Rousham and its landscape garden is practically a place of pilgrimage for students of the work of William Kent (1685-1748) as it represents the first phase of English landscape design and remains almost as Kent left it, with many features that delighted 18th-century visitors to Rousham still in situ, such as the ponds and cascades in Venus’s Vale, the Cold Bath, and seven arched Praeneste, Townsend’s Building, the Temple of the Mill, and, on the skyline, a sham ruin known as the ‘Eyecatcher’. The house, built in 1635 by Sir Robert Dormer, is still in the ownership of the same family.
Rousham is also available for wedding receptions, photographic shoots and events such as car club rallies. No children under 15. No dogs.