and distinguished career, his art has ranged from the figurative to the almost abstract, from portrait heads of important cultural figures to small-scale animals, from gates to fountains and from carvings in stone to casts in bronze. The scale and variety of his work over the past sixty years still astound his many admirers.
The bronze maquettes given by David to Stowe, reflect the varied range of his work and are exhibited throughout the building. They serve both to educate and to enhance the lives of the students and our visitors, we hope that you enjoy them.
Collection Highlights
Boy with a Dolphin
The Beatles
HRH Prince of Wales (Charles III)
Grizzly Bear
Leopard with Butterfly
Goddess of the Woods
Shaharastani
Standing Lovers
Boy with a Dolphin
The Beatles
HRH Prince of Wales (Charles III)
Grizzly Bear
Leopard with Butterfly
Goddess of the Woods
Shaharastani
Standing Lovers
A Memorable Day Out
All the essential info to plan your visit and book admission tickets ahead of time. Because we all like to rock up like a VIP and be greeted at a country house.
You’re a culture vulture and want to level up your experience? From rooftop views to behind-the-scenes access to talks with historians, attend one of our events for the thrill of history.