Home of the powerful de Grey's, Earls of Kent.
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Wrest Park Home of the powerful de Grey's, Earls of Kent. |
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 Wrest ParkWrest Park belonged to the powerful de Grey family, Earls of Kent, from 1280 into the 19th century. The present house here was built in 1834 and is the third on this site. It is a rare example in England of the French chateau style in architecture - built, not surprisingly, by a French architect. The house was used in the early 19th century as a residence for the US Ambassador, but it is now used by the National Institute of Agricultural Engineering. The state rooms can be seen by visitors, and are now administered by English Heritage, who offer a program of regular historical re-enactments in the park. The extensive gardens (90 acres in all) at Wrest Park are a mixture of three distinct gardening styles spanning the years from 1700-1850. The centre is split by a long, formal canal punctuated by a Barocque pavilion designed by Thomas Archer. Mock classical ruins add objects of interest to the garden vistas, and the whole is situated in informal grounds laid out by Capability Brown around 1758. Wrest Park hosts an annual garden show in late May. The de Grey family mausoleum is attached to the church at Flitton, 2 miles away.
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