Buscot Park

Buscot Park was built around 1780 in the Palladian style for the wonderfully-named Edward Loveden Loveden. Born Edward Loveden Townend, he inherited the Buscot estate from his great-uncle Edward Loveden and adopted his surname in accordance with the terms of the bequest. After four generations of Lovedens, Buscot Park was sold in 1859 to an Australian entrepreneur, Robert Tertius Campbell who turned the estate into a model of agricultural industrialisation. Innovations such as battery cattle farming, deep ploughing, a narrow-gauge railway and spirit-distilling proved ultimately unprofitable, and after his death, the heavily-mortgaged estate was sold in 1889 to Alexander Henderson, a wealthy and talented stockbroker from London.

Alexander Henderson, later ennobled as the first Baron Faringdon, laid the foundations of the Faringdon Collection, acquiring paintings by Old Masters such as Rembrandt, Botticelli, Murillo and Reynolds. He was also a major collector of modern (ie. Victorian) art, acquiring paintings by Rossetti, Watts, Leighton, and most importantly, Edward Burne-Jones’ ‘Legend of the Briar Rose’ series. This cycle of paintings, which tell the legend of Sleeping Beauty, caused a sensation when they were first exhibited in 1890, and are still displayed in the setting designed for them by the artist. Alexander also commissioned the famed Italianate water garden from Edwardian garden designer, Harold Peto.

Alexander was succeeded in 1934 by his grandson, Gavin, 2nd Lord Faringdon, who defied expectations of the English aristocracy by embracing Socialist politics with zeal. He represented the Labour Party in the House of Lords and on the London County Council, and entertained a great many Labour politicians at Buscot, including several Prime Ministers of Britain and other nations. The murals painted by the swimming pool by Gavin’s friend and fellow socialist Jack Hastings, 16th Earl of Huntingdon, an artist who trained under Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, suggest a wry self-awareness of these ‘champagne socialists’. Gavin continued to add to the collection, acquiring paintings by old and modern masters such as Gainsborough and Rubens, Ravilious and Sutherland, and indulging his passion for Empire and Regency furniture, including a superb ‘Egyptian’ couch and armchairs designed by Thomas Hope.

Since 1977, Buscot has been lived in and looked after by Gavin’s nephew, Charles, 3rd Baron Faringdon and his family, who look after the property on behalf of the National Trust. The collection is separately managed through the Faringdon Collection Trust. Lord Faringdon, advised by the Trustees, continues to add to the collection, and as a result, historic and contemporary art are displayed side by side, giving the house an eclectic, lived-in feel that is often remarked on by visitors. Lord and Lady Faringdon have created the Four Seasons Garden on the site of the former kitchen gardens, where herbaceous borders bloom successively throughout the season, and a beautiful wisteria archway leads to a circular pool.