Stables At Longleat House

The stables at Longleat House, located within Longleat Park, were constructed between 1800 and 1802 by Jeffry Wyatville for the 2nd Marquess of Bath. The building is of limestone ashlar construction with Welsh slate hipped roofs and ashlar stacks. It comprises an enclosed square courtyard with entrances on the south, north, and east sides, and two-storey corner towers to the single-storey ranges. The architectural style is Elizabethan, intended to complement the main house.

The main entrance on the south side features a central cast-iron gate set within gate piers. Flanking the entrance are cross windows, accompanied by Doric pilasters. The facade features a cross window and a recessed blind panel with segmental heads, along with projecting towers. The first floor has two cross windows with Ionic pilasters and an entablature, terminating in a blocking course with scrolled decoration. All windows have moulded architraves. A curved colonnade leads to a covered walkway on the right. The east side originally housed a laundry and coachman's house, with five-bay blocks featuring cross windows, and an additional two-bay block, now part of the estate office. A central entrance on the north side leads to the gardens and a curved walled drive. The north side, formerly a carriage house, retains numerous double studded doors with segmental heads leading to the courtyard. A half-round yard to the north is enclosed by Flemish bond brick walls, incorporating stone horse troughs and flanked by what are now toilet blocks. The west side includes a central two-storey clock tower with tripartite sashes and a shaped parapet, a cupola with a gilded clock face and weathervane, and an ogee fishscale shingled roof.

The inner-facing facades feature studded doorways, cross windows, and some blind bays. Carriage ways are located on the east sides of the north and south ranges. The west side is characterised by a centrally blocked segmental arch with an inserted doorway, positioned below the clock tower.

Internally, the main stable blocks on the west and south sides retain cast-iron and timber stalls and loose boxes, manufactured by Musgraves of Belfast, herringbone tiled floors, and corniced ceilings. A farrier's workshop is preserved as an exhibition in the west corner of the south range. The corner towers originally provided accommodation for grooms.

The stables were designed and built as part of Wyatville’s improvements to Longleat House and the surrounding parkland. Humphry Repton was involved in the siting of the stables within the landscaped setting at Longleat. Statues by Claud David, recorded by N. Pevsner, were formerly located on the roof but were not present during a survey in June 1985. The building’s design and history are further documented in the Longleat Red Book by Repton and original plans held in the Longleat Archives.